By Carol L. Cole

Transcript Staff Writer

Northwest Norman resident Pam Jennings figures she told everyone who would listen in recent years that properties in her area would flood if an adjancent development occurred as proposed. And now she says it’s happening.

The home of Pam and Darrell Jennings at 3211 NW 48th has become “an island,” with water ranging from ankle deep up to thigh-high surrounding it. The couple’s barn and shed are flooded, their cattle are standing in “belly-deep water” and their water well is contaminated with e-coli.

“It’s not good. It’s just a mess. We can’t, of course, drink the water. We can’t shower. We can’t do laundry. We’re having to go elsewhere. We’re trying to stay here, but it’s becoming more difficult,” Pam Jennings said.

Their flooding situation has reignited a feud between the Jennings and Precision Builders developer Sassan Moghadam.

“He’s using us as his detention pond,” Pam Jennings said. “He’s draining 40 acres of property down to the bottom, which is us.”

She said the City of Norman allowed Moghadam to build his Fountainview addition, formerly known as Windstone Farms and that is causing her problems. He owns half of the development at 48th Avenue Northwest and Tecumseh Road, which was originally planned for 196 homes on 77 acres.

Jennings and Les Crabtree, who died April 23, attempted to fight Moghadam with an initiative petition garnering 2,400 signatures, through the courts and all the way up to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, losing their battle in December 2006.

Seminole County District Judge George Butner first dismissed the petitions July 28, 2005, based on an insufficient number of valid signatures and lack of the text of the relevant ordinance on the petition.

The Norman City Council voted to rezone the property Sept. 24, 2004, from agricultural use to single family dwelling in two cases concerning the property, and from residential estate dwelling and agricultural use to single family dwelling in the other.

Moghadam blames the Jennings problems on the record rainfalls.

“We certainly did not create the rain,” he said. “I feel for the neighbors. … But we certainly don’t fee like it’s anything we’ve done.”

Moghadam said the problem is that water doesn’t have anywhere to go.

He said when the initial plan for Windstone Farms was proposed, there were two detention ponds included.

Moghadam said those were later eliminated, after the neighbors protested them. The City of Norman allowed the ponds to be eliminated on a “fee in lieu of” basis.

That was vehemently denied by Pam Jennings.

“We never opposed the detention ponds,” she said.

Moghadam said the city has asked him to do some temporary drainage solutions.

“But we can’t make (water) go beyond the 10 Mile Flat Creek,” he said, noting water was backing up where it goes into the creek. “Our intent from day one was to do some improvements to the horse farm across the street.”

Pam Jennings told the Norman City Council on Tuesday night that the developer had done lots of dirt work, but had not implemented his drainage plan and still didn’t have a sewer solution, since he had planned on working with Ashton Grove.

A drainage channel created by Moghadam had silted in, she said, and the developer had been cited with several violations by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, which was confirmed by Public Works Director Shawn O’Leary.

Pam Jennings said their first flooding event occurred in mid-March, long before the downpours of May and June.

“This property has not been dry since March,” Pam Jennings said. “It’s just been this constant everyday not knowing what’s going to happen, not knowing what to expect.”

The couple is concerned that their horses that are standing in water will have hoof rot and develop black leg disease.

Properties of Chrissie Griffin and Todd Ensor also are flooding to the north of the Jenningses.

O’Leary said he believed the problems were caused more by the excessive rainfall than by drainage issues with the developer.

Carol L. Cole366-3538ccole@normantranscript.com