One other thought that maybe people may not want to address: is the reporter of the statue a homophobe? That was my first thought. I see lots of violations in my neighborhood regarding yard maintenance, house painting, etc. and I seem to be the only one to have a problem with a red and green enamel painted house with a disgusting lanai and yard....Yes, I agree with others about the restrictions of the CDD and support those restrictions but I truly think this complaint goes well beyond this. Just my humble opinion.

Sorry! I'm one of those Presbyterians. We don't confess... we're already saved!

He should take down the statue and go buy the nastiest looking car (that runs) and park it in his drive or in front of his house! Let the neighbors look at that for a year. Some people actually look for things to complain about~

By no means are my comments directed at any religious group. I, myself, am a non practicing Catholic who disagrees with some of the beliefs of the Catholic church, but believe that people should be able to live the lifestyle they chose whether I agree with it or not. Unfortunately, I think the person who reported this was more offended with the "couple" than the statue. Again, just my humble opinion.

Water Feature
 

If it had been a statue of Harold Schwartz the complaint might not have been sustained.


Note that the Schwartz statue in the link your provided is part of a "water feature."

I would have it installed in the garage with very prominent/focused lighting and very frequently (most of the time) forget to put the door down!!!

AND invite neighbors over for evening prayers ???? :)

Go to VCDD Community Standards

and look at the fines for your CDD.

Z

Here, north of 466, we can have our statuary on the lawn with no issue.

I am very glad there is no problem with my entire flock of pink flamingos all hoisting an ice-cold Yeungling to St. Francis. :D

Very good. There is a house near us with a cannon in the front yard. I don't know if it's preemptive move on his part or what.:22yikes:

Is it pointed at some pink flamingoes?

That's a long shot from Tamarind Grove to Buggy!

I'm not sure but the next time I pass by with the cart I'll stop and see where it's aimed. If he comes out to ask what I'm doing I'll ask him how it set him back because i'd to have a couple. Great lawn ornament.:D

Folks, if you don't like something like the red and green house for instance then you need to file a complaint with Community Watch or Community Standards. Community Watch will not take it upon itself to file a complaint. So I'm sure you will see violations but unless reported there is nothing that's going to happen.

Ummmm that would be NO. :)

Better a cannon than a statue of the Brussels urinating fountain boy.chilout

St. Francis must be careful, the hate patrol is out there!

I think one should read between the lines.......I pass many many homes south of 466 and none of them have been turned in for this:police: horrific violation!

:agree: I think you hit the nail on the head! One of the partners said he thought he knew who it was and that the person lived 3 miles away. So the person drove all the way over there just to take that picture & start trouble. They said they have lived there for 7 years so apparently the neighbors are OK with the statue unless there are some new neighbors.

On Odell Circle, a house right across from the Amelia pool complex used to have a Virgin Mary in the backyard (facing the street.) The homeowners had landscape rock & a border around it and I enjoyed seeing it. It was up for a little while and then suddenly gone. This was several years ago. Poor Virgin Mary.

Personally, I think they need to add NO PLASTIC FLOWERS ALLOWED! to the deed restrictions.

Thank you Steven for the link.

If plastic flowers make someone happy and "they" think it looks good......why does anyone else care? I understand all of these "rules" that we agreed to when we moved here, but really, what difference does it really make in the end? I don't believe that statues, flamingos or plastic flowers will affect anyone's property value. Anyone who calls and complains about such petty things, needs to find a hobby and get a life.

The travesty of this whole thing is that couple who are complaining are blaming the wrong person for reporting this. The gentleman they named on facebook and in the news works for the community Stds dept and was just doing his job responding to a complaint. Pictures are taken when a deed compliance infraction occurs. They unjustly went after the gentleman without checking any facts and were just looking for someone to blame for their own error. If they have a problem they should contest it with the District 7 board not the hard working folks of this community.

I am glad that's clear. The simplest explanation often is the right one. They violated the deed restriction and that's all that happened.

I agree, if it quacks like a duck etc etc. Call it HOA or Amenities, it's basically the same thing.

What is the Facebook site?

