TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

WCA Delays Taking Action On 'Wall Art'

ADVERTISEMENT

By JASON GEARY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 16, 2008

WESTCHASE - Anticipating the ire of angry homeowners, the Westchase Community Association postponed sending out letters ordering those with "wall art" on their properties to take it down.

At Thursday's meeting, board members extended a moratorium so that a committee could review the issue.

The deed-restricted community's rules do not permit "wall art" - a term that includes items such as decorative welcome signs and fountains attached to exterior walls.

A moratorium on enforcement had been in place until March 31 so homeowners could remove such items.

In preparation for when enforcement would go forward, Patty Stewart, Westchase's property manager, said she had compiled a list of about 50 possible violations.

She said she had not checked for violations within West Park Village, The Bridges and The Fords.

Some board members were concerned about how many homeowners were going to be affected and wondered whether the issue needed to be better investigated.

The moratorium was further extended so a committee could review the issue, but a specific deadline was not given.

In other matters, board members also debated whether to get rid of a recently adopted policy governing how homeowners must request records from the association.

Months ago, Chris Barrett, publisher and managing editor of the community's newsletter, questioned whether the policy was more restrictive than Florida law allows. The association's lawyer has yet to offer an answer.

Some board members, including Mary Griffin and Carlos Quiros, said the policy does appear to be more restrictive.

A motion to rescind the policy failed to gain enough support. However, Ruben Collazo, WCA president, said he would get an answer from the association's lawyer.

"We will bring this back next month," Collazo said.

Board members also proposed establishing a tennis tournament in honor of Kenny Cheng, a resident of The Greens and an avid tennis player, who recently died of cancer.

The proposal will be sent to the association's swim and tennis committee for consideration.

Reporter Jason Geary can be reached at (813) 865-1505 or jgeary@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT