Good Neighbors and Golf Course Issues

Century Village seems to have more than its share of disputed.  These disputes breed a dispute mentality and that, in turn, breeds more disputes.

Maybe we can resolve one dispute as good neighbors and begin a pattern for some of the other issues that lower our joy of living here and make the type of legal actions we all read about more acceptable than they should be on our home.

We should end the legal action associated with the golf course development and work toward a mutually agreeable set of land covenants that would bind the developer to reasonable actions that both sides accept after negotiation and compromise.

Eventually the County Commissioners will agree to some type of development rather than encouraging the developer to allow the land to be taken, for example, for non-payment of taxes that might happen if all development is refused.

I suggest a negotiating committee be formed with four people from units that directly face the property and two people from the CV community.  If necessary, a facilitator or mediator be retained and paid partially by CV and partially by the developer.

The result would be a set of land covenants that both sides aggree would replace the existing restrictions on any development.

We could begin the negotiations by urging:

1.  the present fence be relocated to be a minimum of 25 feet from any CV unit.

2.  Retail development be restricted to the area near Haverhill Rd. with the balance to be used for lower traffic facilities such as an extended care facility.

3.  No access from CV to and from the developed property is to be built or used unless CV agrees to a secure staffed gate with security equal to the present CV gates.

4.  The boundary between the two properties should be lighted and landscaped by the developer .

This is a fair start.  The critical item is that CV agrees to support development with an agreed set of restrictions applied to the land and will work with the developer to gain the necessary approval from the County Commissioners.

This is better than continuing an expensive fight we will ultimately loose.

/Stu