A surveying error is providing the latest twist in the easement battle in The Villages.
On Oct. 17, 2014, Wade Surveying Inc. was contracted by The Villages of Lake-Sumter Inc. to conduct a survey at 1716 Myrtle Beach Drive on the Historic Side of The Villages. A manufactured home was removed at that location and a new home was to be built.
On Jan. 25, 2017 the home was resurveyed by Farner Barley & Associates Inc. and it was discovered that the home was encroaching into the 5-foot side yard setback on the northeasterly lot line. Farner Barley checked with Wade Surveying and it was determined that the surveyor had made a calculation error in the field in 2014. Because of the error, the air conditioning unit was relocated to the other side of the house.
The error was unknown to The Villages when the home was sold to an individual on Dec. 30, 2014. In late 2016, that individual entered into a sale and purchase contract with a second individual. That’s when the surveying error was discovered. The seller and buyer turned to The Villages for help and The Villages agreed to buy the house and lease it to the buyer until the matter is resolved.
The Lady Lake Commission has been asked to pass a resolution that would grant a variance in this case.
Not so fast, said Mayor Jim Richards.
At Monday’s commission meeting, he pointed out that two of his constituents on the Historic Side have deed compliance cases pending with the Villages Community Standards Department.
A home on Paradise Drive has a brick planter wall that has been found to be encroaching on an easement with a neighboring home. Another woman has a driveway that has been determined to be two feet too wide. You can read about both of those cases HERE
Meanwhile, the question looming with regard to the Myrtle Beach Drive home is what authority a Lady Lake Commission resolution would have with regard to the power of the Architectural Review Committee should a complaint be lodged against the home.
Numerous Community Development Districts in The Villages recently approved ARC manual revisions that would permit owners to install landscaping structures in easement areas up to three feet from the property lines and allow courtyard villas to utilize rock as a sod replacement provided the front yard area includes plant material for aesthetic purposes. A group from the Village of Mallory Square bitterly contested the change during a meeting last month before the CDD 6 Board of Supervisors. You can read about that meeting HERE
For now, the Lady Lake Commission has tabled the matter.