WINDERMERE, Fla. -- Shaquille O'Neal can create space under the basket. Creating a beach at his $5 million lakeside home is not so easy -- and it cost him in fines and other penalties from county officials.
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| O'Neal |
The Los Angeles Lakers' star center cleared about 100 of his
400-foot frontage on Lake Butler last year and filled in the area
with white sand.
However, he cleared about twice the length of lakefront allowed and some of the sand put down was below the high-water mark.
Those are code violations without the proper permits, said Bruce Eastman, a manager at Orange County's Environmental Protection Division.
"In the grand scheme of things, these are rather minor violations," Eastman said.
O'Neal was fined $236 in administrative fees, told to remove
most of the sand and replant about 50 feet of the beachfront with
at least 3,000 native plants and grasses.
O'Neal has already paid the fee and begun the fix-up.
"He's been extremely cooperative," Eastman said. "I wish all
of our cases were this easy."
O'Neal lives in the gated community of Isleworth, Orlando's most exclusive neighborhood. Among his neighbors are golf great Tiger Woods, NBA stars Tracy McGrady and Penny Hardaway, baseball star Ken Griffey Jr. and actor Wesley Snipes.
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