A Villager who painted her house the wrong color will take her fight to the Architectural Review Committee.
Michele Pedersen who lives at 2869 Rain Lily Loop in the Village of Sanibel had been ordered in June to repaint her house after she unwittingly strayed from the color palette put in place by the Community Development District 9 Board of Supervisors.
However, Pedersen made it clear in an appearance Thursday afternoon before the board that she wasn’t going down without a fight.
After the June meeting, Pedersen studied meeting minutes from CDD 9 board meetings going back more than a year and she challenged previous assertions made about the process in 2020 by which CDD 9 made a change to the color palette. She has argued that during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic access was not readily available to the District Office. She also contends that the change to the color palette was not well publicized.
Pedersen said she contacted the Architectural Review Committee about her proposed paint job and received an email in response informing her that said pre-approval was not required as “long as the homeowner chooses a color that is on the palette.” She was adamant that she and her painting contractor were not aware of the change to the color palette that eliminated the color she chose to repaint her home.
“Let this situation go away and let me keep the color I have on my property,” Pedersen told the supervisors in her appeal Thursday afternoon.
Apparently, CDD 9 supervisors have concluded that would be the best course of action in the case that has prompted strong opinions here in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
Pedersen was advised to submit an application to the ARC to seek approval for her paint job. She was assured that District Counsel Mark Brionez would be present at the meeting and could provide background to the ARC on the problematic history of her case. Pedersen’s application could be on the agenda for the ARC within about two weeks.