Playground - getting one built

Started by KatherineP • 4 replies • 2524 views

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KatherineP (West Virginia)
Posts: 13

Posted:

I live in a small community with very little common area. There is a place for a playground however but the builder refused to build one. The HOA refuses to get involved, as they say if one was built, the insurance would be too high. I find this hard to believe as many other new neighborhoods in the area have playgrounds. I'm wondering if things would be different if the community was allowed to be maintained by the county (hoa voted out). Maintenance for the community basically involves snow removal, and some mowing of storm water management areas, about 15 street lamps and some expenses for sewage. I'm also of course wondering what is involved in building a playground.

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

Katherine, I answered your question of how to get rid of an HOA in one of your other threads but I will repost it at the end. As to your question: “I'm also of course wondering what is involved in building a playground.”

You would have to get the Board to agree to build it, since they do not want to, you would need a majority of homeowners to pressure the Board to build it. This may require electing playground friendly Board members, plus depending on your CC&R’s it may require a vote of the homeowners. Our CC&R’s for instance requires 51% of the homeowners to agree to any capital improvement over $2,000.00. They would need to hire someone to design and build it which would possibly require building permits from the county and of course they would need to raise assessments to pay for the added insurance and upkeep along with funds to replace worn out playground equipment in the future.

As to your other question of getting rid of the HOA and getting the county to pay for things:

Katherine, there are these magical documents called CC&R’s (Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions), you know that pile of documents you got when you closed on your home. The ones you were always meaning to read but never quite got around to. In them buried somewhere should be how to dissolve your HOA; usually it will require between 90 & 100% of the homeowners and possibly their lenders voting to dissolve. Then you will have to get the county to agree to take over the maintenance and upkeep of your common areas. Good luck with that one; most HOA’s nowadays are forced on to developers as a condition to build because the local tax base isn’t up to supporting the additional infrastructure, at the very least expect the county to impose a Special Tax District on your community. Basically instead of paying your HOA dues to the HOA to fix the things required, you would be paying them to the county. Then after all of that you would have to dissolve the corporation that is the HOA.

On just allowing an HOA to lapse where you used to live:

You were very lucky; if it is not done correctly and legally it has the potential to be very costly. Say everyone decides they just want the HOA to go away and they stop paying assessments and the corporation becomes inactive and the insurance on the common areas is allowed to lapse; no harm, no foul and everybody is happy. Now along comes little Johnny who thinks it would be great fun to pitch rocks into the HOA’s storm retention pond. Well if little Johnny should fall in and be injured or drown who do you think little Johnny’s mum and dad are going to sue? They can’t sue the HOA it no longer is a viable corporation and there is no insurance so they get to sue each and every member of the HOA; remember just because everyone shook hands and agreed to pretend it wasn’t there doesn’t mean you are not still legally responsible for it. The term is jointly and severally, meaning the parents can sue each and every one of the property owners and collect from them all. As Oprah might say: “You get to pay and you get to pay and you get to pay.”

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions

KatherineP (West Virginia)
Posts: 13

Posted:

Concerning "magical documents" as you like to refer to them..:We have been through 4 HOAs in 4 years. This is in-part due to recession and having multiple builders - each with "a new business plan" and in-part due to the homeowners having gotten together and having ousted them. The CC&Rs have changed 3 times - the last 2 prior HOAs (scam "maintenance" companies well known for HOA abuses who simply exist to make their lawyers and staff rich) did not make their version available to homeowners - we were not aware that version even existed. The current HOA after 1 year only just just made the most current ones available. Furthermore our neighborhood has had a very high number of foreclosures causing the HOA to almost go broke. As it has been forecast (see Roubini discussion on this on the wsj Web site) that we may be going into a double-dip (or near double-dip recession) - this will likely result in more foreclosures.

Best I should go and talk to former HOA board members of the community I refer to in my other post - they would likely have better information. The community I mentioned actually has a large common area, playground etc, is a much larger neighborhood and has many more streets than my current neighborhood. The streets and lights are being managed by the county. The large common area (paths, playground, tennis courts, soccer field etc etc) I'm not sure however NO homeowners in that community pays HOA dues. The HOA dissolved many years ago, the community is happy to have it that way, although the CC&R are in effect for another 4 years or so there. The way they would get enforced is one neighbor taking legal action against another - which is likely a much more fair and balanced method of enforcement than an HOA that is very clearly biased and often does nothing.

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

Katherine, it sounds like you are still under Declarant control since you mentioned four sets of documents. The current developer may or may not have the power to change the CC&R's. The original Declarant more than likely had carte blanch to change the documents, there are exceptions. His successors may or may not have the same power; I would get a few neighbors to chip in some cash and hire an attorney to find out just what is what.

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions

KellyM3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 2,239

Posted:

Katherine,

If the prevailing sense is that your community wants a playground, then it can certainly be accomplished. My HOA has this discussion about every other year and it's the same discussion you're having in your community.

We have a large percentage of older adults who simply want no playground as opposed to young families who aren't as vocal and aren't willing to be persistent in the quasi-political process. So, the immediate pressure is against the playground construction and families don't want be incovenienced with building a playground, designing it, etc; they want to file their concern and move along for someone else to take action.

Depending on your HOA's cash flow, the insurance costs are a legitimate issue with a playground. It would cost my HOA thousands of dollars a year in extra premiums to support the playground and we are cash flow tight.

As an HOA president, I'd not mind a playground but I can't support giving the insurance company thousands of extra dollars when so many property owners would never use it. That's not to say that parents in your neighborhood couldn't fund an effort if it means a lot.

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