The owner of a home in the upscale Village of Harmeswood of Belle Aire is facing action regarding issues with her yard.
Community Development District 2 supervisors voted Friday to proceed with deed restriction action against Diane Wood, who owns the home at 2821 Larranage Drive in one of the premier neighborhoods in The Villages. The District’s Community Standards Department asked the supervisors to take action after failed attempts to get issues with the home’s lawn addressed.
Wood, who is listed with the Sumter County property appraiser as the homeowner, and Mary Burtchell – both of whom live in Fort Worth, Texas – received a letter from Community Standards on Aug. 28 explaining that the property surrounding the house valued at $684,880 was in violation of the District’s deed compliance rules regarding keeping lots “neat and clean and the grass cut, irrigated and edged at all times.” The letter was sent as a result of a complaint that was received Aug. 21 regarding overgrown weeds and piles of dirt on the property.
Wood and Burtchell received a second letter Sept. 5 reminding them that action needed to be taken within 15 days. The owners also were notified that a public hearing on the matter would be set if the property wasn’t brought into compliance by Sept. 20.
A third letter followed on Sept. 25 notifying the women that a public hearing would be held Friday, Oct. 12. On the same day, a notice of the public hearing for the violation was posted on the home’s front door.
At Friday’s meeting, supervisors were told that the homeowner had taken care of the weed issue but there still were piles of dirt that needed to be removed. The owner claimed there were mole crickets on the property and she would be contacting a pest control company.
Supervisors unanimously agreed to find the owners in violation of deed compliance rules and give them 30 days to bring the property into compliance. The issue will be closed if the piles of dirt are taken care of within that timeframe. But if not, supervisors authorized the District to maintain the property and impose a $150 fine for the work, followed by a $50 daily fine until the property is brought into compliance.
If the fines reach $1,500, the issue would be turned over to District Counsel “to seek all available remedies.” Those may include initiating a lawsuit, seeking an injunction and lien against the owner, and possibly placing a lien on the property.
