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Article
and Video Courtesy of
CBS
Channel 4 -- Miami
Natalia Zea Reporting
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 Watch
VIDEO
Kendall,
July 20, 2007 |
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(CBS4)
WEST KENDALL No matter what language they say it in, the neighbors
who live in the Bird Lakes development in West Kendall want their point
heard.
You can hear one of them screaming, "They are selling us out like
pigs! Alright!"
They don't want a homeowners' association. This includes the Perez family,
who say they can't afford the brand new $100 a month fee.
"For us it’s hard, I’m a school teacher and in the summer months
I’m off, I don’t get paid, we’re living off one salary coming in,
and we’re making ends meet," said Tanie Perez.
Assistant County Attorney Tom Robertson came |
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Asst.
County Attorney
wasn't
successful convincing the homeowners that they should be
double-taxed!
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to the rally to explain why
this is happening on Friday. He says the Bird Lakes area was developed in
the 80's, and the developer signed a deal with the county creating a
homeowners' association.
In the early 90's the association fell apart, but Robertson says the
requirement to have one didn't go away.
"If you look on that corner right there, where there’s all the
trash and all the overgrowth that makes your neighborhood look terrible,
that should be maintained by a homeowners association," Robertson
told the crowd while they shouted.
Now after 10 years the county wants to sue the association for dozens of
code violations in common areas such as the lakes. So a judge created an
association for the neighbors, though many of them had no idea about the
proceedings. |
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THE
BATTLE CRY OF THE
HOMEOWNERS
UNDER SIEGE!
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The judge appointed accountant Phillip Shecter to be the association
receiver, which means for now he is the association president and its
board of directors. We've learned Schecter is getting paid for it and so
is his accounting firm.
In the early 90's the association fell apart, but Robertson says the
requirement to have one didn't go away.
"If you look on that corner right there, where there’s all the
trash and all the overgrowth that makes your neighborhood look terrible,
that should be maintained by a homeowners association," Robertson
told the crowd while they shouted.
Now after 10 years the county wants to sue the association for dozens of
code violations in common areas such as the lakes. So a judge created an
association for the neighbors, though many of them had no idea about the
proceedings.
The judge appointed accountant Phillip Shecter to be the association
receiver, which means for now he is the association president and its
board of directors. We've learned Schecter is getting paid for it and so
is his accounting firm.
"There’s a lot of people that are going to benefit from this
association," said Perez. "Of course, the ones that are paying
for it are not going to see anything."
CBS4 News could not reach Phillip Shecter for comment
Friday. We were told he is on vacation. Neighbors will meet with Shecter
next month, and once the association is on its feet, Shecter will have to
turn it over to people who live in this neighborhood.
If the signs on their fences are any indication, the neighbors plan to
fight.
Attorney: HOA
Always Existed In West Kendall
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