Meeting Updates

Written by Dr. John Livingston.

Before we launch into our weekly update the entire Preserve Plantation team would like to extend our condolences to the family of JoAnn Butler and to those who were privileged to be represented by her professionally. They were well served.

This was once again a very successful week for the plantation homeowners. Our Request for Review was acted on by the city and most of our changes were accepted with a unanimous vote of The Garden City Council. The “R-2” standard was not written into the changes and the definition of the basepoint for the 35 ft. height restriction on the east side of phase three is still ill-defined.

Tuesday night a representative of the Land Group made a required presentation to the neighborhood regarding the land division of the property that was included in the SAP. Four parcels were created out of three. The SAP defined the property using the terms phase 1—2—and 3.  The four divisions are now labeled “C—D—E—and F”.  “E” is the East side property closest to Fair Oaks Place.

Issues regarding flood plain changes in the FEMA and Army Corp of Engineering maps and how they will affect each division of the property, and how those mitigations will affect existing homeowners’ properties regarding “flood plain encroachment” will again need to be watched closely. Making matters even more problematic is the fact that Garden City has been under a FEMA audit for quite some time and there are issues regarding the audit that need to be resolved and mitigated by the City.

We have reached out at least five times to the HOA regarding our concerns about the relevancy and operational status of The Master Declaration Contract (MDC). Our attorney has tried to contact their attorney and a proposed brief introductory meeting after the Tuesday night meeting at the club never came about. By contrast I had a very good and productive meeting with the HOA president 8 days ago.

The flier that we put out two Saturdays ago explaining the MDC and the responsibilities that all parties have to each other created the most amount of conversation and interaction between members of the community that we have seen so far in this campaign to save our golf course. Click here to read it.

The promise in the MDC is a promise and a legal contract. The HOA has a fiduciary responsibility to all homeowners to enforce the contract otherwise the contract is worthless. (See my article about painting my house purple and building an alligator pond here).

This morning I met with four neighbors, two who were not on our side. I told them that Mr. Gustafson, since last November had made promises to me that he had kept. But the most important promise to be made he has always acknowledged to his credit; he could never keep. That was the promise of preserving the golf course in “perpetuity”.

I told them that preserving the golf course was not in Mr. Gustafson’s hands, but most properly in the hands of the homeowners and neighbors who could insist that the HOA Board fulfill their fiduciary duty and insist that the terms of the Master Declaration Contract (MDC) be followed. It is not a choice or currently up for a vote. It is a duty and a responsibility that has been followed in every single land transaction of record—27 by my count since 1977. Why should we be less vigilant now facing the greatest proposed change since the creation of the original Plantation Development?

We have accomplished much, but there is still work to be done.

Thanks to everyone.