An anonymous complainer has wreaked havoc in a villa community in The Villages after reporting numerous rock landscaping violations.
Residents of the La Crescenta Villas, who were targeted by the anonymous complainer, spoke out Friday morning before the Community Development District 2 Board of Supervisors meeting at Savannah Center.
The La Crescenta Villas residents now find themselves smack dab in the middle of the growing controversy about rock landscaping, which is not permitted at patio villas throughout The Villages. The rub for the patio villas owners is that rock landscaping is permitted in courtyard villas.
La Crescenta Villas residents lined up at the podium to express their outrage and fears about the shadowy complaints lodged against them. One of the villa residents estimated that each homeowner could face a cost of $2,000 to $3,000 to remove the rock and replace it with sod, as required by the deed restriction. The total tab for all of the rock replacement could be $78,000, according to the resident.
“The neighbors are terrified. Every one of us bought our units in the condition they are in now. Several people have told me they cannot sleep at night. Let these people live in peace. Please,” said La Crescenta Villas resident Steven Kieley. “A lot of these people, their spouse is dead, have to handle this all by themselves.”
Fellow resident Jim Burns said the restriction on rock landscaping runs counter to The Villages’ message on water conservation. He pointed out that sod will require more water than rock.
“We are concerned about water, too. But these are loose stones and water will run between them. We are being told to spend thousands of dollars to waste hundreds of thousands dollars,” Burns said.
The residents’ rock landscaping displays are considered an open violation by Community Standards and the residents could be called before a public hearing as early as next month.
The residents said the culprit behind the complaints was an anonymous complainer.
