A Villager has outed the snowbird who complained about her out-of-compliance landscaping.
The home of Shelagh Hughes at 356 Jefferson Lane in the Village of Caroline was the subject of a public hearing Friday morning before the Community Development District 6 Board of Supervisors at SeaBreeze Recreation Center.
Hughes took to the podium to denounce the latest complaint lodged against her home.
Community Standards offered evidence, including photographs, that showed the landscaping is located in the road right-of-way. Complaints had been lodged about the landscaping interfering with the line of sight on the roadway. Community Standards indicated that Hughes never received permission for the landscaping from the Architectural Review Committee.
Hughes and her husband purchased the home in 2016. He died in 2020. When they purchased the home, the landscaping was already in place.
Hughes indicated she had done some digging and found out the name of her accuser. The complaint was lodged in March, so the complainant would have been required to give her name, thanks to a .
“She’s not here today,” said Hughes as she waved an arm to the public seating area of the government meeting. “She’s a snowbird – at her home in Michigan.”
She used the name more than once in speaking to the board, although Villages-News.com has elected not to publish the name.
Hughes also suggested that the Michigander had conspired with a friend involved in previous complaint about Hughes’ property.
Hughes estimated that bringing her landscaping into compliance will cost her between $2,500 and $5,000.
“Sadly, the trolls are in control,” Hughes said. “My worry is that one day in these tumultuous times, it is not going to end well.”
The board gave Hughes 45 days to bring her property into compliance.