Officials split 2-1 on an off-color shingle showdown in The Villages, angering neighbors who have insisted for months that the courtyard villa must be re-roofed.
The home in question is located at 1135 Santa Cruz Drive in the San Leandro Villas.
It was purchased by Irene Lowney in 2005 and upon her death in 2015, it was deeded over to her husband William Charles Lowney. He died this past December. The home is currently for sale and listed at $289,900. The price has already been cut by $10,000.
Earlier this year, Community Development District 2 was among a handful of older CDDs which agreed to relax its rules on shingle colors in villas due to manufacturers no longer offering the exact shingle color used at the time of the homes’ original construction.
The rule change allowed the 1135 Santa Cruz Drive roof to be re-shingled with a shingle that was determined to be “within the hue range,” although not the exact color. An application for the shingles was submitted to the Architectural Review Committee and it was approved.
For months, neighbors have been protesting the shingle color and demanding the home be re-roofed to match the other homes in the villa community.
During a public hearing Friday at Savannah Center, the CDD 2 board, which had two members absent, voted 2-1 to stand by the ARC’s original approval.
“We should support the ARC’s decision,” said Supervisor Jim Cipollone.
He and Supervisor Jim Conti voted to uphold the ARC’s decision and to allow the roof to remain.
Supervisor Tom Swiers voted against the recommendation, siding with the neighbors who objected to the slightly off-color shingles.
“This roof stands out like a sore thumb,” Swiers said.
The band of neighbors from the San Leandro Villas stormed out of the meeting, with one of the neighbors repeatedly, muttering, “Unbelievable. Unbelievable.”