Lady Lake commissioner changes vote on SS.
 

Interesting development: “I voted no at the last commission meeting because of the emotion in this place. It was a bad vote and I am not ashamed to admit it,” Freeman said at Monday’s meeting. He said the taxpayers of Lady Lake should not pay for a lawsuit that could potentially cost up to $500,000 “because of an argument with the Morse family.” He said the town, which was sued by The Villages last year, would have little to no chance of prevailing in the lawsuit.

“They have every right to build apartments,” said Freeman, a resident of Water Oak.

:popcorn::popcorn::popcorn:

Waiting for all the "he was bot" posters.

:popcorn::popcorn::popcorn:


:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Hey I can be #1.

Wonder what the cost of changing someones vote is now.

Zoning decisions rarely end with opposing parties both being happy with the results, but typically everyone involved respectfully accepts the process and lives with the decision. Unfortunately, when one party has seemingly unlimited resources and “lawyers up” to force a desired outcome, it completely discredits the whole zoning process. Anyone paying attention saw this coming! It’s very sad when the arbiter between parties disregards the process of following zoning bylaws because of the fear of crippling legal expenses. So much for a system of checks and balances?

Less lawsuits, no brainer. Spanish springs is depressing. Needs a total overhaul

Sad but so true. The developer;s political power grows as this place grows so what he wants he gets.

:boom:

I don't understand. If the developer has every right to build apartments why were they seeking a zoning variance ?

I get confused about this situation. If the developer has every right to add apartments to Spanish Springs why does he need approval from Lady Lake? If he needs approval then it seems that the current zoning regulations do not permit apartments in SS. If that is true then the developer needed to change current zoning regulations in order to add apartments. Why can’t a town vote to not change their zoning even though the developer demands it? The threat of intimidation through a lawsuit should not deter a town from voting for what they and their constituents want. Why is this person changing his vote? Why did he really change his mind?

Payola
 

Someone got paid

So many questions.
You might want to do research if you really want answers.
This ain't the place.
:ho:

This is definitely the place to do research and raise questions. You seem to post on here all the time. You appear to have a definite point of view, favoring Spanish Springs apartments, favoring rebuilding the rotten windmill and water tank in Brownwood, etc., if one didn’t know better, one might assume you work for the interests of the developer.

You've been here longer than I.
This is not the place for research.
This place is 90% opinion, 10% fact.

Like my first post, jus waiting for the "he was bot" posters.........you did not disappoint.

:MOJE_whot:

The Developer Will Always Win….
 

… in this case they bought a Commissioner. In the case of Sumter County, they’re sending two commissioners to prison on a phone baloney felony charge. We might as well lay back and enjoy it.

Spanish Springs is being repurposed from a retail, dining, entertainment venue to neighborhood of rental apartments. The nearest houses being sold by the Developer are over 15 miles away. There is no need to provide entertainment that far away. Brownwood serves that purpose.The limited retail and dining base that survives won’t be able to continue to pay for the nightly entertainment.

Get used to it. The restaurants and retail that will have their parking taken away and will fail and be replaced with apartments. That’s the plan, Spanish Springs will be ‘repurposed’. The Developer will have a neat twist on what’s happening, so buy in, lay back and enjoy it! There’s nothing you can to stop it.

And we can read how great this is for us in the Sun.

When you first posted you new exactly the response and to me it is warranted.

####

I keep hearing this same lament about lack of parking. I drove around there just last week and there is plenty of parking. People might have to walk their lazy butts a 3 or 4 blocks but it is there, just not on the square itself. Just like the other two squares, you have to walk a little way from the parking lot.

The developer is seeking 14 spots to be reserved for the apartment renters on Del Mar, a public street. They can reserve all they want in a parking lot.

Those who voted yes will have a job next year.. those who voted No will be looking for a new line of work. SS needs help, feels little unsettling in the evening, at least for us.
The start of 7 new apartments with 14 possible occupants will not return SS back to early 2000s, but hopefully change will help, a new movement for SS

What real skin does Lady Lake have in Spanish Springs? No investment or owned assets. Perhaps they provide some services for which they are paid. The town centers such as Spanish Springs, Lake Sumter Landing, Brownwood are developer investments. The developer is in a far better place than Lady Lake to know how to manage their assets. As time goes by and stores turn more towards internet sales, existing building assets need to be recycled to new uses. Apartments might bring some new life to the area. Will the Developer make some more money? Hopefully, if it keeps the assets in good shape and vibrant.

Except, they don't have every "right" to build apartments. It's not zoned residential. In order to build apartments they have to get an "exception." They don't have a "right" to an exception. If they have that right, then I'm gonna exercise my "right" to set up a solar-powered pup-tent in one of the public parking spaces on Main Street, and buy a porto-potty for the space next to it for my own personal use, and run my playlist on my boombox at full blast all day long (which I can do, since there's no daytime noise ordinance).

They have taxes as "real skin." Or loss thereof.

That is the problem when people think that "Taxes" are a town's skin. Taxes pay for services given. Real skin is investment. What would we think if the developer boarded up stores that remain vacant for lack of viable occupants. I think we all expect the towns to remain vibrant. Zoning laws can be changed as needs change. Perhaps the Developer is in a better position to evaluate current needs and trends than any of us.

Urban Aging is a problem especially in in a restrictive age community. When first built the people are at some given average age above 55. What interests those people changes over 10, 20, 30 years. Facilities much adapt also. We expect the Developer to accomodate us. Not likely to get much help from Lady Lake other than more embarassing icon images of old ladies, cane carrying icons on the Lady Lake roads.

And how does that change what I said about plenty of parking off the square? If it is truly a public street then I don't believe it is legal for the developer to reserve those spaces for apartment dwellers. Which leads me to believe that the street is private property.

All you whiny people probably would whine about the lawsuit loss and having to pay higher taxes. Town Commissioners should avoid lawsuits that expose their constituents to financial losses.

So they should roll over and let people do anything they want?

On the 90% I think you spelled horse$#!t wrong

What kind of tunes are we talking about on your playlist? Color me curious

So that was the pivotal vote that flipped? Help us out here please / so the damn thing passed now?

Yes, you are right.
BTW, what happened to the hundreds of parking spots that had been used by the former Katie Bells. We’re they torn up and planted with sod?

Sorry number 10, not asking you in particular.:)

Naturally, ray Charles could seen that coming……..:)

All forum’s and posters are opinions.

My biggest concern is that there are only 14. The more townhomes near the town squares the better. It would be great for business and tax revenue.

You folks need to change Commissioners at the first opportunity. His decision to change his vote does not pass any smell test. Fire him.

Not enough votes, most people support progress.

There will be another meeting and vote in June. The vote then will probably be 3-2 in favor of the apartments.

Absolutely... this was inevitable.

Hardly.

Well stated.