Go Away, Corporate Big Bad Wolf!

October 28, 2008 7:38 PM

Is a Neighbourhood Association (NOT a Home Owner's Association) a legal entity? Does it need to be one? What are its legal benefits? Sordid details inside

Mr. dancinglamb and I live in a neighbourhood of about 80 homes that is pretty much unto itself (it consists of one main access road that breaks off into two dead ends, and a 'tail' one way egress). The houses range in age from 60-75 years old.

One of the houses - an original Craftsman-style - is one of the few that maintains the majority of its land (approximately 4 acres). This house is kind of the 'jewel' of the neighbourhood because of its geographical location. It's at the highest point on the hill and is in the middle of the horseshoe created by the two dead ends. It was supposedly one of the original farm houses within our immediate vicinity. Unfortunately, the owners sold it to a Developer at price greatly under asking and fled to Florida.


It's been sitting empty for over a year, not been maintained (windows broken, grass uncut until complaints with the town were made or other neighbours finally cut it themselves), etc. We were informed via the Developer's Attorney that there would be an upcoming Planning Meeting, but it was canceled last month because their Application didn't meet the deadline (it was postponed until next week). Last week, a letter was sent directly from the Developer that there would be an 'informal meet and greet with refreshments served' at the house on Thursday night. They will have the plans available for everyone to look at. I'm sure that's exactly why they want us there. Friends close, enemies closer?

The Developer has informed our neighbourhood that they intend to knock down the house (their original story was that they were going to move the house to an adjacent town), bulldoze the 100+yo trees - they are willing to pay the associated fines, and build four 3000-4000sf McMansions based on those specs, the houses would butt up directly against the property line limits; 4000sf:1acre?! with asking prices of ~$800k + per house. They are also planning on taking the original driveway (which runs right off one of the dead end streets) and create a 'private' cul de sac for this little mini-neighbourhood.

As you might imagine, we're all pretty upset about this. We need to figure out what we can do, aside from the obvious showing up at the Planning Board Meetings, etc. There have been issues with the Town in the past that the neighbourhood has successfully 'won', including not allowing one of the dead-end streets to become a pass-through, and making the existing egress street (off two major roads) made a one way with no left turn - it had become a major shortcut to avoid traffic lights. Unfortunately, these interventions outdate the majority of the current residents.

However, it's my understanding that this Developer is, uh, how do I put this delicately.... well-connected. Since there's never been a true Association, it's not like there's any sort of pool of money to hire an attorney. How do I create one? Do I need to file paperwork? Are there tax ramifications?

Suggestions?

Thanks

This is in New Jersey, if it makes a difference.

posted by dancinglamb to law & government (10 comments total)

I have no idea about the neighbourhood association thing, sorry, but I would be on the phone to New Jersey Historic Preservation Society first thing in the morning, on this basis:

These criteria outline qualities for which a property may be considered significant at the local, state, and national levels. Those significant properties or districts that retain integrity of design, feeling or association are considered historic.

Probably you'll fail to meet criteria but it's nice to know what you can do to slow them down and generally make bulldozing this property a pain in their asses.
posted by DarlingBri at 7:53 PM on October 28, 2008

Well you have your work cut out for you. do they need a rezone? I am in FLA & am surprised they build "macmansions in NJ. I thought they were a florida thing. contact the planning dept of your local gov. entity (counties here) for starters. Numbers count. meaning numbers of people (taxpayers). You can fight this without a formal org. maybe in the depressed market you can buy & perserve the land OR get the county/state do buy it. That's real big here now.
posted by patnok at 7:56 PM on October 28, 2008

These things are incredibly state-specific, and a lot depends on things like the intricacies of your deed, the way the neighborhood was originally planned, the nature of your municipal government or the lack thereof, etc. Sorry to put it this way, but you really do need an attorney for this. What you really need is competent legal advice about creating such a group, as they really can have legal status. The financial ramifications can really only be adequately explained by a New Jersey lawyer.

But this may not be quite as expensive as you think. Once your attorney gets this thing going--probably some form of incorporation--there may not be much for him to do, as the Association will take on a life of its own, led, presumably, by you and other interested homeowners. It will probably cost a couple of hundred bucks, but if you and your neighbors care enough about this, the cost shouldn't be too terrible after you split it up.
posted by valkyryn at 7:59 PM on October 28, 2008

Why would you need to form an association to hire an attorney? Why not price it out and then collect the money up front from everyone?
posted by lockestockbarrel at 8:58 PM on October 28, 2008

Just a FYI: 44,000 sq ft is one acre, so a 4,000 sq foot house should fit ok.
posted by mathowie at 9:38 PM on October 28, 2008

You wouldn't need a Neighborhood Association to appeal any sort of Planning Board or Land Use decision. Any private citizen can do so.
However, if you envision a protracted fight, it might make things easier when it comes to accepting donations, etc. Also, it can provide legal protection for the participants, if you are reluctant to be on the hook for expenses incurred.

