April 05, 2008 06:19 pm
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By David Wilfong
Herald-Banner Staff
As a result of a dispute over a walking trail in the Oaks of Buffalo Way neighborhood, Matt Scott has filed suit for an injunction against the neighborhood homeowners association (HOA).
The suit was filed after the board of the Oaks of Buffalo Way voted to suspend the voting rights of residents who had not paid a “special assessment” levied by the HOA for the replacement of an asphalt walking trail with concrete.
The election for new board members is scheduled for April 13. Scott has stated that he believes this measure was initiated to deny a vote to residents who disagree with the current board, thereby assuring current board members their reelection.
Scott was one of an estimated one-third of the homeowners who had informed the HOA that he would not be able to pay the entire $1,500 assessment within the 30-day time allotment.
Scott, also a member of the Rockwall City Council, stated in a letter to residents that the HOA (described effectively as a taxing entity) had overstepped its boundaries.
“If the City tried to raise taxes by $1,500 on 30 days notice (which it cannot legally do), the backlash would be thundering,” Scott wrote. “Most of you would not only be asking what I was thinking, you would probably be calling for my head. But that is exactly what the Board has now put in motion.”
Sid Murphy, a member of the HOA board, took exception with Scott’s position on the matter in an e-mail to residents.
“I am troubled by Mr. Scott’s need to express his concern that ‘it is apparent to me that this particular Board has no concern for others’,” Murphy wrote. “Your Board members have taken phone calls, have received and read emails, have listened to HOA members, and have responded within the authority of the DCCRs and the Bylaws. Your Board has taken steps to alleviate some of the burden, but has also recognized that it is bound by the DCCRs and the Bylaws and that it has an obligation to the entire community, not just some within the community.”
The first hearing in the matter is slated for April 7th at 1:30 p.m. in The Rockwall County Court at Law.
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