When the neighbor's grass isn't greener

In Northdale inconsistent deed restriction enforcement has created some problems homeowners. The community tries to change that .

By LOGAN D. MABE, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 13, 2002

NORTHDALE -- For years, a lot of people who live in Northdale wondered how some of their neighbors could get away with blatant violations of the community's deed restrictions.

When they got really frustrated, they would call or e-mail the Northdale Community Association, asking that the organization investigate and police the violators. Some months, the association would get as many as 200 complaints.

Only problem is, the community association doesn't have the power to enforce deed restrictions. In fact, because the original developer of the 2,700-home community never established a mandatory homeowners association, there was no way to make those rules stick.

Now, in light of the heavy volume of complaints, civic leaders are fine-tuning their enforcement methods. And they've come up with a workable plan for dealing with people who park in their yards, let the grass grow too high, or need a visit from the house painter.

In the coming year, the community association will take proactive steps to increase homeowners' knowledge of the rules in an effort to preempt violations.

Members will begin putting together "new resident arrival packages," to welcome new neighbors and make them aware of the deed restrictions that apply in their subdivision.

"The main thing for everyone to realize is that everyone should have an obligation to maintain your property and pride of ownership," said Kevin Connolly, a real estate financier who the civic association hired to research methods of enforcement.

"We're not going to be the Westchase or the other folks who are so unbelievably rigid," he said. "But we're trying to get everyone to treat their lawns and their neighbors with respect."

Staying out of court

At first blush, Northdale would appear to face an uphill battle. Many homeowners assume that without a mandatory association, deed restrictions have no teeth.

One developer, Trout Creek Development Corp., found itself in court when it failed to create a mandatory association in New Tampa's Meadow Pointe. Homeowners sued Trout Creek and several Meadow Pointe home builders in 1998, contending that rules could not be enforced, and that property values would suffer as a result.

A Pasco judge ruled in 2000 that the community's voluntary association could do the job just fine.

And civic leaders in Northdale are beginning to agree. Among other things, voluntary enforcement is a way to avoid high-octane legal battles, the likes of which tested basketball hoops in Westchase and a sick child's backyard tree house in Tampa Palms.

In Northdale, the prevailing wisdom is that neighbors must be nice when pointing out violations and requesting remedies. When the two sides are not so nice, the association can resort to formal mediation.

"What we want to do is make the person who comes to live in Northdale happy to live here," said Northdale Civic Association president George Aboud. "We want them to appreciate their community and not feel alienated because of little problems. . . . I want to make them feel at home here. It's not just another place to live."

The association last year commissioned Connolly, who lives in Northdale's Claywell section, to research the problem and recommend a solution.

Connolly soon learned that most of Northdale was built over a four-year period from the late 1970s to the early 1980s by Criterion Development. Northdale's 13 subdivisions are governed by no fewer than five different sets of deed restrictions. While each set differs slightly, all require homeowners to maintain their property with reasonable care and not allow it to fall into neglect or disrepair.

The restrictions, which homeowners are supposed to read when they close on a home, call for the basics: Mow the lawn, trim the hedges, make sure the house is painted. Some, but not all, forbid storage of boats and recreational vehicles.

"It took us six months to get our hands around the whole thing," Connolly said. "The most important thing not done along the way was not creating a formal homeowners association for covenants enforcement," Connolly said.

That left the civic association with the role of enforcement. But, because membership in the civic association is voluntary, its powers are limited.

Still, Connolly says, while the community association cannot make anyone do anything, it can ask homeowners nicely to toe the line.

Start by being nice

The association takes complaints only from its members (joining costs $25 a year). Once a member lodges a complaint, the association investigates. If the violation is serious enough, the association sends the homeowners a letter asking them to take care of the problem. If the problem persists, a second letter is sent

"We find that probably 80 to 90 percent of our cases are taken care of by the second letter," Connolly said. "And what we have found is that the trouble is 10 to 20 percent are still unwilling or just haven't followed through."

To prod those stubborn cases, the association starts with a friendly visit. "Ultimately, we think it's helpful for a neighborhood to just go over, make yourself known and gently pursue the matter," Connolly said. "Some people have lost jobs, some people have been out of work, or their mother's ill. In some cases it might be advisable to just go over and lend a helping hand."

If the complaint involves a violation of a county code, like letting the grass grow to 18 inches, the county can step in and levy fines. Or, if the homeowner just will not listen to reason, the association can call in the county's Office of Mediation and Diversion.

"If you have somebody who has you at your wits' end, you can use that department and for no charge you can request them to assist you in enforcing the deed restrictions," Connolly said.

A certified mediator sends yet another letter to the homeowner to set a date and time to discuss the matter. "If it gets to that point, you'll get all but your 1 percent cured by them," Connolly said.

Bill Castens, who serves on Northdale's Special Tax District Board, is among those members who have welcomed the improvements to the system.

"For 20 years this association has been blamed for either not enforcing deed restrictions or enforcing petty deed restrictions."

Now, Castens said, the community association is in a better position to help. "People love it," he said.

- Logan D. Mabe can be reached at 226-3464 or at mabe@sptimes.com.

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