The Villages has dropped its lawsuit over apartments at Spanish Springs as a direct result of the Lady Lake Commission vote Monday night to end its 33-year-old Development of Regional Impact agreement with the town.
A notice of voluntary dismissal was filed in Lake County Court on Tuesday with regard to the lawsuit filed by The Villages. after the commission voted 3-2 in February in opposition to apartments at the square.
The Villages’ attorney Jo Thacker has consistently played down the rescission of the DRI, which dates back to the days of The Villages founder Harold Schwartz. She said DRIs are going away in Florida.
“It’s happening all over the state. It’s just another layer of bureaucracy,” Thacker told commissioners.
Without the DRI, The Villages will now go through the normal zoning procedure in Lady Lake.
Though they voted 5-0 to drop the DRI, some commissioners remain suspicious of The Villages’ apparent quid pro quo.
“This has always sounded fishy to me. Now it’s beginning to stink,” Mayor James Rietz said after the town’s attorney revealed that The Villages was willing to drop the lawsuit if the commission rescinded the DRI.
“I truly believe the Developer is up to no good. So much has been taken away from the residents who helped make The Villages what it is today. Go to Lake Sumter Landing any night and then go to Spanish Springs. One is alive and one is dying,” said Rietz, a resident of the Historic Side of The Villages.
He has long held that apartments at Spanish Springs could be the death knell for The Villages’ original town square.
Villager Jim Cipollone has been an outspoken critic of The Villages’ desire to introduce apartments at Spanish Springs.
He said he fears for the future of Spanish Springs Town Square.
“Is the next move to take Mr. Harold Schwartz’s statue from the town center?” he asked.
