I don't understand. Someone showed you the emails? what do you mean by this? Complaints are anonymous. Who told you there were 97 emails from the same person? please explain.

Complaintants
 

They have been to our section of Buttonwood

this kind of vengeful power play crap is exactly why the villages needs to step up and enforce their own rules THAT THEY WROTE and then refused to enforce unless somebody complained. they're basically making us the watchdogs' and we have no training. you made the rules, t v. enforce them yourselves!!

what part of tamarind grove?

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Has the enforcer filed charges against seat savers in the squares yet?

Many of us were Having an informative discussion when this poster decided he/she would call out three of us for having been burned for the same infraction. I responded I didn't appreciate the accusation. He/she decided to then send nasty gram PMs. It's too bad some have to spoil it for the rest. One bad apple.

I was just on the district.org website .Nowhere is there a way to see these emails.

You're absolutely right!

If you have rules then enforce them.

I can't imagine filing a complaint, but I also don't have neighbors
whose yards look crazy.

Just playing devil’s advocate!

Maybe this person was hit with a violation for some stupid thing like having a small stick American flag in a flower pot and sent in the 97 other violations to prove that a lot of people are violating this no lawn ornament deed restriction. As I drive around getting acquainted with TV, I see hundreds of lawn ornaments.

My example of the flag was a real example in a condo in Florida where the war veteran homeowner refused to remove it from his front porch and was fined $100 for each day until the fine totaled the max allowed by law of $1,000.

I second this opinion!!!
We moved here BECAUSE OF THE RESTRICTION !

I will NOT post their name or email address, TOV would stop the thread and take it down, ANYONE can see the email and the complaints if they call the Deed Compliance and request a copy of the email about the issues in Tamarind Grove.

The "deed compliance" process is totally complaint driven. No violation is acted upon unless/until someone files a complaint. And yes, complaints may be filed anonymously. Some are, some aren't.

It would seem there are two simple fixes to this.

The first would be for those 97 homeowners (and all others) to read and follow the rules (this presumes there are actually 'deed restriction violations' involved - not a proven fact yet).

The second would be to change the rules to reflect the desires of homeowners in a particular area (a Village Community Development District) to allow lawn ornaments or whatever. Go to your district board of supervisors to get this done.

Thank You, you are correct on both points, I will be going to the district board meeting. I am not disagreeing with the fact that there were, are some violations, but a person flooding the office with 97 different complaints! The deed compliance office is afraid this will snowball.

Along with the junk golf carts piled around several of those "homes"...:jester:

I have never agreed with Deed Compliance being complaint driven. I am retired and did not move here to police my neighborhood. Neighborhood Watch used to see a violation and leave a note on the person's door. Most of the time compliance was pretty quick. When it became complaint driven, things have gone downhill. Also, there is some procedure followed when dealing with a violation - don't know the exact details - but it involves so many warning letters and it's probably 30 to 45 days before the person has to comply. That is not effective. Don't understand why Neighborhood Watch cannot do this anymore. It seemed to work then.

why keep harping on the number of complaints? if you have deed restriction violations it doesn't matter, fix them. I moved here because it is beautiful, I don't want to see the crap you think is nice spoiling that, it's as simple as that.

Several good points on both sides of this issue. Opinions should be respected not condemned and these sensitive issues seem to bring out the worst in some people. I was on the receiving end of a complaint 4 years ago and the Community Watch guy said that someone had driven around several neighborhoods and listed several violations for very small items which in his opinion enhanced the landscaping, but he was simply the messenger. We all know taste is subjective and varies widely. I like the complaint driven system because it allows some decorations yet those who don't like looking at them can have them removed by complaining. I would love to see the rules changed to restrict complaints to residents living on the same street since they are the ones who see the decorations everyday. Most neighbors get along which would eliminate these nuisance vendetta driven purges we are seeing. (This should bring a hailstorm of comments)

I agreed with you until I got to your sentence about getting along. Just reading this thread will prove that is not true. I believe it was on a Twilight Zone episode that the curator of another planet said--as long as there is man, there will be no peace.
What floored me is any person from anywhere can complain. Several of my neighbors have beautiful flower beds with ornamentals scattered beautifully throughout the garden. I would hate for someone who is out looking for something to complain about to squash their enthusiasm and cause them to stop gardening.

