Humberto Fragapane and Melisa Delarroca have been running their landscaping business from the home they bought in Highland Estates in 2020.
The couple had been in business since at least 2015, but ran afoul of Summit County’s rules—and some neighbors—when they moved vehicles and equipment onto their 1.69-acre property.
Neighbors called in complaints, and the controversy has culminated in a citation and a $164,000 fine. Residents who spoke with KPCW acknowledge the penalty is steep, but not everyone thinks it’s fair.
“I think that's rather excessive,” resident and homeowners association board member Cathy Silver said. “But again, I have nothing to do with the county and their codes, and things like that. We have multiple small businesses in Highland Estates, but they're not obtrusive if they meet code requirements.”
She doesn’t know who alerted Summit County code enforcement officers to Fragapane and Delarocca’s property. County records only say that “adjacent neighbors” complained.
Silver and fellow HOA board member Dawn Pencil told KPCW the HOA has not talked to the couple or the county about the issue.
“The HOA supports home-based businesses that comply with current county regulations,” Pencil said.”
County code enforcers first cited Fragapane and Delarocca on June 28, 2023, for storing equipment on the property. That’s not allowed under the residential neighborhood’s zoning.
The couple had until July 28, 2023, to remove their work vehicles but instead applied for a permit July 18.
They began work with the Summit County planning department on permitting and were set to appear before Snyderville Basin Planning Commission March 12, 2024.
Then, county planning staff pushed the hearing to March 26, citing scheduling conflicts.
Fragapane and Delarocca asked the county for another date because they’d been traveling and were switching legal counsel, but the planning commission’s agenda didn’t change.
That was until the agenda got passed around Highland Estates social media pages. Dozens of residents wrote to the county, expressing everything from support for the couple’s business to disgust. A few called the property an “eyesore.”
Thaynes Canyon resident Fred Fox was one of the landscapers' clients who asked the county to give the business time to comply with code.
“He’s just been here that long, and he's expanded his business from what originally started with him mowing lawns by himself,” Fox said. “Now it's a very substantial business with rock work and landscaping, etc.”
Fragapane and Delarocca’s appointment with the planning commission was pushed until April, then again until May. But it never popped up on a commission agenda again.
On June 20, a Summit County administrative law judge imposed a fine of $500 for every day the couple had failed to remove their equipment.
Delarocca declined to comment for this story, but in a recording obtained by KPCW through a public records request, Fragapane told the judge the fine may bankrupt them.
Summit County did not respond to a request for comment July 16.
Per the judge’s order, the couple removed the landscaping equipment by July 1. Court records do not show they’ve filed for bankruptcy.
