Witch Hunt?
 

Are we discussing a witch hunt? Burning at the cross? Or are we going to bury her like the Pilgrims did - and put rocks on her chest until she admits to being a witch?

What's wrong with this discussion?

Hmmm .... how about the standards committee is allowed to just simply dissipate the conversation?

My goodness people.... should we pause and think?

Too much idle time and an evil attitude
 

Too many people here have too much time on their hands and enjoy irritating others.

Can anyone say shutting down the Life Learning Center??

they don't want to work with others to resolve issues and concerns they just want to cause trouble

If you are in compliance, you have nothing to worry about

Not exactly the same thing but a good point. The reason the enforcement system is complaint driven is to avoid selective enforcement. I know it seems counterintuitive but if they diligently check out every complaint and enforce and violations found, they are not guilty of selective enforcement. The treatment of the complaints is the determining factor. I have no doubt they had very good lawyers advising them on this.

I agree with Graciegirl, sounds like BS

Vote of Thanks
 

We all owe her a vote of thanks for working to maintain the standards of the Villages and being consistent in her observations. Regarding the "Cross's". That is just another form of advertising..e.g. I am a Christian. In reality I am a Christian but I am also against trying to pull people apart but rather we are one community. It's called "UNITY".:ohdear:

I find those that complain about what others are doing when it has no effect on them or anyone else around them, to be pathetic. Rules are NOT laws and are flexible. There should always be exceptions to rules in a FREE country. There is absolutely NO way you can travel about the Villages without seeing many deed restriction violations. I have several neighbors that have ugly properties, in MY opinion but I appreciate their difference instead of taking exception to them. If one wishes a TOTALLY uniform community, then they should live on a military base. I wonder just how truthful some of you are being with us or to yourselves regarding these so-called rules. I am sure that NO one on here has violated the speed laws on the highway by speeding up to ten mph over the speed limit to pass someone going the speed limit. Of course, I am sure there will be those that will deny this and have NEVER, EVER violated a traffic LAW. I am within 30 years or less of leaving this great world and think it is silly for someone to worry about what someone else's property looks like. Those that do not like something that someone else is doing, seem to feel that it is their obligation to report any infraction of rules and if not a rule to make sure to out that person for being different. You do not have to be a Christian to be Christian-like. I bet there are some on here that are offended when someone eats their fries with their fingers instead of a fork. I bet there are some women that do not like the length of another's skirt or the shade of ones lipstick or fingernail polish.
Rules seem to be rules until you do not agree with them. Funny how some on here insist that if you allow anyone to get away with the simplest violation, then it will encourage millions of other violations. Has anyone ever thought about how we could do away with judges for administering penalties for lawlessness, if we just went strictly by legal statute? If the penalty for shoplifting is 180 days in jail then EVERY child the steals a candybar would get six months in jail, etc. Are we accomplices if we do not report our neighbor's violations? Will we have chaos if we allow our neighbor to have a gnome in their flower garden? Sorry, but it is hard for me to imagine some folks worrying about a lawn ornament violation and then admit that they totally accept the influx of illegal aliens crossing our borders, and feel sorry for them to boot.
Reading some of these comments, one must wonder how a senior with shaking hands is perceived when they might drop their food trying to get it in their mouths, or when they eat without closing their mouths. I bet some are very disturbed when they see someone exiting the ladies room with their dress tucked into the rear of their panties.
I pity the trouble makers, not encourage them. Yes, we have rules for a reason. But, there are many rules that I do not always agree with or can be flexible with when dealing with my neighbors. What sold me on The Villages was not the beauty of the homes, but the beauty of the people I first met here. It has been a while since I have run into the outwardly friendly folks that I met all over this place when I first moved here. Maybe they do not frequent this community blog?

Restrictions exist for a reason. To keep all the crap out of yards! Go up to the north side of the villages and look at some of the yards and ask yourself if you really want your neighbors yards to look like this. If she has reported legitimate violations then more power to her. Peoples yards can really become extremely unsightly if not policed.

This would have made for a great episode on Seinfeld for Jerry's parents and the Costanzas.

Byte1 -
"Rules are NOT laws and are flexible." - Since when and by whose authority?
"Rules seem to be rules until you do not agree with them." - Or someone claims them to be 'flexible'?
"Yes, we have rules for a reason. But, there are many rules that I do not always agree with or can be flexible with when dealing with my neighbors. " - Because you can be flexible with them means that the Authority that established the rules must be flexible with the rules they set? Why would the Authority not declare up front that their rules are flexible or that their rules are only guidelines?

And in this case - no one is dealing with a rule or a guideline! The issue is one of deed restrictions - isn't a deed a legal document?
"Deed restrictions are private agreements that restrict the use of the real estate in some way, and are listed in the deed. The seller may add a restriction to the title of the property. Often, developers restrict the parcels of property in a development to maintain a certain amount of uniformity. A deed restriction is a clause in a deed that limits the use of land. However, restrictions that are against public policy are unenforceable, such as those that prohibit people of certain ethnic groups from using a property. Deed restrictions placed within a deed control the use of the property. The restrictions travel with the deed, and cannot generally be removed by new owners."
Deed Restrictions Law and Legal Definition | USLegal, Inc.

Not dealing with a rule!

Too bad, if this is true, it defies the "America's friendliest hometown" slogan. I should think the person who complained about others' yards would try to keep their own side of the street clean...their own yard, their own shrubs, their own home--and perhaps devote their efforts to improving the gardening in their own environs and neighborhood. That would present so much for them to do each day, that they wouldn't have time to complain about others! What a shame!

I did as you suggested and went up to the "north side of the villages." They must have changed their ways since you were there, or maybe some are just more easily offended by what others do with their OWN property. I assume that "extremely unsightly" is in the eyes of the beholder. Perhaps, I just have enough flaws of my own, that I don't notice others blemishes. Like I said above, those "friendly" folks of the Villages, must not frequent this forum. Or maybe I just have too many of my own faults that I do not notice those minute faults of others. Guess I am not the one to be the first to cast the first stone. Or maybe I just do not concern myself with my neighbors' business when they are not harming others. I am sure that some may find these minor infractions to be a major concern and worthy of the maximum enforcement, but I find it refreshing when I can see interesting imagination of someone's artistic endeavors. I apologize (actually I don't) for not conforming to the PC climate of this discussion. Just stating my opinion.
I pity those that ride around reporting infractions of the rules. I sincerely hope that something good happens in their lives to make them less miserable.

As far as I know, I am in full compliance with all deed restrictions. If I am not, I want to know about it and I will fix it. In fact, if a neighbor doesn't like something I am doing, I will probably fix it anyway, even if it is in compliance. I may need a ride someday.

I always enjoy these conversations.

Many say everyone signed to agree to the restrictions but that is not true. After give our non refundable deposit they were just handed to us and that was that.

The deed restrictions are very vague and left to interpretation.

Every district has different restrictions, one of ours is no satellite dishes but many have them.

Mine does say no “lawn” ornaments. My front yard is 100% “yard” but only 50% “lawn” or grass which is another word for lawn. This tells me I have no restrictions among the bushes and mulch.

I agree that those turning people in have an axe to grind against someone and will keep doing it until everyone is handled.

It would be funny to flock them with pink flamingos but I feel it could be dangerous if this person was found out.

If you have a deed restriction that says no satellite dishes, then you can pretty much ignore it. There is a Federal law that prohibits that type of deed restriction.