Street Named After Developer's Wife Renamed After Divorce, Residents Confused

Residents of a 32-home subdivision in suburban Tampa were notified last week that their street, Sandra Lane, had been officially renamed Treachery Boulevard after the development's original builder finalized a contentious divorce from his wife Sandra and exercised a previously unknown clause in the subdivision covenant granting him perpetual naming rights. 'It was in the fine print,' said developer Rick Vendetta, who built the subdivision in 2016 and named its three streets Sandra Lane, Sandra Court, and Sandra Circle. 'I retained the right to rename all three streets. Sandra Court is now Betrayal Court. Sandra Circle is now Regret Circle. I feel good about this.' Residents, who were given 30 days to update their addresses with the postal service, the DMV, their banks, and approximately 140 other institutions, have expressed a range of reactions. 'I just refinanced,' said homeowner Patricia Deed, who lives at what is now 14 Treachery Boulevard. 'Do you know what it's like to tell your mortgage company your address is Treachery Boulevard? They thought I was making a philosophical statement.' The county records office confirmed the name changes are legal, noting that the subdivision covenant, filed in 2016, contains a clause granting Vendetta 'sole and irrevocable authority over all toponymic designations within the development, in perpetuity.' 'It is the most specific naming clause I have ever seen in a residential covenant,' said county clerk Dorothy Plat. 'He clearly planned for this eventuality.' Sandra Vendetta's attorney issued a statement calling the renaming 'petty but technically lawful.' Rick Vendetta is reportedly exploring the feasibility of naming the subdivision's retention pond 'Lake Alimony.'