With so many condominium communities in South Florida facing financial challenges, some associations and their boards of directors may wish to develop new sources of revenue to help mitigate rising homeowner monthly dues or the implementation of special assessments.
However, as the recent litigation involving Buckley Towers Condominium illustrates, it is extremely unlikely that devising a new questionable parking payment scheme and implementing it by towing many owners’ vehicles overnight is a recipe for success.
In fact, for the northeast Miami-Dade condominium community, these tactics have landed its former directors in court and in the crosshairs of state regulators, and also caught the attention of NBC6 News (www.NBCMiami.com).
According to allegations brought forward by Francis Trullenque and several other unit owners, some members of the Buckley Towers board of directors took advantage of their position to profit financially from the community.
The lawsuit alleges that the association’s board of directors took parking spaces assigned to property owners and began charging a premium for the most convenient spaces. The complaint alleges that the association “developed a plan to sell or rent spaces. . . [o]offering spaces at a premium price based on location and renting spaces near entrances or exits to the highest bidder.”
To implement the new policy, Trullenque and some of his fellow homeowners say the association towed too many vehicles during a single night.
“One night, at three in the morning, I came home and there were maybe nine, 10 squeaks,” he tells the station. “I call it the tow truck massacre.”
Flyers placed around the property advertised payment options for residents to bid for parking spaces or pay a specific monthly fee for a space near the building’s entrances. Records show that several residents paid hundreds of dollars to the association to secure a space, and some property owners pointed out numbers on parking bumpers that had been painted over when the association removed all old parking assignments.
The owners claim the entire scheme violates the community’s governing documents. In addition to the lawsuit, they also filed several complaints with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the state agency that oversees community associations.
When the broadcaster visited the property in April, council secretary Janvier Villars defended the association’s actions.
“The assigned space is not theirs,” he said. “This means that if the association needs more funds, the association has the right to charge.”
He tells the reporter that the association received approximately US$28,000 in 11 days from the new parking revenue, and the owners themselves voted for the change. In court filings, he presented forms titled “A New Path” that he said were signed by property owners in support of changing parking to avoid implementing a special assessment.
The form has a QR code that leads to a website for a for-profit entity called POWER, founded by Villars. During the litigation, some owners alleged that Villars created POWER, which stands for “Owners Who Want Equal Rights,” to funnel money from parking payments to himself, but he tells the reporter that his profits go toward administrative and legal costs. to combat corruption.
In recent developments, the owners obtained a court order for the association to return the parking lot to its original condition and assigned spaces, prohibiting it from any new vehicle towing.
Villars and some of his other board members were removed from office in late April by the community’s owners, who elected Trullenque as their new president.
In fact, the disruption caused by this community’s new parking policy is not very surprising. Regardless of whether the changes are permitted by the community’s governing documents, taking away spaces allocated to property owners to charge a premium for the best spaces will predictably be met with much dissent, especially if it is implemented with a “tow truck massacre.” in the middle of the night.
Associations and their boards of directors must proceed with great caution, forethought and community input whenever considering major changes of any kind. The financial difficulties that are affecting many condominiums may encourage some directors to explore all potential options to help minimize special assessments and increases in homeowners’ monthly payments, but extreme and overzealous policy changes are likely to do more harm than good, and they are for the best. left avoided.
Shari Wald Garrett is a shareholder at the South Florida law firm Siegfried Rivera, which focuses on community association law. She is a regular contributor to the company’s Newsroom blog at www.SiegfriedRivera.com/blog, and she works in the Coral Gables office. The firm also maintains offices in Broward and Palm Beach counties, and its attorneys focus on community associations, real estate, construction and insurance law. www.SiegfriedRivera.com, SGarrett@SiegfriedRivera.com305-442-3334.
