After a six-month battle over a driveway in the Village of Bridgeport at Miona Shores, a homeowner may now have a little more hope of resolving the issue.
Village of Virginia Trace resident Jack Ridolph has been fighting the battle on behalf of his relatives, Geri Vitale and Mike Tedesco, who own the home on Beachwood Street.
They were granted permission by the Architectural Review Committee to expand their two-car garage to a four-car garage. The couple, that are still wrapping up their careers in California, plan to bring their vintage cars to The Villages and need the larger garage.
The home is located in Community Development District 6 which has maintained the strictest interpretation of rules governing driveway extensions.
But for the first time, CDD 6 supervisors have shown some willingness to bend.
In a 3-1 vote Friday morning, supervisors agreed to “semi-liberalize” the interpretation only if it is aesthetically pleasing to the surrounding homes.
Voting in favor of the motion were Chairwoman Sally Moss and Supervisors Donna Kempa and Peter Moeller.
Supervisor John Calandro voted against the motion. It was announced Friday that Supervisor Joyce Edmonds was resigning and she was not in attendance.
Calandro said he felt the board should not change its prior position, as he said he believes supervisors must protect the property values of the nearly 7,000 residents of CDD 6.
“We have an obligation to 100 percent of the people who bought into covenant restricted homes. This board has been consistent in protecting what we all bought into,” Calandro said.
Ridolph was elated by the board’s decision.
“Now we have some hope,” he said.
Ridolph was instructed to inform his relatives to resubmit a new application to the ARC. Betty Hobbs, also of the Village of Bridgeport at Miona Shores, had raised a concern about her driveway extension, was also advised to resubmit her application to the ARC.
