Communication with our neighbors is key to staying happy in the friendliest home town. Reporting them would not be the way I would go. Instead I would attempt to contact them
and assume that they are not aware of the situation. Kindness is key above all else to having a good relationship

We still have a neighbor who would never give any of us his contact info.
He said, "my wife's sister looks in from time to time."

We said, 'well, if your house gets struck by lightening, or other things of equal or lesser emergence, how will 'she' know?

He shrugged.

Baaaaad Neighbor, who NEVER does anything beyond mandatory mowing.
Absolutely NOTHING to maintain the trees, shrubs and beds.
Hope he "stays" in Michigan because he doesn't do a thing when he's here either.
There's always A FEW!

That answer may not be accurate but it is diplomatic. I am a huge fan of diplomacy.

Not necessarily on weed pulling. A lot of landscapers do not include that. There are also the ones that bill for it but don't do the job they bill for and snowbirds trustingly pay.

Weeds are a problem when the seeds blow with the wind and one pays to keep up with them while others may careless so no it's not a insignificant "welcome to FL" moment. Same with landscaping bug treatments.

I would contact the neighbor and let them know its not being done. Then go from there as far as filing a complaint if the weeds continue. I do know that Community Standards doesn't do much unless the yard is over the top unsightly.

Well then, you know it's true. Because the govt is always honest and Monsanto doesn't ever hire lobbyists.

You can believe the Government or you can believe a group of lawyers who convinced 12 gullible jurors that Round-up causes cancer.

Now that's a tough choice. Is neither an option?

YES, this is exactly my present case. Our mower walked away and hasn't come back for whatever reason I have no idea. We thought we had this all worked out before we left. People complain about short staffing in restaurants and big box stores, etc.. Well I can tell you for a fact that finding someone to SHOW UP and cut your grass (as a snowbird, particularly) is next to impossible from 1000 miles away. Did I mention weeds; no one wants to pull weeds. I have made countless phone calls of late. Some promise to show up but never do and the process begins anew ad infinitum - very frustratng and exhausting.

My point is, assuming your neighbor is remiss is an assumption that may be unwarranted. A neighborly phone call/text/email would be in order, upon the assumption that they may be unaware. :shrug:

Incidentally, if you or anyone has any suggestions for mowing in Tall Trees, I'm all ears ... thanks

FredF

I agree with this post and I would like to throw a slightly different light on this weed situation. It was stated that they have a lawn service and some have noted that the lawn services can sometimes be less than professional. What I would add is that since these folks have just arrived from Ohio that they may be thinking about GRASS in terms of northern grass which is a different variety than Florida grass.In the summer Florida has many more weed seeds flying around in the air than in Ohio. And weeds here in the villages gets spread by the professional grass cutters themselves. They are NOT going to stop and wash off their lawnmowers blades and undercarriage EACH time between different lawn customers. So THEY also spread WEED seeds. In Ohio, likely most of their neighbors did not leave on vacation for a half of each year. And many were probably younger and cut their own grass. Florida summer heat and RAIN are more the problem than INCONSIDERATE NEIGHBORS. When people move to any NEW location they need to leave some of their former judgments (like summer lawn quality) back at their old location.

There are also propane flame weed killers for those that worry about Round-Up. Burn up those little rascals!

I'm trying the flame thrower approach with mixed results

personally, I would not want unauthorized neighbors TRESPASSING on my property. Just being well intentioned should NOT justify trespassing. Maybe they don't appreciate spraying on THEIR yard.

Thats OK as long as you have their PERMISSION.

Common sense is a better guide than the rules. Weeds should not be discernable from the frequently mowed lawn.