:024::wave:We live in the Marion County Portion of the Villages... Chatham... In this portion of the Villages, there are no lawn ornaments allowed (thank you Jesus) However, if it's on your porch or under the eaves of the house, it is allowed... Anything else must be part of the landscaping such as flowering pots...
I really like this restriction... if you wonder why, just drive through some of the older sections where this is NOT a restriction... You could be living next door to Pee-Wee Herman!!!
I don't believe this has anything to do with the "Virgin Mary" or any religious innuendo... It's a restriction for The Villages and I am very happy with it... Even when they told me I had to remove my very nice Wooden Lighthouse from my front flower bed...:wave:

Bet it is there to keep dogs off the lawn! ;)

But that's why you bought where you bought and the folks in the old section bought where they did. Is it really necessary to refer negatively to the older section? They like it the way it is.....and you like it another way...(doesn't make there way wrong)....just drive around your neighborhood and look for violations, report them and all will be good......:oops:

Hoa
 

I live in The Villas Of Spanish Springs. We have a HOA as does Lagos and Sonoma.

This whole non-story gets me annoyed. The media stink and cause more problems than they are worth (except the Weather Channel lol)

"Controversy brewing?" Don't think so. BS controversy "brewed up by us" would be more truthful. Loaded with buzz words like "priest" "partner" BVM statue. Come on people.

Who called the station? Who went after the 3 mile away guy? I saw some usage here of the word 'homophobe.' Apart from the fact that that word makes no sense from its true roots, this is not a story about homosexuals being targeted. This is about deed restrictions - the same ones for all people. Posters here have already proven that.

It's not about religious statues, ex-priests, 'partners' and there's no controversy. We all chose to live under deed restrictions in the Villages we picked. I hope this false and sickening media nonsense stops and with it the 'poor victim' routine. Get out of the spotlight, please.

Well said. As usual.

Amen to what Gracie and Onslowe said!! Then add this to the social media and we've got a debate going! Hope the administrator closes the thread!

Was your HOA formed for the purpose of making sure that everyone paid for their share of the "wall"?

Consequences
 

There are rules and when a person buys in The Village's they sign and agree to deed restrictions. I have no sympthy when somone decides they can just ignore their agreement/commitment and put others in the terrible position of
calling them on their actions. Saying it is a retired Priest is just a way of saying that because of his religion and position he/she can violate the rules. It was not meant for them. WRONG. The rules are for all. I would hold the same position if it was a Methodist Minister or any other person who relies on thier position as an excuse to ignore rules. It is annoying to see some actually have this sense of entitlement.

If this is the case, I agree with you. The deed restrictions are part of the fabric here. We've all lived elsewhere and selected TV for what it is as opposed to how things were where we were. We love that fine line that has somehow been maintained where everyone has some measure of freedom but lives within an agreed upon set of constraints. We love to just look around where everything is attractive and well kept but not all identical.

Benefit of the Doubt
 

Not to excuse a violation of deed restrictions, but I believe that all too often the actual restrictions go unread. People have a tendency to go by anecdotal interpretations.

As an example: if you had not read the actual deed restrictions, would you have thought that a non-descript 2-foot tall religious statue would be considered a lawn ornament? I would not have. However, the deed restrictions, at least in my CDD clearly include religious figures under the category of prohibited lawn ornaments.

I suspect that the original notification could have been handled better. Then a line in the sand was drawn. Embarrassment experienced. Push-back. Then publicity.

The news reporter performed zero due diligence evidenced by the fact that he kept referring to a HOA rule, which in this instance did not exist. If the reporter had spent ten more minutes, he would have read the deed restriction and fully understood that there was no "religious" aspect to this incident. That little fact could have been part of the interview.

Consequently, two wrongs were involved. First, the homeowner obviously did not read the deed restrictions. Second, the reporter, who could have reported the dispute by representing "both" sides of the story,

However, I did learn something new out of all of this. There actually are small, limited purpose HOAs within the CDDs.

yawn. not at you indy, just the whole mess of us people.

America, America, God shed his grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.

America, America, God shed his grace on thee
and crown thy good
with brotherhood,
rife with sibling rivalry
from sea to shining sea
:icon_twisted:

Bravo! Maybe the guy, in the Village of Santo Domingo, will salute you with the canon he has in his front yard.

Indy - go here :
Village Community Development Districts
and then click on Spanish Springs Villas [pts 1 and 2], Vista Lago and Vista Sonoma and you can read all about the reasons for same to your hearts content - goes waaaayyy beyond your question!