A Villager battling to save his 12-year-old birdcage in the Greenwood Villas is blaming his woes on the compliance system he says “pits neighbor against neighbor.”
Robert Benning has been fighting a losing battle, having pleaded his case before the Architectural Review Committee and appealed it to the Community Development District 4 Board of Supervisors.
Benning’s birdcage hadn’t been a problem until an anonymous complaint was lodged against it with the District’s Community Standards department. The complainant reported that Benning’s birdcage was encroaching on an easement. The violation was confirmed by Community Standards.
Benning’s neighbor, Robert Matz, has shown up at hearings to spur officials, urging them to take action on the birdcage. But Matz has repeatedly denied he made the complaint.
In April, Community Development District 3 supervisors debated the anonymous complaint system and considered abandoning it.
“In criminal law, one of the tenets is the right of the accused to face his accuser,” said CDD 3 Supervisor Gail Lazenby. “If you make a complaint, you ought to be willing to put your name down.”
Currently, complaints are received anonymously by Community Standards. Staff then investigates the complaint and determines if a deed compliance violation has taken place. For instance, a resident may have a yard ornament that is in violation, but if there is no complaint, the yard ornament remains in place. The District takes action only if there is a complaint.
In May, a Village of Sunset Pointe woman was so fed up with her “nit-picking neighbors” she appeared before the Community Development District 5 Board of Supervisors to voice her frustration. You can read more about that HERE
For Benning, there has been at least one silver lining. Several people he did not know who have heard about hid predicament have reached out to him and offered help, including with dismantling his birdcage.