Article Courtesy of The Naples Daily News

By THERESA STAHL
July 5, 2005

When IslandWalk homeowner Paul Wood left Naples to head North for the summer, he went with peace of mind.

For the first time, he was allowed to leave hurricane shutters over the windows of his home.

"Until this season I went home with my house completely unprotected," said Wood, 66, who summers in Hampton, N.H. He contends he couldn't find someone to install and remove his shutters in case of a storm.

Last year's storms — four hurricanes in six weeks — have prompted seasonal residents to investigate their community's policies on shutters and, in some cases, lobby to keep them up for hurricane season.

Many communities only allow shutters to be put up immediately before a storm and require them to be taken down within days, in some cases 48 hours, of when the storm passes.

The issue can pit permanent residents against seasonal residents. Full-time residents argue shutters devalue property and increase the risk for theft; part-time residents say they need to protect their property while they're gone.

"We get a lot of calls from people frustrated with their association," said Jim von Rinteln, emergency management coordinator with Collier County Emergency Management.

He said the staff supports a policy that would allow residents to leave up their shutters during hurricane season.

"We don't feel it's fair (for associations) to say you can't leave them up and then don't help," he said.

In May, IslandWalk, a North Naples community of 1,850 single-family homes, voted to allow residents to leave up hurricane shutters during hurricane season, June 1 through Nov. 31. It had been an ongoing issue that came to a resolution when the required 51 percent of homeowners voted in favor of the amendment, which required shutters to be clear or white.

"The majority are very happy," said Al Kozel, president of the IslandWalk Homeowners Association, speaking from Michigan. "And some have threatened to move."

Kozel said it's been an emotional issue for some residents who don't want to live across the street from a boarded up house.

Pelican Landing, a Bonita Springs community of 2,500 homes, is addressing the issue. The community has appointed a design review committee to determine what the specifications would be for color and design.

Tom Sullivan, president of the Pelican Landing Community Association, said roughly 60 percent of homeowners have two addresses. He believes a vote would pass for allowing the shutters to stay up during hurricane season. It will be taken in late July or August, he said.

Sullivan said residents haven't been getting upset over the issue.

"We're not going to press the issue for this season," he said. "We're taking a slow approach."

Homeowners associations are "all over the board" regarding this rule, according to Rob Samouce, a Naples attorney who concentrates his practice on condominium and homeowner associations.

"It really is community specific," he said. "The board usually goes with the majority."

Most of the time, it comes down to aesthetics. Corrugated metal hurricane shutters can make a home look like a war zone, Samouce said.

"Some don't want it to look like Beirut, Lebanon, so they want them up and down," he said.

Most home watch companies — there are more than 50 in Collier County and Bonita Springs — include hurricane shutter installation in their services.

David and Georgie Cooper, owners of Snowbird Services in Naples, have about 85 full-service customers and 15 who contract just for shutter service. Last year's hurricanes kept them busy.

"It came to the extent where last year we'd come home and ours weren't up" before the storm moved in, David Cooper said.

They're better prepared this year, he said, and can accept more clients for shutter service. Rates are around $300 to install and remove shutters on a three-bedroom house.

Arthur Butts of TLC Home Watch Services in Naples says he charges $150 to take care of shutters before and after a storm on a two-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot home.

He isn't accepting new customers. Earlier this month he turned down 15 homeowners.

"They're calling like crazy, because of Arlene," Butts said, referring to Tropical Storm Arlene.

But 16 of his customers are in IslandWalk, so now he may have some time available.