Limited Common Areas

[spikenichols]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

I am having a dispute with the board over an issue that never seems to go away. Our declaration states that the dirt strip in front of our windows is Limited Common Area and that we are free to plant flowers, bushes, and flowering bushes in this area with special consideration given to low growing, low maintenance, and complementary to the landscaping. The developer put in plants in this area. We are the only ones in the complex who requested no plants and have put in our own (that fit all the above criteria). The board is insisting that we remove ours and plant just like everyone else. They had an attorney who said that we were aware of the landscaping plan that was part of the declaration as an attachment. But it was not part of the declaration or attached and so is not part of the legal documentation. Whats more, like most landscaping plans it has been altered many times. The board refuses to listen. What options do I have? In the meantime, this board is allowing and encouraging individuals to plant in the common areas where the declaration specifies that you cannot without written permission. The bushes the developer put in have grown so big that no one can add a bush and sometimes not even flowers anymore. Thanks for any input. I will hire an attorney but hate to go that route if it can be avoided. Thanks.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by spikenichols

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

I am having a dispute with the board over an issue that never seems to go away. Our declaration states that the dirt strip in front of our windows is Limited Common Area and that we are free to plant flowers, bushes, and flowering bushes in this area with special consideration given to low growing, low maintenance, and complementary to the landscaping. The developer put in plants in this area. We are the only ones in the complex who requested no plants and have put in our own (that fit all the above criteria). The board is insisting that we remove ours and plant just like everyone else. They had an attorney who said that we were aware of the landscaping plan that was part of the declaration as an attachment. But it was not part of the declaration or attached and so is not part of the legal documentation. Whats more, like most landscaping plans it has been altered many times. The board refuses to listen. What options do I have? In the meantime, this board is allowing and encouraging individuals to plant in the common areas where the declaration specifies that you cannot without written permission. The bushes the developer put in have grown so big that no one can add a bush and sometimes not even flowers anymore. Thanks for any input. I will hire an attorney but hate to go that route if it can be avoided. Thanks.

**A: either follow the Board's directive or hire an attorney and fight. Your legal fees are going to be more than the cost of the plants.