We drove by a couple of houses close to each other a week ago and the houses quite frankly looked abandoned because how bad the yard had grown with weeds. The front doors even had multiple business cards (I assume for lawn care) stuck in the door. If this was the house next to me I could feel your pain. Take a picture and send it to the neighbor and ask? Heck for all you know the lawn care guy is charging them for weekly when they only mow just before they arrive back from the north, LOL

OP, I would suggest that you download and read your deed restriction document from the website, "districtgov.org". Here is what mine says about weeds:

"Maintenance of landscaping shall further mean the exercise of generally accepted garden-management practices necessary to promote a healthy, weed-free environment for optimum plant growth".

Obviously, this is very subjective and common sense is not sufficient to ensure the agreement of everyone. That is why I would suggest getting an opinion from the Community Standards office as to whether your neighbor is in compliance with their standards. That is their job. You don't need to "turn them in" but it will at least give you an official opinion when you discuss the issue with the neighbor.

Doesn’t “getting an opinion” begin the “turning them in” process?
I don’t think Community Standards just drives around giving opinions…….they respond to complaints.

Good neighbors are great things to have, we lucked out and are surrounded by a great group of folks. They keep an eye on things while you're gone and let you know so it doesn't get out of hand. I'm confident I could ask anyone of them and I'd get assistance and that goes the other way as well.

In my opinion one of the best things about this place.

Watchers
 

That got me wondering about the Community Watch cars we see going by pretty regularly. Still relatively new here so read up on what all they do. No mention of taking notice of such things. Are they discouraged from bringing up such things? Interesting thread. Drove by a perfectly manicured lawn yesterday with a surprisingly tall and thick stand of weeds amongst the shrubbery. Now having to ponder the continuum between that and an abandoned property. . . :-)

While on the subject, I'll take the opportunity to speak highly of "Terrence" - an independant lawn guy I've gotten to know a bit in our neighborhood. I *think* his company is Outdoor Maintenance. No website. The type of person that you like to see succeed. I believe his number is 352-303-6127. Hope it's OK to post that here.

According to Community Standards, they would be glad to provide an opinion based on a photo as to whether the neighbor is violating their deed restriction. It would NOT initiate a complaint. To me, this would be valuable information to have before discussing the issue with the neighbor.

Knock me over with a feather, look who’s promoting the use of a fossil fuel?

My neighbor goes away for awhile, a couple of times every year. She and I are on good terms, and she asked if I could just keep an eye on the house while she's away. Our neighborhood is a "I have a key" kind of neighborhood. If there's a lightning storm that shorts out the power, I can go into her house and make sure everything's working and the AC doesn't need to be reset. When she's gone, I do the weeding for her. Her lawn guy doesn't go into the flower beds, he only mows the lawn. Hubby and I keep her shrubs trimmed and even, I weed, and she usually pays us (we never told her we expected any money but she offers, so we gratefully accept whatever she puts in the envelope). When she gets back she usually does that stuff herself.

So my suggestion isn't merely to inform your neighbor that their weeds are high - it's to offer to clear up the weeds for them. And maybe your neighbor will buy you dinner to thank you for it, or even pay you for your time and service.

⭐️
So much better than calling community standards.

I’m one of the few on here that doesn’t subscribe to anonymous reporting.....which is not only encouraged by Community Standards, but also a lot of the old guard here in TV. So my advice is simple. Attempt to reach out to your new neighbors and give them the benefit and courtesy of making them aware of the situation. Start your residency off right and avoid the drama!

For 17 years, the complaints have been ongoing. If the complaint is filed within the neighborhood I am good with it. Truthfully if I am in the wrong because I either interpret or missed a restriction then, it should be brought up. Three of our homes were submitted, all were within compliance.

I have watched some try to be nice to someone in the neighborhood, and let them know that new landscaping needs ARC, and just file after the fact.

Sometimes it goes well, but mostly it doesn’t. We had the nicest widow 4 houses down, who removed all her landscaping because it was too much trouble. Next door neighbors offered to replace and help her maintain, she started calling late at night, sending ugly mail, and basically became a not so nice person to those who were only try to help. When weekly driveway parties, happened we had authorities show up. It wasn’t easy to live there and like us moved. At least if it was anonymous it might have been easier.