Owners ordered to vow HOA support or face suit

BLACK FOREST - Along the trickling headwaters of Cherry Creek, just beyond the pine trees of Black Forest, homeowners are squaring off against each other.

A judge will decide who runs the Cherry Creek Springs Homeowners Association and its three-member board of directors. In the meantime, the HOA board is trying to force residents to take sides.

Many residents of the upscale homes on 5-acre lots are outraged.

“They are making us sign a loyalty oath,” said Haze Hutmacher, who built his home in 1998 and is among the original owners in the subdivision.

“This is so wrong,” Hutmacher said. “I think it’s a grievous miscarriage of the Constitution of the United States.”

On June 16, a group of residents held a special meeting to oust the board. The HOA’s attorney declared the meeting invalid.

Now, the HOA board is trying to crush the revolt by demanding all owners — there are 115 lots — sign a document declaring the old board to be the true board.

Those who don’t sign will be sued by the HOA board and assessed attorney fees.

“I’m shocked I’m going to get sued by the board that supposedly represents me,” said Matt Lasley. “What more is there to be said about our board? That they would allow our lawyer to send out an ultimatum letter like that is appalling. To say a nonresponse subjects you to a lawsuit is incredible to me.”

Hutmacher and Lasley said they have been trying to avoid the battles over covenants — rules that govern life in Cherry Creek Springs — that have consumed the board, its architecture committee and a handful of residents in recent years.

They resent being dragged into the fray.

“There are a lot of people who have been sitting on the sidelines, ignoring what’s going on,” Lasley said.

A handful of neighbors have come under HOA board scrutiny in recent years.

Joe Brundage was sued in 2005 after grazing cattle on his lots, even though he said he had board approval to do so. He lost and was assessed $12,000 in HOA attorney fees.

“The covenants allow horses and other ‘4H-type animals,’ and I had approval,” Brundage said. “They allowed another owner to have alpacas. But they sued me over my cows. The hypocrisy here reaches mythological proportions.”

Dave Holly is locked in a legal battle with the board over alleged covenant violations, such as his chain-link fence, a cedar fence and trailers.

“Seven other homes have chain-link fences,” Holly said. “And there are 57 other trailer violations. I took pictures of them.”

Holly thinks the covenants are being arbitrarily enforced because his family is in a legal dispute with the wife of a board member.

Robert Gaspar’s battle with the board started when he disputed a $75 increase in annual dues. He paid only the $120 original dues amount and found himself with a bill for $800 in legal fees.

Gaspar sued the board president in small-claims court over the issue, leading to the HOA ultimatum.

“They are selectively enforcing covenants, I believe,” Gaspar said.

HOA board treasurer Bill Anderson said he was on vacation when the HOA letter was written June 23 and he thinks it was too harsh. But he defended enforcing covenants.

“There’s a small group of people who are dissatisfied,” Anderson said. “Now they are trying to take over the board and get the lawsuits dropped.”

After the June 16 takeover attempt, Anderson said the board decided it had to take a stand.

“The board and our attorney has been pushed around by these people multiple times,” Anderson said. “It’s time to put up or shut up. You are either with this board and you want to continue to have progress within the community . . . or you are with the people who want to destroy everything.

“We will file suit against you to get this stopped.”

Hutmacher said the board may have picked one fight too many.

“I’ll never sign,” he said. “I’m not in lock step with either group. I want to be left alone. And I will not swear allegiance to a group.”

Tell me about your neighborhood: 636-0193 or bill.vogrin@gazette.com