Too many restrictions? Sort of a moot point. We all knew the score (or should have) when we moved here. If the number was acceptable then, there is no reason it should not be acceptable now.
That is not to say that the system is perfect. It is not. One glaring flaw is the selective enforcement. Two houses next to each other could conceivably have the same violation, but only the one reported will be made to correct it. I suppose there might be--somewhere--a logical explanation as to why this, but I fail to see it.
The second glaring flaw might be summed up in five words: "Its not MY job, man!". I applaud Community Watch and what it does for The Villages, but there's a place in our village about six blocks away from here that has been having an ongoing "garage sale" every day for over three weeks. I know Community Watch has seen it: how I know is that this house is one that my wife and I walk and I've seen a Community Watch vehicle going by the place when we were on our walk. I know it is their goal to patrol all homes daily (each driver has a quota of something like 4,300 homes. "That equates to 18 patrol driver per shift across 90 square miles" (********-****, 3/19/24). It is a safe bet the Community Watch has seen the place anywhere from 15 to 20 times. But repeated mention in The Paper That Shall Remain Nameless indicates that Community Watch does NOT report violations, even though this one could conceivably be seen as a traffic and pedestrian hazard. I also know of (secondhand info, this) a person in another Village who reported a chronically barking dog in his neighborhood to the appropriate in-Village office, only to be told that it would be a law enforcement matter--but when he called law enforcement, he was told that it was a VILLAGES issue! Lots of bucks get passed in The Villages.
Not much bothers me about yard decor, and the taste (or lack thereof) that goes into it. I don't mind the crosses, just like I don't mind the BVM statues, various angels, numerous Buddha statues, the Stars of David, the pentagram (only one spotted), etc. One guy had an interesting Christmas decoration: a depiction of a dead deer with a red nose lying under one of his trees, and another place had a "Christmas" tree in his yard decorated with about 50 empty blue wine bottles. I thought both were pretty funny, actually. But other people might not agree with me, and if they make a report on an issue that is a clear violation, then they should be able to expect action, not just another buck being passed.
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