Complaints at the Retreat lead builder D.R. Horton to stop the practice
By LEGION TAYLOR
Reporter
In the Retreat at Wakulla, a new subdivision under construction off of Martin Luther King Memorial Boulevard, a Homeowner’s Association (HOA) has taken a stand against development company D.R. Horton’s method of clear-cutting lots.
The HOA, which was formed by Travis Perez and Culpepper Construction, the original developers of the subdivision, has a clause in its agreement that states, “Whenever possible a natural buffer shall exist between adjacent houses.” While this doesn’t protect plants that are in the lots where houses are to be built, it keeps some of the greenery alive, or at least it’s supposed to.
After D.R. Horton began purchasing lots for development in the subdivision, the company started its routine of cutting down the flora to make room for theplanned homes, unaware of the clause in the HOA agreement, which caused the residents of the few homes that the previous builders had completed to call Culpepper and the HOA to complain.
One resident, who asked not to be identified, said: “We called… just trying to reach out to say, ‘Hey, have you seen what they’re doing?’”
The HOA then reached out to D.R. Horton to draw attention to the clause in the agreement
After only a few days of back-and-forth between the HOA and the construction companies, Horton relented – and agreed to save the buffers that had not already been cut and promising to replant the ones that had.
The residents of the neighborhood are satisfied with the conclusion, as their buffers will be left alone.
One resident, who had a buffer beside her home cut, was contacted by Horton, which promised to replant the buffer with native shrubbery, as well as sending out a professional landscaper to make sure it was up to par.
Susan Jones, the head of the HOA, was reached about the event but declined to comment.
