CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. — Inverness Village 4 has become a nightmare for homeowners. Its unpaved roads are scarred by deep ruts after years of erosion, and without a proper drainage system, rain can make conditions even worse.
The roads have deteriorated so badly that vehicles have often gotten stuck, including a county fire truck in 2025, raising concerns about whether emergency crews can reach people who need help.
Now, Citrus County’s own attorney says she raised concerns about the neighborhood years ago but was told it was not a priority.
County Attorney Denise Lyn made the remarks during the Oct. 13 meeting of the Citrus County Board of County Commissioners, offering her account of what happened as the neighborhood continued to develop.
'It's not a priority'
Lyn said she learned about the conditions after someone contacted her about Inverness Village 4. She drove to the neighborhood and showed what she was seeing to a county leader over FaceTime.
“And I pointed my camera, and I said, ‘What is this? What’s going on out here? How are all these permits being issued?’” Lyn said.
She said she then contacted several county staff members to ask what was being done about the neighborhood.
“I was told, ‘Oh, it’s not a priority,’ at the time,” Lyn said.
Lyn also said the commission at the time did not want to take action.
“I had a board of county commissioners who made the decision they did not want to take any action in Inverness Village 4,” she said.
Lyn said she could not direct county staff because they worked under the county administrator, not her office. She said she could make suggestions but had to stay within the limits of her role.
The discussion also touched on Lyn’s decision not to put some concerns in writing. Lyn said written opinions and concerns can later become evidence in lawsuits, and argued that she was trying to minimize the county’s legal exposure.
Lyn’s comments came during a contentious commission meeting in which Commissioner Holly Davis attempted to terminate her as county attorney. Among the issues Davis raised was Lyn’s handling of a failed ordinance intended to address Inverness Village 4’s drainage problems. The effort to remove Lyn failed, and she remains in her position.
Homeowners say county could have been more proactive
Janeen Eddie, who lives in Inverness Village 4, said homeowners have long argued that county government should have exercised better oversight as homes were built.
Eddie said she felt vindicated hearing Lyn describe raising concerns about the neighborhood.
“It was something that they could have prevented. They could have stepped in,” Eddie said. “They could have stopped this from the beginning, and they knew.”
While Lyn’s account raises questions about what county officials knew and when, it does not establish what each commissioner knew or what legal steps the county could have taken at the time.
The neighborhood’s problems have also drawn scrutiny from the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which has pursued legal action related to development and permitting issues involving the neighborhood.
How Inverness Village 4 got into this mess
Inverness Village 4 grew without paved roads or a completed drainage system. Homebuyers say they were led to believe the roads would eventually be paved through an assessment of roughly $6,000 per household. That infrastructure never materialized.
The neighborhood’s roads were dedicated to the public, but Citrus County has declined to maintain them, saying no actual roads were ever constructed. County officials have argued that the county can maintain a road only after it has been properly built and permitted.
The cost of fixing the problem has also grown dramatically. A county estimate in 2023 put the cost of paving the roads and installing drainage infrastructure at about $109,000 per lot, far more than the roughly $6,000 per household homeowners initially expected to pay.
Meanwhile, Van Der Valk Construction, whose owner Chris Matser built many of the homes, has maintained that the county is responsible for the roads. The dispute has left homeowners, county officials and people involved in the development pointing fingers over who should pay to fix the problem.
County declines to comment
Asked about Lyn’s statements, Citrus County declined to comment.
“As Ms. Lyn is our attorney, and the discussion in question was between Ms. Lyn and the Board, the county declines to comment,” Jamie Ang, the county’s communications manager and public information officer, wrote in an email.
The county’s response did not address the substance of Lyn’s account.
For homeowners, Lyn’s account adds to a central question in the yearslong dispute: If county officials raised concerns about Inverness Village 4, why were the problems allowed to continue?
Share Your Story with Chad
Chad Mills calls Polk County home and has witnessed the area’s growth firsthand. He is focused on sharing stories from his neighbors in Lakeland. You can use the form below to connect with Chad.
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