A motor home located outside a residential home in the Jaimees Ridge neighborhood of Milton put two residents at odds with the neighborhood’s homeowners association.
Both R.W. Woods and his wife, Jeanne purchased property in the neighborhood in 2003. Since moving into the neighborhood, the couple relied on using a mobile home vehicle with a handicap license plate in order to accommodate Jeanne’s medical needs. Jeanne underwent several back procedures and has bladder control issues, which has left her reliant on the motor vehicle for quick access to the vehicle’s bathroom and bed when the couple is on the road. The couple said they regularly use the motor home when taking trips to doctor visits or the grocery store.
“I can’t do without my motor home…it is absolutely a necessary thing to me,” Jeanne said. “We (originally) got an okay on it.”
In 2005, a previous HOA board of directors granted the couple’s request to waive a covenant, or HOA rule, which restricted the couple from parking their motor home on a cement pad next to the home’s garage.
In the original waiver request, the couple relied on the City of Milton ordinance number 1109, which from their perspective exempts persons who own a handicapped licensed recreational vehicle from the ordinances parking restrictions within specified guidelines.
However, a newly-elected HOA board notified the couple of their action to repeal the exemption. In minutes from the March 23, 2015 board of directors meeting, which is found on the Jaimees Ridge website, the HOA states the “City of Milton Ordinance number 1109 only entitles Handicap RV access to handicap parking spaces as public accommodations and facilities and is not applicable to storage or parking on private property.”
The board also gave the following reasons to repeal the exemption…
“Our governing documents forbid any amendments to our Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions, except by majority vote of the total membership” and “Boards of Directors may not bind future Boards in the enactment of policy decisions.”
Section 5 of the Jaimees Ridge covenants, conditions and restrictions, states automobiles, boats, campers and other vehicles including motor homes must be “either completely garaged or stored in such a location so that same is out of view from both the Front Lot line and adjoining Lots, except for short-term parking not exceeding a forty-eight hour duration.”
In a letter sent on the HOA board’s behalf to the couple, the HOA suggests the couple keep their motor home out of view from the front lot line and the adjoining lot, by keeping the motor home behind a fence.
“By extending the fence on your west property line, and installing a gate, you would have unencumbered access to your motor home whenever you might wish to use it. It can be pulled out for loading and unloading with relative ease. We realize that this arrangement may not be quite as convenient as it has been, but personal convenience is the standard for any of our covenants,” the letter said.
The HOA also proposed the modifications be completed prior to June 1. However, should the couple need a extension for legitimate reason the HOA would be willing to accommodate.
R.W. said the request would be problematic due to the tight space in the area, stating he and his wife would be unable to access the motor home once it was parked behind the fence line.
When attempting to seek comment from the HOA, a board member did not wish to comment on the issue as advised by the HOA’s attorney.
As of this moment, R.W. said he does not plan to take any future course of action. He and his wife are not in favor of moving due to the doctor’s offices and the Veteran’s Affair’s clinic being located in close proximity.
“We love our home,” R.W. said. “We love the area, we love our neighbors and everything was really good until these three (HOA board members) got on the board in September.”
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Milton residents at odds with Homeowners Association