TH Association votes to change dock policy

Townhouse Association board members voted six to one to update its policy on lake access stairs and docks last week, capping off a months-long debate about which members should be allowed to use or build docks. Kathe Dees was the lone vote of opposition.

The policy change came after a townhouse owner expressed concerns about confusion in the rules. The policy manual, which was written decades ago, was not clear as to which townhouse members could build or use docks and stairs on the lake. The question was whether everyone who owned a townhouse had equal access, or if only those owning lakefront property could build stairs and docks.

“I’ve been on the board since 2000, and up until a month ago I never heard about docks,” said Townhouse Asssociation President Jack Adams.

One of the sticking points is the fact that the stairs cross limited common property.

“The stairs are owned by the owner and they cross limited common property,” said General Manager David Whittlesey. “If someone got hurt on them we could be sued for that, but we are not denying anyone access from using them…. But as stairs traverse limited common property we could be potentially liable for injuries.”

The new policy permits townhouse owners with only limited common property between their townhome and the lake to seek approval to construct lake access stairs or docks. Applications must still be approved by the Townhouse Association before obtaining a design permit from the ACC and a construction permit from the city.

“As most lake frontage townhomes are in complexes, space may not be available to each individual property for the addition of stairs and/or docks,” the policy states. “The Association reserves the right to deny or amend any request due to space restrictions and/or the number of existing stairs and docks.”

Association members will be able to use any access stairs, but docks will be for the exclusive use of the owner. Owners are also responsible for maintenance.

Kathe Dees voiced concerns about the proposal at last month’s meeting, fearing that the policy could open the association to lawsuits.

“Stairs and docks are an amenity,” she said. “We, as the association, need to cover our behinds in case of a future potential lawsuit, so we should include all owners…. We need to decide now where and how many future docks could be placed, because if we ‘reserve the right to deny or amend any request,’ we could face a lawsuit of someone accusing us of denying them because ‘we don’t like them’ or a variety of exaggerated reasons.”

Dees proposed setting an exact number of stairs and docks that can be built, after which no more would be approved.

Whittlesey argued that, because the stairs are owned by individual owners, they are not an official amenity like tennis courts or swimming pools.

“As long as it is not an official association amenity… we could not be sued on that basis,” he said. “But as stairs traverse limited common property we could be potentially liable for injuries.”

In the monthly General Manager’s Report, Whittlesey said that the properties on Nantucket Drive that were heavily damaged or destroyed by a fire on March 22 had been sold.

“Demolition was completed earlier this month,” he said. “Construction will be starting soon to rebuild as originally constructed.”

The next Townhouse Association meeting, which is open to all members, will be held 9 a.m. July 20 at 2 Cora Circle.