My Purple Home and Alligator Pond
Written by Dr. John Livingston.
My wife and I have been members of The River Club, formerly The Plantation Country Club, for 32 years. Twelve years ago, our dream of owning a home in The Plantation subdivision came true. We moved into our home on the 12th fairway of the golf course at the end of the Fair Oaks cul-de-sac, believing it would be a great place for our family—children and grandchildren—to live and play, and to be close to us during all seasons.
We did our due diligence prior to purchase by reading the Master Declaration Contract (MDC), and we felt secure that the MDC was a covenant and legal contract between all of the property owners in the Plantation Neighborhood, including the owner(s) of the golf course. When we asked if the covenants and the MDC were enforceable, we were provided with Homeowners June 2013 HOA newsletter that explained the terms and conditions and the enforcement mechanism for compliance by all parties. We inquired as to who was responsible for enforcing the contract and we were told—THE HOA BOARD. Following (in italicized text) is an excerpt from the newsletter:
“Are Homeowner Association Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) Really Enforceable?
Yes! In the many cases that have come before it, the Idaho Supreme Court says “yes”. In Plantation’s case, the Master Declaration of the Plantation Master Association, Inc. was recorded in 1978. The deeds to the lots in the subdivision were recorded later and are all subject to the provisions of the CC&Rs. The Master Declaration contains some regulations that apply to all homeowners in the subdivision. Additionally, pursuant to the authority given in the Declaration, the AECC has also issued regulations that are binding on all homeowners in the subdivision. The Idaho supreme Court has upheld the authority of the Board of Directors and the Architectural Control Committee contained in the CC&Rs in the many cases that have come before it, including regulations that control building and remodeling homes, fences and landscaping, restrictions on unattached buildings and the screening of trailers and recreational vehicles. The AECC Committee performs a valuable service for all of us by consulting and adhering to the regulations that make The Plantation Subdivision a great place to live. Presently, the AECC is discussing slight modifications to several regulations regarding restrictions pertaining to trailers and RVs parked temporarily on streets to prevent abuses that inconvenience surrounding homeowners.”
Names to Know
Pierce Roan, President—Plantation HOA/Director at Large
Kent Brown, Director at Large
Tom Cushman, VP - Plantation HOA/Director at Large
Kent Johnson, Director/President - Tanglewood HOA
Sharron Jarvis, Director/President - Townhouses @ Plantation
Joe Leaf, Director/President - Lake Plantation HOA
Craig Fenwick, Chairman - AECC
Janelle Curtis, AECC
Doyle Allen, AECC
Jerry Lowe, Chairman - Maintenance
Becky Hoth Sievers, Treasurer - Plantation HOA
Marilyn Sagehorn, Secretary - Plantation HOA
Lynn and I knew most of the people on the list of members of the HOA Board. Several have passed on including my great friend and war hero Judge Tom Cushman. God rest their souls.
I have always had the utmost respect for people who volunteer their time on such Boards. They do so without pay, it is time consuming, and it can be a thankless job. As always, thank you all, for your service to our community.
What has recently happened is interesting. Despite every transaction within the neighborhood since 1978, including the cutting out of specific multi-home developments, each with their own HOA and incorporated under the terms of the Master Declaration Contract (MDC), the applicant for a new development today wants everybody to believe that the Master Declaration Contract does not apply to him or the out of state multinational developer—we actually still don’t know who the buyer-owner, applicant, or declarant actually is, as is required by the existing MDC.
The current HOA Board does not want to take a stand on the MDC. They are concerned about being sued by members of the community and the golf course owners if they take a stand against the development. They are also concerned about property owners suing them, if they as an HOA, support the neighbors who are against the development. However, the Board has retained new counsel and asked that lawyer for an opinion on this issue. All the neighbors of The Plantation Community ask, is that either as a board or individually, they take a stand supporting the Master Declaration Contract. That’s all. Either the Master Declaration Contract is valid, or it isn’t.
As a governing body, they cannot chop it up and say some parts are enforceable and others are not. Either the Master Declaration remains the governing document protecting homeowners, or it doesn’t. There are ways to amend the documents that are defined in the document. The board cannot pick and choose what it will and will not enforce.
The silver lining to this dark cloud of officious bureaucracy is that if the MDC contract is no longer in effect, Lynn and I will be able to make some home improvements that would have been problematic under the Architectural Committee (AECC), which receives its authority from—you guessed it, THE MASTER DECLARATION CONTRACT!
We have always wanted to paint our house pink with purple trim. We want to have an alligator pond in our back yard, and at the back gate we want to place an all season “porta potty” and a bath house available to all the golfers as they pass by, assuming they have a valid “cart path contract from The River Club”. On the front driveway we want to put a hook up to the sewer vent on the side of our driveway where we can dump the black water from our RV when we come home from camping trips.
Either the Master Declaration Contract is operative, or it is not. To my dear neighbors who I respect and, in several cases love very much, who sit on the HOA Board, all you need to do is say—“The Master Declaration Contract is operative as it has always been—or say it is not. You can’t have it both ways.
That’s the way I see things from Fair Oaks Place in Garden City, Idaho.