It appears officials in The Villages are ready to make a change after last year’s costly little white cross fiasco.
Community Development District 8 officials this past November agreed to settle a lawsuit against Village of Tamarind Grove resident Wayne Anderson, awarding him $70,000.
The battle began in 2019 after an anonymous complaint was lodged about the little white cross on display in his yard. Anderson claimed he was the victim of selective enforcement as other neighbors had little white crosses, but their crosses had not been reported as violations.
Anderson refused to remove his little white cross and waged a court battle with CDD 8 for more than five years. CDD 8 maintained the little white cross was a yard ornament and therefore in violation of the deed restriction. The board agreed to the $70,000 settlement on the advice of its insurance company. The CDD 8 board also incurred $173,000 in legal fees in its battle with Anderson.
In a meeting this week, the CDD 8 Board of Supervisors, which now includes Anderson, who ran for and was elected to a seat on the board, agreed to hold an upcoming public hearing to listen to residents’ comments about changing the anonymous complaint policy.
The board heard from Community Development District 5 Board Chairman Gary Kadow about his board’s decision to stop accepting anonymous complaints. The CDD 5 board took the bold step of changing its policy to require complainants to provide their names when lodging a deed compliance complaint with Community Standards. Kadow said the change has been a success. Many other CDDs in The Villages have followed suit.
After listening to public comment at the March board meeting, the CDD 8 board will make a decision in April as to whether to continue with the anonymous complaint system.
Do you stand by the anonymous complaint system or do you think complainants should have to provide their names when making contacting Community Standards? Share your thoughts at [email protected]