The Seven Springs residents say they shouldn't be forced to join the country club.
By RICHARD RAEKE
Published November 13, 2003
SEVEN SPRINGS - A group of condo owners in Seven Springs has asked the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation whether they can be forced to join the development's country club.
The department's decision will be binding, said the group's attorney, Peter Dunbar. The move is an alternative to filing suit against the Seven Springs Villas Association as the department oversees the rules governing condominium complexes.
"This is the least confrontational and most expeditious avenue available," Dunbar said. "The best approach is to get an honest answer on what the state allows."
The petition for declaratory statement includes roughly 120 condominium owners within the development.
In August, the board of the Seven Springs Villas Association approved an agreement with the Seven Springs Golf and Country Club to make residents of the development mandatory social members of the country club at a cost of $97.50 a month.
Opponents of the move say club membership wasn't compelled when they bought homes in Seven Springs. Now, many residents are on fixed incomes and can't afford the fees, they say.
Joe Ganley, the president of the villas association, said in September that the board felt strongly that residents should be compelled to belong to the club since their property values are affected by its presence. Ganley was unavailable for comment Wednesday. The association's attorneys did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Some phases of the development have come to an agreement with the country club, but holdouts remain in other phases.
The petition asks whether the board of the villas association has the authority to sign such an agreement with the country club. The country club exercised its option to terminate mandatory membership for the development's residents in 1989, Dunbar said. And the villas association, a separate entity, might not have the standing to reinstitute it, he added.
The mandatory membership could be viewed as adding a financial burden to the property without the owners' consent, Dunbar said.
There are some instances in which membership in a country club can be obligatory. But the courts and the department have not decided on a case with these same issues, Dunbar said.
The department could make a decision or opt to mediate the matter between the residents and the villas association.
