[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Jazuela

What is an ARC? Is that the same thing as the thing I downloaded from the villages.net page? That was only 14 pages, and dated back to 1998. I picked a random property in Sumter Village, and in Spanish Springs, to see if there were any significant differences. There weren't.

The closest thing to a 'restrictive covenant' I've ever personally experienced has been condo association bylaws. They weren't all that restrictive, because there wasn't all that much to restrict. You owned whatever was inside your own walls, and the rest was community property. If you dug up the front garden to personalize it, you were required to maintain it til you moved out. If you left it alone, the condo association maintained it however they saw fit. There were no property lines to worry about fencing or shrubbery, since they were 32 8-unit buildings spread out through an old horse farm.

The condo association took care of all the landscaping, plowing, pesticide, shoveling, sidewalks, termite control, signage, etc. etc. That's what we paid them for.

In TV, you're paying for all of that beyond your property line, and you're required to cover the cost of everything within your property line. But you're not allowed to do anything within your property line that doesn't violate actual law. You're only allowed to do those very limited things they say you're allowed to do - and in fact, you're REQUIRED to do them, at your own expense.

So if you don't like expansive lawns, you're either stuck with them whether you like it or not, or you're welcome to live elsewhere. And - if you choose to live there, you're required to bear the financial burden of maintaining that lawn that you really don't want in the first place, or risk the ire of neighbors and fines and leins against your property.

I get that people want something pretty to look at, and some measure of conformity. I like some measure of conformity as well. I like knowing that the homes and properties are in good condition, the shrubbery isn't left to grow wild, the edging along the sidewalk is neat and tidy. I also get the idea of no tacky pink flamingos and polka-dotted awnings over a toolshed in the middle of the front yard.

But I also like the idea that it's okay to have a touch of whimsy here, a dab of color there, something that makes your property not exactly like the one next to it. I want to be able to tell friends who visit, "it's the one with the mailbox that has a little rock garden at the base of it with a morning glory vine growing up the shaft." Or "the house with the pavers that zig-zag from the front step to the end of the driveway, with rosemary shrubs on either end." Something to distinguish it, that doesn't take away from the overall "look" of the neighborhood.

ARC is the Architectural Review Committee. They are the ones that grant permission for any ornamentation that is not under the eaves of your home or any addition. Non compliance results in fines. There is much more leeway in allowing yard art in the historic section on the other side (northeast) of 441/27. The area north of 466 to the west(around Buena Vista) is stricter than the area north of 466 on the east (around Morse) South of 466 is full compliance and not a lot of room to interpret little paths etc. It sort of got stricter as it grew, The Villages. Personally I like deed restrictions because not every one can agree on what is beauty.

I think the whole place is absolutely beautiful and I hope you get all this resolved and enjoy living here too.