Fences leave bitter feelings

Article Courtesy of The St. Petersburg Times

DUNEDIN - It started out small: An entire homeowners association against one man.

But now the dispute has grown. The Tuckers, the Wombles and six other families in Barrington Hills subdivision are now facing a lawsuit for the same crime.

Their fence is too close to the street.

Deed restrictions state that fences must have a setback of at least 25 feet. And none of these fences comply, said F.J. Burr, president of the National Seniors Benevolent Association, a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

"All we want them to do is honor their contract," said Burr, a homeowner and president of the National Seniors Benevolent Association, who also lives in the subdivision. "I don't think that's asking too much."

Burr, along with George Switak, president of the Barrington Hills Homeowners Association and Rene Thibodeau, its vice president, are the plaintiffs in the suit. They claim the homeowners are violating deed restrictions that have been in place since 1973.

Their concern is that if people don't abide by the rules, property values could fall.

"It's causing a lot of people in the neighborhood to be upset emotionally," Burr said. "But at the same token, we want everyone in the subdivision to obey the deed restrictions."

But the homeowners named in the lawsuit say Burr's reasoning is bogus. They say their fences are only off by a few inches and were already there when they moved in.

"It's stupid," said Patrick Lauer, one of the defendants. "I have lived here for six years. The fence has been up for 25, 30 years. You can't even see it. It's covered by bushes."

Lauer, along with some of the other homeowners in the subdivision, said no one had ever complained about their fences being too close to the street.

He wrote a letter to the plaintiffs' lawyer, asking for the exact measurements of his fence because he thinks it is in compliance. He has not yet received a response.

Patricia Tucker, another defendant, said she never received a copy of the deed restrictions when she closed on her home in 2001.

"I have talked to other people who said they wish the people across the street from them had a fence," she said. "They like the looks of the fence. I would much rather look at a fence than those big plastic toys kids have."

So just why is the association coming down on these fences?

It all started with the man originally named in the suit, John Gracy.

Last year, he put up a fence because he has a pool and small children.

The Barrington Hills Homeowners Association said it was too close to the street and spent thousands of dollars to hire a lawyer to force Gracy to move his fence back.

He refused.

His attorney and brother, Andrew Gracy, measured every fence in the 235-home subdivision, using the list of names as proof that the association was selectively enforcing the deed restrictions.

"We had to determine there were other violations," Andrew Gracy said. "We said there were and none of those were being complained about. These people have allowed other fences to remain in the neighborhood for 20 or 30 years."

After numerous hearings and depositions, the association voluntarily dropped the suit.

But Thibodeau had already filed his own suit against Gracy. So Switak and Burr decided to join him, and added the other fence violators to the lawsuit.

David Womble, one of the defendants, said most people were not even bothered by Gracy's fence. He said there are worse sights in the neighborhood, such as junk cars and lawns overgrown with weeds.

Those things, he said, lower property values more than a fence.

"You're getting down to whether something is really practical or not," he said. "It's a common sense thing."

But Burr said several homeowners are concerned about the enforcement of the deed restrictions, which prohibit such things like shacks in yards, garbage cans in plain view and boats permanently parked in front yards.

Even though he sued the association in 1998 when the organization wanted to implement tougher restrictions, he now says he wants the homeowners to follow the rules.

"We don't want to sue people," he said. "They will be dropped from the case as long as they can demonstrate they have complied."

He wants them to move their fences and pay attorney fees.

Womble, for one, is planning to comply. He is going to spend between $400 and $600 to move the portions of his fence that are not in compliance.

The lawsuit, however, has left a bitter aftertaste. His wife has since resigned from the board of the Barrington Hills Homeowners Association.

Tucker said she will reluctantly move her fence too.

"It's too bad because it's really foolish for me to move my fence up next to my house," she said. "I guess that's the way they want it to look - weird."

Lauer said he is going to defend himself because he thinks the judge may throw the suit out.

As for John Gracy, he has no intentions of moving his fence. An April 26 hearing will determine whether these deed restrictions even exist.

Andrew Gracy said his brother is not willing to concede.

"This is going to trial," he said. "I don't see any other way."