When pickleball gets too loud and boisterous near your home in the Villages of Southern Oaks, who are you gonna call?

Apparently not the city of Wildwood.

Earlier this year, 140 residents near the Saluki Recreation Center pickleball courts on Marsh Bend Trail signed a petition asking for steps to reduce the noise.

They discovered that the Villages of Southern Oaks apparently is exempt from Wildwood’s noise ordinance, resulting from an amendment approved last year to the Developer’s agreement.

Tuba Gokcek said she moved to The Villages last year from California after a career working with local news stations.

“While I have seen many unusual dynamics between public and private interests over the years, I have never encountered circumstances quite like these,” she wrote in an email.

Residents have reached out to the community development district, Sumter County and local political leaders to no avail.

A complaint was filed with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office last October, but residents say a request for an evaluation was denied based on the fact that it was non-criminal during daytime hours.

Wildwood’s code compliance officer conducted an unscheduled site inspection, but residents say she did not take noise measurements.

Gokcek said residents asked City Manager Jason McHugh to place the matter on a commission agenda, but city attorneys advised against it.

She alleged that the noise ordinance exemption was adopted without adequate notice and that Wildwood’s actions may violate Florida statutes.

Asked about the noise issue, McHugh wrote that the city attorneys were handling it.

City attorneys Ashley Hunt and Joshua Bills did not respond to emails asking them to point out any inaccuracies in Gokcek’s allegations.

Residents also compiled a 45-page report on the relationship between Wildwood and The Villages titled “From Non-Transparency to Non-Enforcement.” The Villages of Southern Oaks (VOSO) – Statutory Issues – Google Drive

“The broader story concerns how the actions of a major developer and a small municipality are affecting residents’ lives,” Gokcek wrote.