"It could adversely impact all the property owners here and the money that you probably put your life savings into your home in this community."
That warning came from Bill Grant, the attorney for the Citrus Springs Civic Association, at the board's February 19 meeting this year. He wasn't talking about flood risk or a zoning fight. He was talking about whether anyone can say with confidence which of the neighborhood's deed restrictions still apply, and who actually has the authority to enforce them.
If you've looked at homes in Citrus Springs, you've probably read that it's a "deed-restricted community." That phrase shows up in nearly every listing summary for the neighborhood, and most buyers hear it and assume it works the way an HOA works elsewhere in Citrus County: a board with legal standing, dues that fund enforcement, and a paper trail any title company can rely on before closing. That assumption is currently being tested. The answer matters more here than in most subdivisions in the county, because Citrus Springs is one of the largest platted communities in Citrus County, and the developer who wrote its original rules more than fifty years ago still owns most of the ground beneath them.
A Civic Association Is Not the Same Thing as an HOA
Start with what Citrus Springs actually is on paper. According to Citrus County's Board of County Commissioners, Citrus Springs does not have a deeded or required Property Owner's Association. The volunteer group most residents think of as their HOA, the Citrus Springs Civic Association, is a nonprofit with voluntary membership and annual dues of $25. It was assigned enforcement authority over the neighborhood's deed restrictions in 1995, decades after developer Deltona Corporation began platting the subdivision unit by unit starting in 1969.
That distinction sounds technical until you need it to matter. A mandatory HOA is created under Florida's homeowners' association statutes, which grant specific legal powers, including the obligation to respond to estoppel requests during a sale. A voluntary civic association operating under nonprofit corporation law doesn't automatically have those powers. As Grant explained to members, that gap means the association isn't legally entitled to notice when the restrictions it's supposed to enforce get changed, and it isn't required to answer the estoppel requests that come through nearly every closing.
Why the Developer Still Calls the Shots
Here's the part that surprises most buyers. Florida law lets a subdivision's original developer keep amending deed restrictions as long as it still owns more than half the platted lots, plus one. Fifty-some years after Deltona began selling lots in Citrus Springs, Grant told the board that Deltona still owns roughly 78 percent of them, according to reporting on the February board meeting. That ownership share means Deltona, not the Civic Association and not the neighbors on either side of a given lot, holds the legal power to rewrite the rules.
Grant confirmed that Deltona exercised that power twice last year, filing amendments on October 31 and December 5 that changed setback requirements and minimum home square footage, effective immediately. The Civic Association wasn't notified before either filing. When a board member asked whether Deltona is required to give the association a heads-up before amending restrictions again, Grant's answer was no.
| Milestone | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1969 to 1970s | Deltona Corporation plats Citrus Springs Units 1 through 27, recording separate deed restrictions for each |
| November 1995 | Enforcement authority assigned to the Citrus Springs Civic Association |
| 2018 | An "amended and restated" declaration is recorded, later disputed as incomplete |
| Oct. 31 and Dec. 5, 2025 | Deltona amends setback and minimum square footage rules without notifying the Civic Association |
| Feb. 19, 2026 | Board attorney Bill Grant briefs members; a lot-by-lot legal review begins |
The Resident Who Started Asking Questions
The dispute became public because one property owner refused to take the restrictions on faith. Edward Pechan bought his Citrus Springs property in 2010. When the Civic Association later cited a document from 2018 in a complaint about a structure on his rental property, he asked a simple question: how can a document filed eight years after his purchase govern a property he already owned?
Pechan's research led him into Florida's Marketable Record Title Act, which generally extinguishes covenants after 30 years unless they're properly preserved. He argues in a report on the dispute that many of Citrus Springs' original 1969-70s restrictions may have already expired, and that the 2018 restated declaration may not have validly preserved them lot by lot. He sent the Civic Association a registered letter demanding it demonstrate legal authority before collecting another permit fee or threatening another fine.
As of the association's most recent public statements in March 2026, it hadn't issued a public response, and Grant had told members the review could take months, with a goal of clearer answers within roughly 90 days of the February meeting. That window points to something like late May. If you're reading this in the second half of 2026, it's worth asking the Civic Association directly whether that review has actually concluded, since we found no public update after March.
Why This Shows Up at Your Closing, Not Just at a Board Meeting
None of this is abstract if you're actually buying or selling here. Deed restrictions in Citrus Springs cover the basics that shape resale value:
- Minimum home size and a two-story height cap
- Setbacks from front, side, and rear property lines
- Architectural Design Committee sign-off before new construction, additions, pools, fences, or sheds
If the underlying authority behind that sign-off is in question, so is every approval that depends on it.
The more immediate friction is the estoppel gap. When a buyer is under contract, the title company routinely requests an estoppel letter to confirm dues owed and the property's standing before closing. Because the Civic Association isn't a legal HOA, it isn't obligated to provide one, and it has already declined recent requests. That doesn't stop a Citrus Springs closing from happening. It does mean your title company may need to rely on a direct search of the county's public records for the specific declaration recorded against your unit, rather than a summary letter from the association.
Homes in Citrus Springs took an average of 75 days to sell over the three months ending in May 2026, up from 55 days the year before. That slower pace gives buyers more room than they'd have in a multiple-offer sprint to have an attorney or title company pull the actual recorded declaration for a specific unit before writing an offer, rather than relying on a generic deed restriction summary that may not reflect last year's amendments.
What This Means for the Price You're Comparing
Citrus Springs is also one of the more affordable deed-restricted communities in the county, which is part of why the answer to this dispute reaches more households here than it would in a smaller subdivision. Homes in Citrus Springs sold for a median $265,000 over the three months ending in May 2026, about $14,000 below the $279,000 median across all of Citrus County over that same stretch. A community this size, at this price point, is exactly where first-time buyers, downsizers, and small investors are most likely to skip a full title review to save on closing costs. Pechan's own situation started with a complaint about a rental property, a reminder that these restrictions apply as much to landlords and absentee owners as they do to full-time residents.
If You're Buying, Selling, or Renovating in Citrus Springs Now
None of this means the deed restrictions are gone or that you're free to ignore them. It means the specific document recorded against your lot, not the neighborhood's general reputation as "deed restricted," is what actually matters right now. Before you write an offer, list a property, or file for a fence permit, ask your agent or a real estate attorney to pull the recorded declaration for that specific unit and check whether it's been touched by the 2025 amendments or the 2018 restatement Pechan is contesting.
We're not attorneys, and none of this is legal advice. It's the kind of local detail we think you should walk into a Citrus Springs transaction already knowing, rather than discovering during your closing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this mean Citrus Springs deed restrictions don't apply to me? Not automatically. The dispute is over which specific restrictions remain enforceable and who has the authority to enforce them, not whether restrictions exist at all. Until the Civic Association's legal review is resolved, the safer move is to check the recorded declaration for your specific unit rather than assume a blanket answer either way.
Will this delay my closing if I'm buying in Citrus Springs? It can complicate the estoppel step, since the Civic Association isn't required to respond to those requests. Most title companies can work around it with a direct county records search, but flag it with your title company early so it isn't a surprise the week of closing.
Do I still need Architectural Design Committee approval before building a fence or pool? Under the restrictions as they've historically been enforced, yes. Given the active legal review, get that approval in writing before you start construction, since the authority behind that requirement is part of what's currently being examined.
If you're weighing a purchase, sale, or renovation in Citrus Springs and want a straight answer about how this affects your specific address, our team at Sugarmill Woods knows this community's paperwork as well as its streets. Reach out before you sign anything, and we'll help you find out what's actually on record for your lot.
