Apartment Choice

The Shadowood condominium complex , on South Lakes Drive in Reston, has been ordered to stop charging fees for rules violations because its original master deed doesn 't allow it. The court ruling has implications for condo and homeowner associations across Virginia. (Elizabeth Razzi/The Washington Post) UPDATE, Monday, 9 a.m.: In Saturday’s condo board elections , Shadowood’s owners defeated both the incumbent secretary and treasurer, replacing them with two new officers. The next election, for board president Olivia , is in March. ORIGINAL POST: In Reston, there is a condominium complex called Shadowood that has written itself into Virginia history. For years, the Shadowood Condominium Association imposed fees for things like calling the management office or having the wrong color blinds . It towed tenants’ cars for unpaid fees — on the day before Thanksgiving. It turned off the heat or air conditioning to apartments of owners who were in arrears or in violation of its many ...

Mountain View's rent- control program has already survived political and legal trials -- but what about the business test? An increasing number of apartment owners appear to be cashing out rather than working under the new restrictions. If the trend continues, some say it will lead to a cascade of redevelopment spearheaded by large corporate buyers . This scenario would result in older apartments being phased out and replaced with new housing that is exempt from rent control. Those looking at the data with a more critical eye point out that sales of apartment buildings are up throughout the South Bay, and that the number of buyers indicates a healthy interest in investing in Mountain View housing , regardless of rent control. To take one example, Fremont residents Ann and Paul Lethers decided in June to sell their 18-unit complex on Del Medio Avenue in Mountain View, which they created from separate purchases of two adjacent nine-unit buildings. They say they h...

Drawing the lines in battle over space By Jeff Simms Scenic Hudson is hoping to nearly double the parking at the base of Mount Beacon to ease congestion at one of the Highlands’ most popular hiking spots . Meanwhile, the Beacon City Council and a developer clashed over who should provide spaces for a new 24- unit apartment building on Main Street. Mount Beacon Representatives from Scenic Hudson appeared before the Planning Board earlier this month to discuss plans to expand the lot at the park from 40 spaces to 77. The project, if approved, would be completed this winter, said Meg Rasmussen, a park planner for the nonprofit conservation group . It would involve moving the Howland Avenue lot entrance farther away from Route 9D and turning it into an exit. Cars routinely line Howland on holidays and weekends when the park’s lot is full. An overflow area north of the lot will be off-limits (it was recently determined to be wetlands), while the existing lot will be widened and orien...

SOUTH BEND — The city's historic preservation agency Monday rejected a request by South Bend schools officials to demolish the old Marquette School building , a plan that has been in the works for years but has met with resistance from preservationists. The South Bend-St. Joseph County Historic Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the South Bend Community School Corp .'s request to demolish the 1937 building to create more outdoor space for the current Marquette Primary Montessori Academy . Elicia Feasel, the commission's executive director, recommended that the panel deny the request. In a report to the commission, she concluded that the school corporation had failed to prove the types of safety issues that would justify demolishing a local historic landmark . The commission agreed and voted 4-1 to deny the district's request for approval to demolish the building. Several members faulted the school corporation for building the new Marquette school in...

Grassroots efforts to establish rent control in more California cities could get a boost from the California Apartment Association ’s decision to abandon its lawsuits seeking to overturn voter-approved rent-control laws in Richmond and Mountain View. The association, which represents landlords, posted on its website late Friday that it has “suspended its legal efforts” to overturn Measure V in Mountain View and Measure L in Richmond. “I hope it emboldens other communities to not be chilled by threats of lawsuits,” said Juliet Brodie, a Stanford Law School professor who helped draft Measure V. Judges in Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties had previously ruled against the association’s motions for preliminary injunctions seeking to halt implementation of the measures approved by each city’s voters in November. A full hearing on the merits of the case in Richmond had been scheduled for May 24; that is now canceled. The association claimed, and still believes, that the laws cons...

Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. DREXELBROOK ASSOCIATES, and L. William Kay, II, Petitioners v. PENNSYLVANIA HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION , Respondent. No. 1579 C.D.2011.     Decided: June 27, 2012 BEFORE: PELLEGRINI, President Judge, LEADBETTER, Judge, SIMPSON, Judge, LEAVITT, Judge, BROBSON, Judge, McCULLOUGH, Judge, and COVEY, Judge.Mark S. Halpern, Drexel Hill, for petitioners. Martin C. Cunningham, Assistant Chief Counsel , Harrisburg, for respondent. Drexelbrook Associates and L. William Kay, II(Kay) appeal the July 25, 2011 Final Order of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) requiring Drexelbrook Associates and Kay to cease and desist from retaliation against anyone having filed a discrimination claim and ordering various monetary damages in favor of Ingrid Dotson Luderman (Dotson). There are essentially two issues before the Court: (1) whether Dotson timely filed her action against Drexelbrook Associates, and (2) whether Dotson timely filed her action agai...