May 2006

It’s a beautiful time of the year when we should be thinking about getting outside to play, walk, ride our bikes, or work in the garden. Instead we are wondering when we will be served with papers saying we are the defendants in a lawsuit. The misguided attempt by the three East Bay View residents to seize community property for their own gain has escalated to the point where we are all involved. As you know, the Court of Special Appeals recently ordered that since all property owners in Hillsmere have an interest in the beach strip property (HSIA contends that interest is actual ownership), the plaintiffs have to include everyone in their suit if they want to go forward. A letter was recently mailed by Mr. Singleton, one of the three plaintiffs, to everyone in Hillsmere. The letter was full of incorrect and misleading statements. The HSIA Board of Directors felt strongly that it needed to respond to set the record straight. A letter signed by all the board members was mailed to everyone in the community. That letter, and the point-by-point answer to the Singleton letter, is published in this issue. I hope that everyone takes the time to read the letters and get a better understanding of what is happening here.

In the last Sea Breeze, I asked people to let us know how they felt about this lawsuit and the threat to sue everyone in Hillsmere. We received about 20 emails and letters. About 70% were strongly in favor of the board’s stand in defending against the lawsuit. When Mr. Singleton sent the letter to the community I can only assume that his intent was to make people feel that he and the other plaintiffs were the victims and to make the residents angry at the HSIA board. It seems that the exact opposite has occurred. Most of the people I spoke to saw through the misleading statements and are very angry at the three East Bay View residents bringing this lawsuit. As I have said previously, when and if we are individually sued we will have the option to hire a lawyer, defend ourselves, or opt out of the lawsuit. I really didn’t expect many residents to hire lawyers out of their own pocket but several of the people I have spoken to say that is exactly what they intend to do. I think the three East Bay View residents are going to get much more than they expected in terms of legal resistance, anger, and disgust from their neighbors. They should seriously consider what they have to gain if they work with HSIA to address their concerns verses what they may lose if they escalate this attack on their neighbors to the next level.

The City of Annapolis has published a draft of their concept for the future of the Bay Village Plaza and Hillsmere shopping center as a "mixed-use center", with the possible name of the "Bay Village Town Center". The concept covers the area on both sides of Bay Ridge Road from Hillsmere Drive to Carrollton Road (near the Mexican Café). The goal is to create urban density, an interconnected street grid, and plenty of commercial and retail buildings (two stories, up to possibly four stories) along with townhouses or similarly dense residential buildings. Bay Ridge Road will eventually be redesigned to be an urban, pedestrian-friendly boulevard with 25 mph traffic. The city specifically states that they do not want a suburban design. They want commercial buildings built right up to the property lines similar to the new construction on West Street. In addition the plans call for a connection of the street grid to Hillsmere Drive. They show one connection at the end of the library parking lot also connecting to Old Annapolis Neck Road to the east. Additional plans show a connection from Old Annapolis Neck Road on the west near the entrance to Quiet Waters Park. One design even calls for a traffic circle on Hillsmere Drive at the current park entrance. While I don’t think we should automatically be against development, we do need to do our best to make sure it improves the quality of our life instead of making things worse. The city is having a community meeting on Wednesday, May 24th (see the announcement elsewhere in this Sea Breeze). I suggest that you attend that meeting to both find out what the city is planning and to make sure they know that our community cares about sensible development. Visit our web site at www.hillsmereshores.net for a link to the city’s 36 page draft report.

Deed covenants are another way to maintain the character of a community. In a recent Capital article, a woman in Annapolis city was shocked when a nearby house was torn down to make room for four new homes. She complained to city officials because there was a deed covenant on the property stating that only one home could be built on each lot. The city’s response was that these private covenants were not something that they would enforce. As long as the development meets their zoning requirements they wouldn’t intervene. The woman must now file a lawsuit if she wants to enforce the covenant. Hillsmere has a similar covenant. Luckily, the HSIA Board of Directors takes enforcement of our covenants seriously. We just went through a several month process of approving a property that initially exceeded the 2-1/2 story height restriction. The board adopted a standard for determining the height of a building. The standard will likely undergo some final tweaking at the next board meeting. Once completed it will be published in the Sea Breeze. If you are planning a new home or a vertical addition please contact us for the latest information.

Another issue relating to our covenants came up at the last board meeting. A couple of long time residents were about to raze their older home and build their retirement dream home. They came to the meeting to ask about locating their garage but were shocked to find out that their dream house would violate the 15 foot setback covenant. There is a common misconception that odd shaped lots do not have to abide by this rule. This is completely false. The covenants clearly state that HSIA can approve a variance if “contour or shape of a lot will not permit compliance” with the deed restrictions. In other words, only if the odd shape prevents you from meeting the setback requirements can you get a variance. In this case the odd shape was at the other end of the lot and had no bearing on the placement of the house. Another misconception is that HSIA can grant a variance if they want to. People often come before the board with compelling stories of how granting the variance makes sense, looks better, or will simply improve their quality of life. They don’t understand that it is not up to us to make the rules. We are bound by the covenants and cannot allow variances that violate them no matter how much we like the resident or their story.

Unfortunately, there are people who will take advantage of good trusting people. A resident recently sent an email about a door-to-door magazine sales scam. She was moved by the story told by a well dressed young man about his organization’s efforts to fight crime and drug addiction. She wrote a check and was handed a receipt that even had the Better Business Bureau logo on it. After he left she did some checking and found that there was no such organization that sold magazines and that they were not listed with the BBB. What can you do to protect yourself? My recommendation is to never buy anything sold door-to-door unless you know the person and organization. You can accept literature, discuss the cause, and make a donation later if you feel it is worthwhile.

There is a lot going on in our community and on the Annapolis Neck. I urge everyone to get involved or at least stay informed about the issues that can have such an impact on our lives. We live in a wonderful community with great facilities and location but in the end, remember, it’s the people who make Hillsmere such a great place to live.

Bill Shuman
President, HSIA