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Article
Courtesy of THE SUN SENTINEL
By Luis F. Perez, Jennifer Peltz & Neil Santaniello
Published on Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Boca
Raton · Griff and Joan Garland have battled Hurricane Wilma damage to their
home with tubs, buckets and bins catching cascading water indoors. They worry
about the health dangers mold brings.
So they don't have the time or inclination to fight their Royal Palm Yacht &
Country Club homeowners' association, which denied a request from the Federal
Emergency Management Agency to put a trailer on their property. They're just too
busy with "too many fish to fry" trying to get their house repaired,
Griff Garland said.
"I think they're so concerned with their image that they're blind to
neighbors when they need real help," Joan Garland said.
Florida's recent spate of hurricanes has opened up new chapters in the state's
long history of homeowners' association disputes, said Cathy Lively, a Lake
Worth lawyer who often represents individual homeowners. She is not connected to
the Garlands or Royal Palm. Many associations have prohibitions against
trailers.
"The rules are there for a reason, yes," Lively said. "... But
there are always exceptions that can be made."
She has encountered clashes over requirements for repairs to be completed within
a certain time or with certain materials, when labor, materials or both are not
available.
Then there was the Ocala subdivision that told residents this fall that the
community's rules forbade them from taking in Hurricane Katrina evacuees. The
homeowners' association later backtracked.
In Boca Raton, Wilma ripped off part of the Garland family's roof in this
toniest of upscale communities, where low-end homes are listed around $1
million. The Garlands, both in their 70s, were in Baltimore with family for
several months when Wilma hit. They returned in the middle of November to find
ceilings collapsed and water-damaged furniture. By that time, their sons, who
live in Broward County, had made makeshift repairs and punched holes in the
walls to let water drain and air circulate. Still, when it rained, it poured
inside the house, they said.
The Garlands, living in a less-damaged part of their home, have scrambled to
find contractors, roofers, electricians and carpenters. A FEMA inspector told
them their waterlogged home posed a threat about three weeks ago. He warned
about water-induced electrical shorts and the health risks of mold. He suggested
they stay in a FEMA trailer on their property during repairs.
"We were kind of shocked," Joan Garland said. "And we kind of
resisted."
By the time the inspector left, he persuaded the Garlands to accept a trailer,
which would arrive in two or three days, the couple said. Then the inspector
spoke to the president of the Royal Palm Improvement Association, and the
Garlands heard the request was denied.
"I suspect they thought it wouldn't look pretty," Griff Garland said.
Lynn Chandler Novick, president of the homeowners group, said FEMA put the
association governing board on the spot. FEMA sent a representative to the
community two weeks ago seeking a fast ruling. Bylaws prohibit trailers, along
with vans and boats inside the club. And FEMA did not indicate how long the
trailer would be there, she said. The open-ended nature was a concern to the
board, Novick said.
"By no means are we putting [someone] on the street," Novick said.
"There was no deadline that FEMA would give us as to how long the trailer
would sit there. It was indefinite."
The board did not take a vote, but some members discussed the matter, Novick
said. They received legal advice to reject the trailer.
The Garlands fired off a letter to the board, complaining about its decision.
After receiving the Garlands' letter, Novick said she wondered if she had done
the right thing, adding that perhaps the board and Garlands can
"renegotiate something."
Another board member, Armand Grossman, said he knew nothing about the matter
until he received a copy of the Garlands' letter accusing the board of putting
appearances "over the real need of a neighbor."
"Certainly the board would be more than willing to work with anyone with a
situation like that," Grossman said.
Frances Marine, a FEMA spokeswoman, said the agency is willing to work out
"any outstanding issues that might prevent us from providing the assistance
being requested by those affected."
The Garlands' focus is scheduling workers' visits. A roofer made temporary
repairs, waterproofing the roof. They made a bleach concoction to wipe down
walls, trying to keep mold from growing. Griff Garland estimates at least two to
three months of repair work.
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