Help Needed
 

Anyone know who I should contact about permits. We were here only 3 months in 2012 when we did a large amount of landscaping. Never thought that we needed permits. Now with home owners having to remove things done years ago, we are getting concerned. Can you tell me if we can get a permit retrospectively?

TIA

If the work is already done, you are just asking for trouble to apply for a permit now.

But what happens when we go to sell?

Well, probably nothing will go wrong. Do what you want, but my advice would be to let sleeping dogs lie. But, if you really want to apply for a permit, go to the District office, in the upstairs office next to the Starbucks at the Lake Sumter Landing town square.

Yes. It is possible to get Architectural Review Committee (ARC) approval after installation, if the landscaping meets current guidelines. If it does not meet current guidelines, just be aware if someone complains about it you could be cited with a Community Standards violation. You can obtain an application at Village Community Development Districts under Community Standards menu tab. VCDD Community Standards You will need a copy of your homesite plot to accompany your application, which you can obtain from county property assessor located in the gold domed building on Powell Rd, if you're in Sumter Co.

If your landscaping meets current guidelines, I highly recommend you seek ARC approval to prevent future problems and for peace of mind.

You said extensive landscaping. Is this just about adding/replacing some plants or did you add hardscape like walls? Remove turf for stones?

If the landscaping meets the guidelines, you will have no problem selling the house, and nobody will be able to get you to change it by complaining. So, what would be the point of getting a permit after the installation? There are hundreds of landscaping projects in The Villages where there was no permit, and many of them are not in compliance.

Here are recently adopted rules...I just picked District 7 as an example.
https://districtgov.org/departments/...-ARCManual.pdf
A lot of info at Village Community Development Districts

Whoa. This is really bad advice.

How about this - a person with itegrity would like to make sure they are abiding by the rules.

Why would anyone advise another to just ignore the rules as if it doesn't matter.

So, you would apply for a permit to do work that was already completed 7 years ago, and nobody has complained about it?

And worth every cent he paid for it. I ask few questions here..... what happens when your first 3 answers are 1. YES 2. NO 3. MAYBE ??? :popcorn::popcorn:

Nobody has complained YET!

:coolsmiley: Believe it or not some people like to follow the rules and that would be better than walking on egg shells for the next 7 years.

I would leave well enough alone and keep quiet about it.

This is a potential mine field. If you do nothing and the landscaping is "not approved", you might be held liable by the buyer. If the buyer and their agent are on their toes, they will research all the ARC permits as well as all of the building permits.
There have been a few reports of successful retroactive approvals by ARC.
IMHO, I would fill out the form, cross your fingers and hope whoever you hired was familiar with the "rules". I got stung by a landscaper that did not apply for ARC approval, I found out just as work was getting started, and applied myself. The plans were approved, so we were OK. Had a similar situation where a subcontractor did work without getting the proper electrical permit, found out 18 months later. Building department was very understanding and worked with me to remedy the situation.
Hope this works out for you.