I like the deed restrictions. I don't want to see bronze statues, 7 gnomes, bird baths that haven't been cleaned, arbors with dead vines, etc. I say this because when we lived in Santiago there were no deed restrictions like here. One person had a stop light in their yard. When we were selling our house in Santiago our neighbor's yard was just nasty. We loved them so I certainly wouldn't say anything to them.
We all know the rules when we move somewhere.
The problem is the ones that get carried away, ruin it for the others. What some think is cute is an eyesore to other homeowners.

Exactly what I was thinking.....

Called three of you out "for having been burned for the same infraction."? Accuse you of what? I think there was a comprehension failure there! How do you get to that conclusion? I merely cited 3 opinions and added my fourth!!!!!

Original post: #33

May yard ornaments be placed in the back yard if they can't be seen from the front? I ask because we haven't bought yet. I'm just thinking of my one iron sculpture of a rescue worker. He is currently saving my dogs from drowning in our pond (figuratively). Should I plan on finding him a good home?

Would probably be best if you read the deed restrictions for the area[s] where you are thinking of purchasing or if you asked directly of someone in the district government office.

I agree. Living in one village and filing complaints in another shouldn't even be on the table. As for the people doing this, I wonder how much time they have on their hands to study all the variances for the different districts and driving all over to record this. Sounds to me like they retired far to early.:sigh:

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Most of us find The Villages a beautiful community.
In the newer areas, deed restrictions are a way of maintaining the pristine appearance.
If you need to have statues to be happy, put them in the back yard and hide them from the neighbors' view with shrubs.

With all the evil in the world, it's rather ridiculous to walk around looking for problems with neighbors. If someone had a junker car on their front lawn or their laundry flapping in the breeze, that would irritate me and I would do something about it . I hardly think a bronze egret is going to make the world come to an end or junk up TV. Some people really need to get a life.

I agreed completely until I went for a walk this morning. I paid particular attention to garden objects in my very nice, tasteful (IMO) neighborhood...things I really never noticed before.

I was surprised to note that 9 out of 10 yards has SOMETHING, however minor, that would break the rules.

If TV took on the role of enforcing to the letter of the law, they'd never be done! If my yard is ok today, it may not be tomorrow. Is this really worth the effort,not to mention related costs, to hire an army of people to be enforcers?

Yes, the current complaint-driven system is FAR from perfect, but I think it beats the alternative.

I'd almost bet someone jumped on them, and their jumping back.

Sounds like the person that gets a speeding ticket for going 75 mph and complains that everyone else is doing it. Why not just comply?

I took the post you are referring to in an entirely different way. I thought he/she was speculating that the complainant who identified the 95 violations had likely been burned by the same infraction and went on a crusade.

Personal attacks will get this thread closed. I have noticed an abundance of lawn ornaments which do violate the deed restrictions. Rules are rules.

you're missing the point, you signed the deed restrictions..for example, if they were deed laws, the same action would be criminal...a bit extreme but the same principle. in this case the restrictions take taste out of the equation. certainly there is enough beautiful flora to be found to beautify your lawn

I bow out.

I posted this tread to open a discussion, and it did. Most of the people missed the point, the point wasn't good or bad lawn ornaments. The point is the "troll patrol," making rounds in villages just to create problems. I would never dispute the fact that the said items are against the deed. My problem is when a person, either a villager, or outsider can create a stir and send paid staff out to do VERY tough jobs. I will say again the worker who came to my street was very nice and understanding. My issue is not with the deed enforcement, but with the person who takes it on themselves to make waves. I do find it funny that I can not have a sand hill crane statue in my front yard but I CAN have a clothes line!!!!

Is it only the front yard
 

I personally love the metal cranes etc., but am glad of the restrictions as yards with large gaudy displays bother me and you can't have one without the other. I agree that maybe a more defined rule needs to be in place so there would be less violators.
I was under the impression that American flags were allowed as I see flag poles all over. Plus I thought I read someplace that although the size of the flag and placement may be restricted but flying the colors is a right of all US citizens and can not be prohibited.
I bought in Tamarind grove but left all the rules stuff in the house when I went back to Wa so can't check right now. Can someone tell me if it is only the front yard that has rules and if so how does that work as some houses back yards back to streets.

What I don't like is we have to turn in each other because they're complaint driven. I too was turned in and after a discussion mine was not a violation and could stay. What I don't agree with is why my front yard has to be free of violations because it faces the road, when a backyard that faces the roadway can look like a junkyard. Before you ask that came from Deed Compliance Officers mouth. I'll bet IF we had a true deed compliance officer
not very many homes and or yards would pass IF the rules were enforced the way they're written. Everyone should re read them and then look around even at your own yard. JMO
I think it goes like"People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones"