The Lady Lake Commission has rendered a decision on a house that had been caught in limbo after a surveying error.
Martin Dzuro, of The Villages of Lake Sumter Inc., made a plea Monday night to commissioners with regard to the home at 1716 Myrtle Beach Drive on the Historic Side of The Villages.
On Oct. 17, 2014, Wade Surveying Inc. was contracted by The Villages to conduct a survey at the site where a manufactured home was removed 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 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 second survey had been required because the second buyer was trying to obtain financing.
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 was resolved.
Earlier this month, the commission tabled a resolution that would have granted a variance for the property.
Mayor Jim Richards indicated Monday evening that Dzuro had called him at his home in The Villages, in an apparent plea for some understanding.
During that conversation, Dzuro revealed that The Villages would vacate the rights to its two-foot easement at the property.
“This has caused hardships for the surveyor, the seller and the buyer,” Dzuro said. “The Villages bought the home, and said, ‘Let us try to clear this up.’”
Commissioners voted to grant the variance.