Betsy Connor Bowen wrote:Todd Tolhurst wrote:Ray Ronan wrote:Hi Todd, Gotta disagree (in a friendly way LOL). If a landowner has land on the road but nothing else and there is no activity then it is hard to see what benefit the landowner has. I do agree with the 4 or more parcels bit - clearly spelled out in the law. If the landowner sells the lot, and the new owner puts up a house, they will have to pay the owner of the road a fee for access (driveway) to the road and then I see a benefit. That's my story and I'm sticking to it LOL.
Even if one doesn't actually use the road, land which is accessible by a road is certainly more useful and valuable than land which is not accessible by a road. Not that that really matters -- the statute defines the association as consisting of those parcels which either (a) own (all or part of) the road, or (b) have an easement over the road. That's it. Period.
Now, whether an owner ought to be assessed anything if they do not use the road, such as the owner of a unimproved lot, or a lot accessible from another road, is a matter for the association to decide. Personally, I think even an unimproved parcel ought to be assessed something, even if it's a very small token amount. But your association, in its discretion, may decide to charge nothing.
There is no discretion concerning which parcels are part of the association, however. The law is the law.
Yes, "benefited" comes up in the discussion of who may form an association. If you own a parcel that is "benefited" you may be one of the formers. But the question of whether a parcel that is "benefited" that has a driveway/is "improved" should be charged as much as one that has/does not is another question and that is up to the association to decide.
In theory, the law states (as I read it) that the owner of an unimproved parcel may be one of the formers. That owner's parcel is benefited by the road being there; the parcel may be made more valuable, more accessible by foot (some people still walk places!) and so on.
But, for example, our association thinks that unimproved parcels don't get assessed and that is fine if the majority does not object. The people who own those unimproved parcels also happen to own improved ones and they get assessed for those, not the unimproved ones.
If there were an owner who owned an unimproved parcel who didn't attend meetings, was absentee, etc., I doubt that that person would get assessed even though he would be a member. But, truth to tell, the majority might well decide to assess him and that would be that. Unless, of course, it didn't seem a fair amount to the owner and then he would have cause to resort to the court