[graciegirl]

The Daily Sun, July31,2012

The Villages

The look of TheVillages' neighborhood landscape could change if Community Development Districts opt to enforce a deed restriction that bans yard signs.

The issue of enforcing the deed restriction came before five CDDs and the Amenity Authority Committee in a joint workshop held Monday at Laurel Manor Recreation Center.

When Villages homeowners purchase their homes, they enter into contractual agreements, as part of deed restrictions, to not place signage outside their homes, according to Valerie Fuchs, attorney for the CDDs.

However, enforcement has been lax in previous years and currently is dealt with only when a complaint is received about a sign, according to District Manager Janet Tutt.

CDD's 1-5 took over enforcement of those deed restrictions, previously agreed to between the homeowner and the developer, after a 2009 change to Florida law made that possible.

A series of recent resident complaints brought the issue to the forefront and started discussion among the CDDs on whether they wanted to prohibit residents from placing signs in yards. CDDs have the option to enforce or not enforce specific deed restrictions, according to Tutt and Fuchs.

The biggest discussion focused on whether "for sale" or "for rent" signs should be allowed for residents wanting to market their properties.

Some supervisors expressed support for banning certain types of signs such as those that are political, commercial or homemade in nature, but allowing real estate signs. Fuchs advised the board and crowd of more than 150 that CDDs could not pick and choose to allow or prohibit, because an attempt to control content could be seen as a violation of the homeowner's First Amendment rights.

Supervisors with the five CDDs and committee members with ACC exprssed views that demonstrated a sharp divide between whether they want to enforce the signage ban.

Those supporting the signage ban said dropping enforcement would deteriorate the overall aesthetic look of the community, and those against enforcement argued that prohibiting was too restrictive for residents trying to market their home.

Audience members who spoke at the meeting also offered differing views, including as many as 30 in the crowd who identified themselves as real estate agents.

There's a separate contractual agreement between homeowners and The Villages developer pertaining to indoor displays, and the developer indicated consent for 12-inch-by-12-inch "for sale" or "for rent" signs that could be displayed in the window of a home, a practice that currently exists for Districts 6-10. The CDDs handle only deed restrictions for outside homes.

Monday's joint workshop was held to allow the district's staff and legal counsel to provide supervisors with background on the issue, as well as discuss it jointly between the six entities.

Each respective board will have the option of taking action on the issue at a later regular meeting.

End of quote from The Daily Sun, July 31, 2012