Coral Springs residents and Comcast square off over above-ground service boxes in neighborhood

Coral Springs, Florida – When Comcast Telecommunications Company started building an all-fiber network in Coral Springs earlier this year, a series of above-ground service boxes appeared out of nowhere in people’s front yards.

Many homeowners of Cypress Run, a subdivision off Lakeview Road, expressed dissatisfaction with the boxes and how the corporation handled their construction.

“No communication about this was given to us,” said resident Karen Borras at a recent Coral Springs City Commission meeting. “We woke up one morning and people were digging in our front yards. It’s ugly to have these huge green boxes in front of our houses.”

She was among a small group of locals who complained to the commissioners hoping that someone would address the issues they felt were occurring in their neighborhood.
During the meeting, J. Philip Balem, who also resides in Borras’ neighborhood, noted that he found it “absolutely ludicrous” that Comcast was permitted to place such boxes in the front yards of locals.

“In addition to that, when Comcast came in, they put a different style of grass down after they were done, so it doesn’t match my yard,” Balem said.

Comcast was alerted to the remarks and sent two personnel to a subsequent commission meeting to discuss the issues brought up.

“We heard the feedback from residents and city leaders and we’re using that feedback to do things differently,” said Dawn Stagliano, the company’s director of external affairs. “Our crews have stopped construction and are removing all of the above ground pedestals that we’ve previously installed and plan to build underground.”

She also mentioned that the city will soon have an all-fiber network constructed.
Comcast’s senior construction manager, Adrian Miguez, also underlined the company’s commitment to the neighborhood, assuring locals that fiber optics will be part of the new network and that the relevant permits would be reevaluated for residential areas, businesses, and schools.

After Comcast representatives spoke at the commission meeting, Commissioner Joshua Simmons said: “It’s unfortunate that it took this situation to get you guys out here and talk about this, but I want to make sure we’re on the same page not just for this project, but anything in the future.”

Miguez pledged to devise multiple methods of informing city dwellers in the future and apprising them of events taking place in their local communities.