CDD 5 supervisors could be setting dangerous precedent

I personally think the trim color at the home on Westchseter Way is fine and fits in with the community standards. At least it’s not pink, purple, or some other garish color. 

But there is an underlying issue here that does need to be addressed. This woman is a 20-year resident and knew full well that she is required to paint with an approved color. Her actions were blatant and went against her willingly accepting the Community Standards regulations when she bought her home.

If the Community Development District 5 Board of Supervisors decides to permit this, which is probably what will happen, it could be opening the door for more process and deed compliance rule-breaking. 

It’s not popular nowadays to have rules and processes that people are expected to abide by, but as soon as that mentality takes over, one rule-breaker at a time, it can lead to a lowering of community standards and thumbing one’s nose at rules one does not like. 

If the board approves this color for ALL of us going forward, that may be a win for the community. But if it does not, and this woman puts up a fuss despite her knowing full well that she had to run this by the Architectural Review Committee, it will cause a rift in the community that is neither warranted or necessary.

It seems to me that either way there should be a fine levied for these types of infractions. In order for this to be fair to all of the residents who abide by their contractual agreements and the Community Standards processes, this needs to be handled by the proper authorities and not up to the discretion of uninvolved residents’ opinions.

Whether I, or a majority of people responding to this story, approve or disapprove of the color does not matter. What matters is whether or not the board is willing and able to do its job and stick to their guns if need be. 

Jan Palmer is a resident of the Village of Amelia.