Lady Lake officials will hear a pitch Monday night to supply water for a development across the line in Sumter County.
Scott Culp of Atlantic Housing Partners is scheduled to appear before the Lady Lake Commission on Monday night in a meeting at Lady Lake Town Hall. He needs water for an 18.23-acre property located west of Cherry Lake Road in unincorporated Sumter County. There is already a towering apartment complex nearby receiving Lady Lake water under an agreement hammered out years ago.
The Villages has refused to allow any development in that corner of Sumter County to hook up to its sewer and water.
The latest plan for the property calls for 41 single-family detached homes with “attached accessory dwelling units” totaling 82 total residential units. Culp has indicated that his company is finding a hot market for single-family homes for seniors with a need for live-in caretakers, aging couples with a need for independent living arrangements for adult children, and young families with a need for independent living for an active mother-in-law, father-in-law and/or grandparent. Culp has promised the town that the new development would include terms of no affordable rent or income restrictions, no short-term rentals and compliance with the town’s architectural standards as part of the approved utility agreement.
In 2020, Jonathan Huels of Lowndes Law of Orlando attempted to persuade the Lady Lake Commission to look favorably on providing water for a 109-unit housing development at the same location. Commissioners Ruth Kussard and Tony Holden were vehemently opposed to sharing the town’s water. Commissioners Paul Hannan and Dan Vincent were more open to the lucrative possibility of selling water for the development. Mayor Jim Richards was the swing vote, but he is no longer on the commission.
In 2019, the town’s average withdrawal of water was 730,193 gallons per day. The town’s Consumptive Use Permit allows 1.118 million gallons per day through the year 2026.
The commission will meet at 6 p.m. Monday.
Do you think Lady Lake should sell its water to the development in Sumter County? Share your thoughts in a Letter to the Editor at this link: https://www.villages-news.com/submit-letters-editor/
