April 09, 2004

By Sergio D. Biancardi

I wanted to extend my sincerest "Thank You" for your investigative article titled "Brook Hills resident fights Homeowners' Association" in the March 11 edition. You have indeed uncovered a snake's nest full of spite, corruption, selective enforcement and many other negative adjectives that would be improper in this letter.

My wife and I continue to be astonished at the extreme lack of sensitivity and common sense, among other things, exhibited by the Brook Hills HOA towards various residents and especially towards the Basses. The lawsuit filed by the HOA against the Basses is, in my opinion, completely unnecessary. This is especially so in a quiet, little town like Fallbrook and in Brook Hills where most residents, certainly the Basses, have made their home a standout example of beautiful landscaping. The HOA's unwarranted, big-handed approach makes us feel like victims, not residents. Many of us purposefully moved to a semi-country lifestyle for a sense of peace. It is very obvious that the HOA's lawsuit filnging mentality does not promote a positive, happy feeling in our neighborhood. A lawsuit should not be the type of dispute resolution to be implemented in a community where we all live.

In addition to the lawsuit against the Bass' many homeowners here have been fined a significant amount of money regarding landscaping completion times. In our case we were fined $2500 after we spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in landscaping costs and after we were given our landscaping completion notice by the HOA. Ironically enough, the Brook Hills resident who inspected our property, a member of the Board, still has dirt and bark on his property. He continues to landscape at his own peaceful pace with no fines or threats from the HOA after inhabiting his property for "four" years. Does this sound like a fair and unbiased HOA to you?

I urge you to continue your investigative work and to publish follow-up stories. You will undoubtedly uncover issues you thought were not possible in a small community. Certainly the relationship between the HOA, Peters and Freedman and Jaeschke Inc. mandates further investigation.