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Diamond Member
Cliffy Notes
Board sends letter out detailing convenant violations
People are housing displaced people of the hurricane
Some homes have trailers out front where some are temporarily staying
Some aholes are more concerned about rules than building a better community.
Crestwood board rebukes residents housing victims
They're told trailers must go
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
By Charlie Chapple
St. Tammany bureau
After Hurricane Katrina destroyed the homes of family members in St. Bernard and Orleans parishes, Colleen Oltmann welcomed them to her house in Crestwood Estates south of Covington.
Oltmann said she opened the doors of her three-bedroom, two-bath home to her mother and father, her sister's family, and her brother and his girlfriend, all of whom are counting their blessings that they have a place to stay after the storm.
"They all lost their homes," said Oltmann, whose 10-year-old son and her boyfriend also live at her house on Woodmont Drive. "We're all very fortunate that I had a place where they could stay."
The family, along with four dogs and three cats, were making do, like many, in Oltmann's 1,800-square-foot home and her father's camper, parked in her driveway.
But last week, Oltmann received a letter from the board of directors for the Crestwood Estates homeowners association informing her that the trailer and her guests violate the deed restrictions of the subdivision.
"When I received that letter, it broke my heart," said Oltmann, who was among 28 residents in the 386-home subdivision who received a "formal notice" that the deed restrictions, or restrictive covenants, for Crestwood Estates ban trailers.
The letter, signed by board Chairman Todd McCormick and board member Roy Woodman, also points out that lots in the subdivision "are for single-family residential purposes only."
The letter notes that it has been more than five weeks since Katrina, "and we as a community must persist in taking steps toward returning our subdivision to its normal state. The board feels that continuing to enforce our convenants is an important step in this process."
The letter also says "it is imperative" that all trailers and mobile homes be removed "as soon as possible and no later than Tuesday, Oct. 11."
"How insensitive can people be?" Oltmann said. "There's people in places far away as New York City and Wisconsin taking in displaced families they don't even know. . . . And they're telling us we can't take in our own family members from 50 miles away."
The letter, Oltmann said, almost amounts to an eviction notice. Her parents, fearing that they might be creating problems for her, cashed in their life savings and hurriedly bought another house in the subdivision so they could have a place to stay, Oltmann said.
Oltmann said she's not mad at her neighbors "who have embraced us and helped us," but the letter sent by the seven-member board "was a slap in the face." Oltmann said she and other residents are thinking about trying to force an election to vote in a new board.
McCormick, while conceding that "the letter could have been worded better," said some residents are overreacting to a simple notice of restrictive convenant violations.
The board, during the recovery from Katrina, "is not enforcing convenants now," McCormick said. "We're simply encouraging people to comply if they can. . . . All we're asking is keep us informed of the situation.
"There's no way we're going to ask people to throw people out," he said.
McCormick said the board has a duty and obligation to keep an eye out for covenant violations. And most residents aren't aware that they can simply ask the board to grant variances that allow things prohibited by the deed restrictions, he said.
Of the 28 letters sent to residents this month, McCormick said most dealt with "boats, Jet Skis and the like" being parked or placed in places banned by the covenants, he said. "Only three dealt with camper trailers," he said.
But L.J. Strassel said most residents are upset by the letters sent to their neighbors, especially the part that points out that subdivision lots "are for single-family residential purposes only." About half the homeowners in the subdivision are housing displaced friends or family members, he said.
"It's obvious what they meant when they put that in there," said Strassel, who's living with a neighbor because his Maplewood Drive house was heavily damaged.
"I just can't believe the board is that insensitive to the community here," he said.
McCormick said it was not the board's intention to tell residents that they can't house family members.
Board sends letter out detailing convenant violations
People are housing displaced people of the hurricane
Some homes have trailers out front where some are temporarily staying
Some aholes are more concerned about rules than building a better community.
Crestwood board rebukes residents housing victims
They're told trailers must go
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
By Charlie Chapple
St. Tammany bureau
After Hurricane Katrina destroyed the homes of family members in St. Bernard and Orleans parishes, Colleen Oltmann welcomed them to her house in Crestwood Estates south of Covington.
Oltmann said she opened the doors of her three-bedroom, two-bath home to her mother and father, her sister's family, and her brother and his girlfriend, all of whom are counting their blessings that they have a place to stay after the storm.
"They all lost their homes," said Oltmann, whose 10-year-old son and her boyfriend also live at her house on Woodmont Drive. "We're all very fortunate that I had a place where they could stay."
The family, along with four dogs and three cats, were making do, like many, in Oltmann's 1,800-square-foot home and her father's camper, parked in her driveway.
But last week, Oltmann received a letter from the board of directors for the Crestwood Estates homeowners association informing her that the trailer and her guests violate the deed restrictions of the subdivision.
"When I received that letter, it broke my heart," said Oltmann, who was among 28 residents in the 386-home subdivision who received a "formal notice" that the deed restrictions, or restrictive covenants, for Crestwood Estates ban trailers.
The letter, signed by board Chairman Todd McCormick and board member Roy Woodman, also points out that lots in the subdivision "are for single-family residential purposes only."
The letter notes that it has been more than five weeks since Katrina, "and we as a community must persist in taking steps toward returning our subdivision to its normal state. The board feels that continuing to enforce our convenants is an important step in this process."
The letter also says "it is imperative" that all trailers and mobile homes be removed "as soon as possible and no later than Tuesday, Oct. 11."
"How insensitive can people be?" Oltmann said. "There's people in places far away as New York City and Wisconsin taking in displaced families they don't even know. . . . And they're telling us we can't take in our own family members from 50 miles away."
The letter, Oltmann said, almost amounts to an eviction notice. Her parents, fearing that they might be creating problems for her, cashed in their life savings and hurriedly bought another house in the subdivision so they could have a place to stay, Oltmann said.
Oltmann said she's not mad at her neighbors "who have embraced us and helped us," but the letter sent by the seven-member board "was a slap in the face." Oltmann said she and other residents are thinking about trying to force an election to vote in a new board.
McCormick, while conceding that "the letter could have been worded better," said some residents are overreacting to a simple notice of restrictive convenant violations.
The board, during the recovery from Katrina, "is not enforcing convenants now," McCormick said. "We're simply encouraging people to comply if they can. . . . All we're asking is keep us informed of the situation.
"There's no way we're going to ask people to throw people out," he said.
McCormick said the board has a duty and obligation to keep an eye out for covenant violations. And most residents aren't aware that they can simply ask the board to grant variances that allow things prohibited by the deed restrictions, he said.
Of the 28 letters sent to residents this month, McCormick said most dealt with "boats, Jet Skis and the like" being parked or placed in places banned by the covenants, he said. "Only three dealt with camper trailers," he said.
But L.J. Strassel said most residents are upset by the letters sent to their neighbors, especially the part that points out that subdivision lots "are for single-family residential purposes only." About half the homeowners in the subdivision are housing displaced friends or family members, he said.
"It's obvious what they meant when they put that in there," said Strassel, who's living with a neighbor because his Maplewood Drive house was heavily damaged.
"I just can't believe the board is that insensitive to the community here," he said.
McCormick said it was not the board's intention to tell residents that they can't house family members.
