|
Article
Courtesy of The Ocala Star-Banner
By
LAURA BYRNES
Published September 13, 2005
OCALA
- Residents of Majestic Oaks who want to shelter victims of Hurricane Katrina in
their homes are now free to do so.
The board of directors of the community's homeowners association released an
apology Monday saying it made a "serious error" when residents were
told that housing refugees would violate their deed restrictions.
Residents have soundly slammed the prohibition as a "disgrace" and an
"embarrassment," and the uproar, which has become fodder for ridicule
on The Drudge Report, has been widely reported by CNN and Fox News.
Bob Walsh, board director and head of Majestic Oaks Homeowners Association's
architectural review committee, said the apology has been in the works since the
Sept. 6 association meeting, when residents lambasted the board for its
interpretation of the covenants.
"We've been trying to get the words right and not offend anybody and
apologize for what happened. . . . Everyone is in a state of shock," Walsh
said. "It's been a feeding frenzy over here, like sharks smelling
blood."
That frenzy contributed late last week to the resignation of two board members
who said they disagreed with the board's action and personally apologized to the
community.
Majestic Oaks, situated southwest of Ocala, is described by developers as a
picturesque, friendly and safe neighborhood with a mix of retirees and working
families. The controversy there erupted just as communities throughout the
country, including other deed-restricted subdivisions in Marion County, were
bending or relaxing rules to welcome Gulf Coast evacuees left homeless by
Katrina.
Monday's apology, delivered in the afternoon to residents' mailboxes, implored
hurricane evacuees and others to "accept our apology and not to judge us
harshly for this unfortunate mistake."
The statement, posted on Majestic Oaks' "unofficial neighborhood Web
site," was also read to a round of applause at Monday's meeting of the
Southwest State Road 200 Coalition and will be published Thursday as a paid
advertisement in the Star-Banner.
Signed by MOHA's four remaining board members, the statement says in part:
"We believed that more than one family in a house for an extended period of
time would be a violation of the covenants which could expose the homeowners to
litigation for not enforcing the covenants. No matter how well intended we were,
it was an error and we sincerely apologize."
Hank Ware, a longtime resident who once served on an association committee, is
not appeased by the apology.
"This is going to be something that's going to take probably years to
overcome," he said, adding "the community did not approve of this, and
we want all of them to resign."
But homeowner Diane Mercier said she "really appreciated them taking the
step to do this publicly to help restore the integrity of Majestic Oaks."
Mercier, who attended last week's association meeting, said that "for board
members to be being willing to step forward says a lot about somebody . . .
that's a great example to set, to go back and say, 'We were wrong.' "
If any good comes of the situation, Mercier said it's that others will see that
what residents were standing for "is worth standing for . . . and we can
now begin meeting the needs of families that will be coming into our
community."
Mercier's husband, Bryce, is superintendent for Triple Crown Homes, whose owners
have announced plans to house evacuees in a Majestic Oaks model home.
Before Monday's board reversal, Lake Worth attorney Cathy Lively said she had
offered to represent residents challenged by the association for taking in
evacuees - and her services would be free.
Lively, who has been involved in several homeowners association legal actions in
her career, said what happened in Majestic Oaks is without comparison.
"I have had a lot of strange things come through my office, but nothing of
this level," she said. "It is the most ridiculous of any case I have
personally seen.
"When I first saw (the original notice), I took it first as an urban legend
type of thing," she continued. "I had to read it several times and
still thought it was some kind of misunderstanding."
When it comes to misunderstandings, Audrey Andrews feels she can write the book.
As the association's vice president, Andrews maintained a high profile during
the ordeal and said her phone hasn't stopped ringing.
"I get calls at 4 o'clock in the morning, and they are not nice," she
said. "I'm not on a personal vendetta. . . . I don't know how it got so
messed up."
Andrews said it was important for board members to issue the apology reversing
their decision so that residents could understand they do not "have an
agenda as to who they can have in their home."
"I tried to tell them. But they were not listening - they were so
upset."
One Majestic Oaks resident temporarily living in Texas was furious about the
situation, particularly since the Lone Star State has been generous in taking in
those hit hard by Katrina.
"Trust me, if I wasn't in Texas I would already be at (the association
president's) house," said Ron Munday, who is working a commercial
construction project near Dallas. "This has just ripped me off to no end.
It put a blotch on us, and blotched us bad, and I am talking about the whole
city of Ocala. There is no excuse for it. They are totally wrong."
|