A couple in The Villages cited a neck problem in a request for a circular driveway at their home.
Denise Testai, who lives with her husband Stephen in the home at 3099 Southern Trace in the Village of Polo Ridge, made the request Friday before the Community Development District 3 Board of Supervisors during their meeting at Savannah Center.
She said a circular or extended driveway would make it easier to get in and out of traffic.
Testai pointed to another driveway on Southern Trace where a homeowner was granted permission to keep an extended driveway. That couple bought the home in 2000 with the driveway extension already in place. They did not know it was not permitted. The problem came to light last year when an anonymous complaint was lodged. The couple was allowed to keep the driveway.
Testai said she and her husband should be granted the same privilege.
However, Supervisor Gail Lazenby suggested they were two different requests.
“That driveway had been there for years and years. You are asking for something new,” Lazenby said.
That’s when Testai switched tactics.
Testai said her husband has medical issue with his neck, which makes it hard for him to turn his head. The neck problem makes it difficult for him to navigate out of the driveway on the busy thoroughfare.
Testai was instructed to fill out a form citing her husband’s disability in order for the request to be reviewed.
The Testais were in the news last year after neighbors went before the CDD 3 Board of Supervisors and complained the couple were using their garage as a shop for golf cart repairs and that golf carts were being sold from their driveway. Neighbors said the golf cart “business” was creating a hazard on Southern Trace.
The Developer, who is in charge of internal deed restrictions including running a business out of a home, found that the Testais were not in violation of the deed restriction.