Rural residents battling a housing development want a commissioner barred from voting on its proposed annexation.
Residents living on small farms on Edwards Road won a round Monday night when the Lady Lake Planning & Zoning Board on a 3-1 vote rejected an annexation request from Nitai Capital Partners for the construction of 122 densely-packed homes, each with a $300,000 price point. The planning and zoning board’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Lady Lake Commission. However, the planning and zoning board serves in an advisory capacity and the commission is not bound by its decision.
Opponents of the housing development fear that the houses, people, noise and traffic will upset their rural way of life. They argue that Nitai Capital Partners purchased the agricultural-zoned land and knew what they were getting, but now want to “change the rules” and drop a housing development in their backyards. Part of Nitai Capital Partners’ request is to rezone the property from agricultural to residential.
Monday night’s meeting was attended by Commissioner Paul Hannan. Although he did not speak from the podium, Edwards Road residents were alarmed at what they witnessed from the 87-year-old commissioner, who was first elected in 2004.
“Mr. Hannan’s public statements documented in Villages-News.com and his disposition tonight lead us to believe we will not have a fair and impartial hearing or vote on this manner. He was not only observed coming with the developer of the proposed project to the planning and zoning board tonight, he was observed sitting at the back of the room with the developer, their attorney and experts. Finally he was also observed in obvious meetings/huddles outside the building after the meeting concluded by a multitude of residents with the developer, planners, attorney and the developer’s experts before and after the meeting concluded,” Edwards Road residents wrote in an open letter to the commission.
They said they do not believe Hannan can be objective in an upcoming vote.
“We are also formally asking for an investigation into this matter as his behavior tonight was viewed as a blatant violation of public trust and potentially a violation of his oath of office, Chapter 350.05, PART III, Code of ethics for public officers and employees of the Florida State Statue,” they wrote in the letter.