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Some Villagers believe ditching anonymous complaints could be death of trolls
August 23, 2020

Meta Minton
Residents are reacting to a decision to ditch anonymous complaints when it comes to deed compliance in The Villages.

Last week, Community Development District 5 voted to end the anonymous complaint system that has been a crucial part of deed compliance in The Villages. The CDD 5 board voted 3-2 to stop relying on anonymous complaints, which make up 96 percent of the complaints made to Community Standards.

Lois Philbrick, of the Village of Briar Meadow, a resident of Community Development District 4, approves of the move made by the CDD 5 board.

She said this type of action could help put the “trolls” into permanent retirement.

“Anonymous reporting allows people who do not even live in a neighborhood to send in complaints,” Philbrick said.

She said that rather than having the trolls act as a vigilante force, it’s time for neighbors to start talking to neighbors again. She pointed to cases that have made deed compliance headlines in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.

“Making the lady who put in astro turf remove it when the neighbors haven’t objected and even complimented her on the look it provides is just vindictive. Extending a driveway so a disabled vet can get in and out of his van easier just makes sense and it didn’t detract from anything,” Philbrick said.

Lee Gilpin, of the Village of Liberty Park, who attended last week’s CDD 5 meeting, said the move by the board makes sense.

“As I understand it, the common sense endeavor is intended to eliminate violations being frivolously and anonymously ‘reported’ to the Department of Community Standards,” Gilpin said.

“The party anonymously submitting the report may be exercising a grudge-related issue, or the report may just be a challenge to locate technical but harmless violations of ‘the rules.’ With this action in District 5 I see no likelihood of MORE violations occurring. There are plenty of proud homeowners who would gladly report seriously harmful or dangerous violations,” Gilpin said.

Earlier this year, the Village of Sunset Pointe was rocked when homeowner Thomas Rinker was the target of an anonymous complaint aimed at his landscaping that had been unknowingly placed 15 years earlier in a Sumter County right of way. Rinker’s whole neighborhood came out to support his landscaping, but the CDD 5 board was forced – by the rules – to find him in violation of deed compliance.

If CDD 5’s new rule that a complainant must provide a name is approved in October, the person reporting Rinker’s violation would have been required to provide a name.

Michael Jones, of the Village of St. Charles, fears that CDD 5’s decision could create chaos in neighborhoods.

“By not allowing anonymous reporting of deed restriction violations that would cause undue tension in neighborhoods or worse. This would pit neighbor against neighbor or non-reporting of these infractions,” Jones said.

He is encouraging CDD 5 supervisors to “rethink” the vote and “the repercussions that it could cause.”

The change is not taking effect immediately.

The rule change and actual language will have to be advertised to the public for 28 days. The board will take a final vote in October.