Residents of The Villages fought this year for fences to protect them from the intrusion of outside growth.
Peter and Nancy Blackmore of the Village of Caroline erected a stockade fence more than a decade ago on The Villages’ eastern front. Their home backs up to Cherry Lake Road. At first, they hoped to block out noise from traffic. They added “K-9 on Duty,” signs to deter potential foot traffic from wandering in from the increasingly busy roadway. Now the massive Hammock Oaks development across Cherry Lake Road will soon be home to thousands of new Lady Lake residents.
In 2013, the Blackmores believed they had a right to erect the fence as The Villages had essentially surrendered the responsibility of maintaining that particular fence to the residents.
About a year ago, a resident of the Village of Polo Ridge, which is in Community Development District 3, lodged a complaint about the fence. The Blackmores’ fence has been found in violation of the deed restriction.
Meanwhile, the Amenity Authority Committee struggled with a request for a new fence from residents on Griffin Avenue on the Historic Side of The Villages. Those residents said they are concerned about looming construction of multi-story apartment buildings nearby and ever-increasing traffic. The AAC tabled the issue and challenged the residents to pursue a petition process to prove that all of the residents have a desire for the fence.
