The chairman of the Lady Lake Planning and Zoning Board chairman has stepped down after a commissioner called for his removal.
William Sigurdson, an 88-year-old Water Oak resident, was harshly criticized late last year by Lady Lake Commissioner Paul Hannan. He called for Sigurdson’s removal after a meeting in which a large group of residents spoke out against the planned development of 144 homes on 31 acres of land located three-quarters of a mile east of the intersection of Edwards Road and U.S. Hwy. 27/441.
Sigurdson has resigned and on Monday night, Lady Lake commissioners appointed a replacement to fill his seat.
Commissioners appointed Robert Galloway, an 82-year-old resident of Water Oak, to fill Sigurdson’s seat on the planning and zoning board. Galloway moved to Lady Lake eight years ago and previously owned a printing company in Northern Virginia. While in Virginia, he was named the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce Retailer of the Year and saluted as the Rotarian of the Year, among numerous other honors.
While Galloway will serve on the planning and zoning board, he is not inheriting the chairman’s gavel from Sigurdson. Planning and Zoning Board member Ed Regan, a resident of The Villages, has been chairing the meetings since Sigurdson’s absence in December and later resignation.
The Edwards Road issue, which inspired criticism of Sigurdson’s leadership of the board, is expected to come back before Lady Lake officials in March. The rural residents fighting against the development have indicated they have no intention of backing down in their opposition to the project which they contend will forever upend their rural way of life.
