“A dream gone wrong” corrected

This is the other side of the story for the submission titled “a dream gone wrong “.

I support and applaud the property owner’s association for upholding the declarations of restrictions. It is the main reason I wanted to buy property within an association. While I do not agree with all of the rules, I understand the reasoning behind them.

The owners being referred to in “A dream gone wrong” had gone before the ARC for their home permit and were denied building a garage first and living in their RV during construction, both of which are against the rules of the association. This is public record and available on the association’s website (where I was directed to and found). The owners proceeded to do it anyway. I applaud the association for upholding the declarations of restrictions. The owners proceeded to do it anyway, thumbing their nose at the regulations. The declarations for the association also require all projects be done in a timely manner with permits and consecutive extensions required every six months. At the third year of this project, with the construction impacting the neighbors, the association (factoring in other long-term projects) changed the amount of extension fees to an escalating scale to deter owners from homesteading their build over many years. The owners of this property then let their permit expire, refusing to pay the new extension fees that all owners are required to pay resulting in violations. Stop work orders were issued by both the county and the association for not following the outlined processes. This led to litigation instigated by the owners resulting in the court ruling in favor of the association. The surrounding neighbors (possibly including the author of the article entitled, “A dream gone wrong”) that testified during the trial verified the owners were living in an RV in their garage against the rules. At the time of the trial, they had not started the construction of the home. After losing the court case, the owners continue to this day to disparage the association. Their house is still not complete and it is an eyesore to the neighborhood. A house is being constructed on the lot next door (that is almost finished) has gone up in less than a year while this couple’s home is still in the framing stage after over 5 years. Some of the neighbors in that neighborhood are angry against the association for following the declarations of restrictions and the rules and regulations, and are unjustly bad mouthing the association (who is protecting all the owners) by making all owners follow the state supported policies. But not all neighbors agree.

It is the angry minority of people like this that make associations appear to be bad and do not take an account the silent minority of people who applaud the efforts of upholding our property values, and keeping people to task on the rules of which we approve of. Property values in this community have skyrocketed (as have vacation rental properties, which are a problem within themselves), resulting in a boom in the local economy. There are other neighborhoods outside of the association that have not enjoyed this.

The author of “A dream gone wrong” then goes on to bash another neighbor and the facts he includes are vastly incorrect on the matter. I know as this neighbor is my friend.

The recent house bills and governor approval of them, has stripped away all associations ability to react quickly to simple violations such as parking in the center of a yard or garbage that an animal has gotten into by mandating that owners are allowed 30 days to correct such simple issues. There are flags that say “f@#$ Biden” flying throughout our neighborhoods for children to see. And, it would seem that common sense in regards to why people want associations has gone out the window. I fully support wanting more transparency holding associations accountable for the rules they have to follow as it is only fair to us property owners.

I beg the commission to take into consideration that individual complaints from sour apples such as this does not reflect the silent majority of those who enjoy and approve of (for the most part) what our associations are doing. Please use an “every man” common sense when reacting or implementing new house bills as knee-jerk proposals do not take all aspects into consideration. With over regulation from all entities, we need to get back to common sense management of what it home and property owners associations are in charge of.

Thank you.