To the Editor:
FINALLY, someone is willing to go public about the anonymous reporting of Declaration of Restrictions violations and the very convoluted Declaration document itself. (See Mary King’s letter to the editor in the Villages-News of this morning, June 9.) Ever since the District 5 Board of Supervisors meeting this past Friday I have been reviewing the specific D of R document that I had to sign off on during the September 2012 closing on my home. “Sign this paper or we cannot go further with this closing.” Two of the District 5 supervisors expressed strong concerns with the Declaration document; the difficulty understanding the exact provisions therein.
Unfortunately, as Chairman Kadow pointed out, the decision his board had to make only pertained to whether the appealing resident’s lawn improvement did in fact violate his Restrictions. The finding was yes.
I have found my own Restrictions documents, and there are hundreds in The Villages with varying specifics, leaves way too much to interpretation, too much to be understood before signing off on it, remembering what is agreed to there, and remembering to ensure the specifics are adhered to when improvements are made sometimes years later.
Bottom line: Someone or some group of landowners must gain the ear of the Developer (not the District Government which is the Developer’s “designee” to handle the enforcement according to the document) in order to resolve this issue. Otherwise there will be further problems for residents, much further work for District staff, and further public damage to the character of The Villages. Perhaps an amendment page referring to the specifics for each Restriction document would be a resolution. If anyone is willing to participate in this endeavor, I’m in the phone book.
Lee Gilpin
Village of Liberty Park