ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A St. Petersburg woman said her neighbor installed an audio-enabled security camera in a tree that is pointed at her backyard and put up a tall fence to block her view which violates the City Code.
- Woman says neighbor installed audio-enabled security camera, pointed at her yard
- Wendy Hessinger said her neighbor, a trans woman porn star, also built huge fence
- City says fence has been cited for being in violation
“It’s terrible. I don’t even use my backyard at all,” said Wendy Hessinger, 50. “It’s turned into a nightmare.”
Hessinger’s neighbor is, Danni Daniels, 31, who told Spectrum Bay News 9 in an exclusive interview that she is a trans woman porn star. Daniels said she put the camera high up in the avocado tree to keep watch over her irrigation pipes that were damaged in April and not to spy on Hessinger.
“I put these cameras up because I needed to protect myself from the vandalism that was occurring on my property,” said Daniels. “I moved in here about two and a half years ago.”
When asked why Daniels has the camera pointing at Hessinger’s backyard, instead of the irrigation pipes, she replied that it has not been recording for a while.
"Tree cam is not on, hasn’t been on for months,” Daniels said. “But I really didn’t even want to say that… because it was protecting me. It was keeping me safe.”
Hessinger’s neighbor is a trans woman porn star who goes by the name of Danni Daniels, 31. Daniels said she put the camera high up in the avocado tree to keep watch over her irrigation pipes that were damaged in April and not to spy on Hessinger. (Josh Rojas/Spectrum News)
Attorney Luke Lirot, who has no connection to either party, believes there’s going to be more neighbor disputes involving security cameras as the technology becomes cheaper and more pervasive. The courts will decide the balance between someone’s expectation of privacy versus the other parties desire to be secure, according to Lirot.
“I think that based on just general property concerns, the ability to surveil should really stop at your property line. You shouldn’t really be peeking into your neighbor’s backyard,” he said. “Otherwise, the neighbor might have a cause of action for a nuisance or a trespass or some creative theory to try to stop their privacy from being invaded by somebody who wants to put up cameras.”
Hessinger said the neighbor dispute escalated about two weeks ago, when Daniels installed a tall fence that leads all the way to the water's edge.
“The neighbor decided to put in what is called a 'spite fence.' It’s only on my side,” she said. “I would say (it’s) 10-ft. along the edge of my home but if you go down into the water it’s probably about 12-ft. (high). So, it’s definitely put there so that my waterfront view is eliminated.”
St. Petersburg Codes Compliance tells Spectrum Bay News 9 that Daniels' fence has been cited for being in violation because it exceeds the 6 ft. height limit. Daniels said she will either bring the fence into compliance or ask for variance because of Hessinger's elevated gazebo.
The tree camera, that also records audio, that Wendy Hessinger said her neighbor Danni Daniels had installed high in a tree but pointing into Hessinger's yard. (Josh Rojas/Spectrum News)
“They’re head and shoulders over the fence when they’re in their gazebo... the 6-ft. fence is not cutting it," said Daniels. “I even put a fence up that I knowingly know is against code just because I need peace."
The City’s Stormwater Division granted Daniels' permission to build her fence to the water’s edge because the lake is not large enough to be considered waterfront. That designation would kick in stricter requirements.
The neighbor feud also involves live internet porn called "camming". Hessinger said she can't believe that Daniels is allowed to do camming from inside her home.
“In my book, if you live in a residential neighborhood you shouldn’t be conducting business in your home without a proper permit," she said. “The activities that are going in there is adult entertainment camming."
Daniels freely admits she does camming from her home and said it's perfectly legal.
“The live cam industry has taken over the porn industry because you can do the exact same thing, people are paying the same amount, you don’t have to leave your house," she said. “You’re not filming, it’s not running a business. I’m just working from home.”
Attorney Lirot successfully argued to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2001, that a subscription live camera website set-up in a Tampa home that featured nude women called "Voyeur Dorm" did not violate the City's adult entertainment establishment code because it was not open to the public.
Lirot agrees with Daniels that she is not violating any laws by camming from her home.
“It’s really no different than anybody else that would have a profession that would be working on their computer at home,” he said. “Simply because this is some kind of a cam program, I don’t think that differentiates it. I don’t think it’s business in the eyes of needing a business license.”
The only thing both neighbors agree on is that they're living in a nightmare situation. According to records, St. Petersburg Police have been called to Daniels' home 10 times so far this year. Those calls range from a neighborhood dispute, to criminal mischief and a suspicious circumstance.