A few things I would do:
1) See if your town already has a Neighborhood Association structure, you may find that you already belong to an entity and just don't know it. If your profile is accurate, it doesn't look like your town does, but it never hurts to look. There looks to be a Historic District. Are you in it?
2) Organize your neighbors as soon as possible. Planning permissions often work on a schedule much faster than most people think. Public comment and appeal times are limited by law. You may find that the time to appeal has passed before you've even gotten past the initial surprise.
3) Find concrete examples as to why this development is not allowed by code/ordinance.
"Four houses is too many for an acre" is not a valid appeal. "Current code only allows subdivision into half acre lots" is a valid appeal. Remember that even though this is an emotional issue, decisions are based on what the code says(barring, of course, a crooked planner, etc).
4) If you are serious about this, find the best land use lawyer you can afford. You need someone who has worked in your town and knows the system. Historical preservation boards and the like can usually point you in the right direction. Yes, an intelligent person can probably get through the process on their own, but the developers are going to have lawyers who do this for a living on their side, don't be outgunned.
5) This may seem to contradict all the above, but don't assume the developer is the enemy. Reaching out to the neighborhood is a good sign. Try not to go in on the defensive. They may be genuinely interested in what you have to say. There may be an opportunity to modify the plan without the added expense (to both of you) of a fight.

Other random thoughts:
4 houses an acre isn't very dense in this day and age. My town would allow 10 lots on that same acre (not with 4000 sq. ft houses naturally).
If you have the tree bulldozing bit in writing, it could help your case a lot. "Accidental" bulldozing of trees is one thing, willful destruction against code is something else entirely. Does NJ have a historical tree law?
It will be more expensive than you think. In my town, appeal costs are half what the developer pays in permit fees. This can easily reach $10k, then if you add in attorney's fees, land use studies, etc. It may be worth your while to cut a deal with the developer (say, 3 houses get built, but the remaining section is designated open space or some such).
posted by madajb at 11:41 PM on October 28, 2008

OK. First of all, I would not be optimistic. Even under ideal conditions your chances of blocking this would be limited at best. The US operates under a default assumption that property owners can do what they want with their properties, within the limits of existing zoning and density requirements.

Second, a neighborhood association that does not already include the property in question will not be able to "hostilely" incorporate it, so that idea really isn't going to help.

You need to separate out two issues here. One is going to be the new development and what sort of character it will have. You will have the greatest ability to influence this using the existing planning and zoning process in your community.

The other issue is keeping the lovely old house, trees, and driveway. You might be able to save the house, but to be realistic, I would kiss the trees and driveway goodbye now.

Don't just show up at the planning meetings. Find out who the planning board members are, and lobby them directly beforehand. Try to wangle an introduction to one through social connections so you can get a meeting and a sympathetic sense of the board's point of view.

Historic preservation people have the least ability to actually help you. If the house had previously been designated as historic, keep in mind, even National Register of Historic Places nomination (as an individual site or part of a district or thematic group) really only makes some tax credits, grants and loans easier to get. It doesn't protect a property except symbolically, and NRHP sites are demolished all the time. Getting an NRHP nomination takes years.

To be protected, a site must have a landmark designation by a local entity under an historic preservation and landmarks ordinance that introduces delays and short-circuits into the demolition process. Getting that going takes years.

So your best strategy is to decide what's most important to you. Saving the house will be a lot of work and have limited chances of success. Modifying the development will also be a lot of work, but is likely to have some success with a coordinated push.

Good luck.
posted by dhartung at 11:48 PM on October 28, 2008

On re-reading, I see it's 4 houses on 4 acres?
That's not very dense in the grand scheme of things, though it sounds it would be a fairly big change for your neighborhood.
As a comparison though, and you should check your code for the applicable data in your neighborhood, the R-1 zoning would allow 14 units per acre (subject to setbacks and other environmental considerations).
posted by madajb at 11:51 PM on October 28, 2008

"The R-1 zoning in my town", naturally.
posted by madajb at 12:08 PM on October 29, 2008

Turns out, it is two acres, and four houses - each one slated to be 3500-4000sf each with price points of $1.5-1.8 million. Heh. The Planning Board is now slated to meet December 3rd. I think a bunch of neighbours are going to try and possibly hire an attorney.
posted by dancinglamb at 7:58 PM on November 8, 2008