Plenty of Villagers are saying they are fed up with the anonymous complaint system.
An order to force widow Mary Santos to cut down hedges at the back of her premier home in the Village of Valle Verde after more than 20 years appears to have been the last straw when it comes to anonymous complaints.
“I totally disagree with this anonymous complaint system because you get one person pissed off at a neighbor and they decide to make them suffer. A person should be allowed to have some arbitration before being forced to do something like cutting down these hedges which had a good purpose,” said Villager Deborah Biron.
The anonymous complaint system was originally aimed at preserving harmony in neighborhoods. An object like a lawn ornament or taller-than-normal hedge could remain, so long as no one complained. However, when the “trolls” started roaming neighbors and reporting a bevy of anonymous complaints, the neighborhood formula was disrupted.
Biron points to the little white crosses as evidence of the failure of the anonymous complaint system.
“I went to visit a house that had been targeted because of a small white cross in the front yard. I noticed that five other houses within that one block had little white crosses in the yard but nothing was being done about those or all of the statues that were present at most of the houses on that street. I don’t see how you can target one house and not go after the others because whoever is going to check the violation had to see that other houses were in violation as well, yet no one says anything to those people because there was no complaint. So this anonymous situation is allowing people who get pissed off at one of their neighbors to cause them to be fined for something so petty,” Biron said.
Community Development District 8 has been embroiled in a long legal battle over a Villager’s refusal to remove a little white cross in his front yard in the Village of Tamarind Grove. He was the target of an anonymous complaint.
“The little white crosses hurt no one and we should be allowed to keep them,” said Pat Schoch of the Village of Belvedere.
She is a resident of Community Development District 5 and applauds the supervisors in her district for refusing to accept anonymous complaints. CDD 5 supervisors have been monitoring data closely, and it appears the decision to stop accepting anonymous complaints is working.
Schoch said it’s time for other CDD supervisors in The Villages to follow the example set in CDD 5.
Villager Peter Sefcik agrees a change is needed. He points to both the recent hedge issue and the battle over the little white crosses.
“The anonymous complaint system is outdated and must be abolished. Seems like vindictive people win. Put your name on it and have the entire neighborhood agree or disagree,” he said.
Residents who love The Villages often loathe the anonymous complaint system, with all of its unintended consequences.
“I understand that nothing is perfect. I’ve lived in The Villages since 2005 and continue to be amazed how well it’s run, especially with its continued growth,” said Villager Kenneth Weber.
“My only real concern has and will always be the fact that anyone – right or wrong, can make a complaint anonymously,” he said.
Should the anonymous complaint system stay or is it time for it to go? Share your thoughts in a Letter to the Editor at letters@villages-news.com
