Green Key Village was called out for erosion problems prior to the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Ian.
Green Key Village is a private gated community located on Lake Ella Road in Lady Lake. The developer of the community is Greg Thomas, a second generation Floridian. He bought the property and launched the construction of the “net zero” community about a decade ago.
During a code enforcement hearing Tuesday morning at Lady Lake Town Hall, evidence, including photos, detailed the ongoing problems at the development.
With Hurricane Ian bearing down on Florida, the obvious problem of erosion and sediment were top of mind during the code enforcement hearing.
Code Enforcement Officer Lori Crain detailed the problems of sediment and erosion which began prompting complaints from residents in December.
In particular, the pond at the development elicited numerous complaints.
The code enforcement officer reported that an inspection showed that the pond “contained milky muddy water” due to the sediment that has seeped into the body of water.
Testimony and numerous photos showed that the erosion problems have occurred for many months.
Thomas was clearly frustrated with the situation.
“Stuff happens. These are construction sites where we are building homes,” Thomas told Special Magistrate Joshua Bills.
Thomas claimed that he already has spent $10,000 trying to clean up the pond.
“It’s money out of my pocket. I do everything I can to keep it cleaned up,” Thomas said.
He also complained about the slope of the property and described the difficulty of preventing the erosion.
At the recommendation of the code enforcement officer, Green Key Village was found to be a “repeat offender” due to the ongoing erosion and sediment problems.
“You’re fighting an uphill battle, but it’s a downhill battle with the water and the water flows. I am not unsympathetic,” the special magistrate told Thomas.
