When a bear attacked a woman in Wingfield North subdivision in Longwood last December, fish and wildlife officials said it was the worst bear attack in Florida history. 

Wingfield North neighborhood leaders say they knew they had to something to prevent that from ever happening again.

“When that happened, people seriously considered what should we do,” said Gary Kaleita. 

Kaleita lives in Wingfield North and was a resident there when the attack happened. But he’s also with the Lowndes Law Firm in Orlando and serves as Wingfield North’s HOA attorney. 

The neighborhood’s HOA board passed bylaws that now require residents to take certain steps to prevent bears from coming into the neighborhood.

The idea is by cutting off their food source, like trash left out at the curb, it will force bears to go elsewhere for easy food.

Kaleita says HOA leaders in several other neighboring communities are now seriously looking at the policy Wingfield North passed. But whether other neighborhoods will follow suit is still unclear.

“We did get feedback after sharing drafts with some of the nearby homeowner’s associations, and they thought it was good to consider,” said Kaleita.

Wingfield North’s new policy states residents can be fined if they don’t use bear resistant trash cans, and if they don’t secure human food sources around their home, like grills and dog food. If residents don’t comply, they can be fined after an initial warning, up to $1,000. 

The policy also lays out numerous guidelines that it strongly suggests residents adhere to, but they can’t be fined if they don’t comply with those suggestions. 

But Kaleita says HOA’s in other communities he’s been in contact with are still hesitant to enact bylaws that allow fines for residents that don’t comply.

“People were very suspicious of requirements and mandates, as you might suspect,” said Kaleita. 

Another concern for other Seminole County neighborhoods is the cost of the required bear-proof trash cans. The cans cost about $200 each. But Wingfield’s HOA had enough money saved up to spend the $16,000 it took to buy the cans for each of its 141 residents.