My response to the Ocean Oaks Condo Proposal

Hello, Ocean Oaks residents

Some of you know me, some do not. My name is Gerry Harbison. My wife Marjorie and I have owned unit 208B since 2006, and we retired this year and moved down from Nebraska to Ocean Oaks full time.

This has been a progressive Board, and it has done many useful things that were neglected in the past. However, while I support many of their proposed changes to our governing documents,  I have some concerns about some of the proposals. In addition, I am concerned about the process, which raises serious issues of ethics, propriety and even legality.

The grilling area

I don’t have much of a problem with the idea of a grilling area, though I doubt we personally would ever use it. In my experience in a couple of other condos, shared facilities like this tend to be neglected and to accumulate grease and filth over time. However, one of the proposed locations, next to the tennis courts, raises significant privacy concerns. 

This is the view from the front balcony, directly outside our unit. As you can see, the northwest side of the tennis court area looks directly into the second floor units in building B. In fact, I took this picture on the same sightline as the proposed grill area; you can see right through our unit. The problem will be even worse for the low-numbered condos on the second floor of B. 

The border fence

Regarding the proposed security fence and gates: there is no nice way to put this. The board’s messaging has been disconnected from reality, and hysterical. 

This is a graph of violent crime in the United States. It has dropped 23% since 2006, when we bought our condo here. Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey, hardly a bleeding heart liberal, says our crime has also dropped locally. Studies show that Americans consistently estimate crime to be rising, when it has in fact over three decades fallen consistently. “Unlawful behavior permeates our nation and community”? Turn off cable news and go for a walk. 

The comments transmitted by the board are even more fraught. Quote: We cannot fathom anyone voting against this proposal and jeopardize their safety and the safety of their loved ones. 

Puh-leese! So why are they putting themselves and their loved ones in danger by living here now, without a fence?

No, folks, this is not Portland. Antifa and the Proud Boys are not going to be battling it out on Ridgewood Avenue. We’ve been a quiet cul-de-sac since Marjorie and I first came here in 2006. We’re still a quiet cul-de-sac. We don’t need to become Fort Apache, Cape Canaveral. 

We could all have chosen to live in a gated community. We did not. And even if we did decide to try to wall ourselves off from the rest of Florida, the proposed security fences would be almost useless. One can still access Ocean Oaks from the public access way to the beach, and from the beach itself. If the hordes come for us, they won’t be coming from Royal Mansions. 

The gate will be a hassle. People will lose or forget their access cards; they will run into it in their cars. Yes, it’s annoying that people park in the garage to go to the beach or watch launches, but a couple of intelligently installed surveillance cameras and a towing contract could solve that. And I’ve never, not once, been unable to find a parking spot. 

As for Royal Mansions’ alleged intention to put up a chain link fence: let them try. There’s not a whole lot of room between their parking lot and the property line. They will have to cut down mature palm trees and oleanders that occupy most of the area. They should be informed we will not permit their workers to cross into our property, and they will pay for any damage to our vegetation. Are they seriously worried about intruders from our quiet little condo?

I see no reason to spend tens of thousands of dollars to buy into this folly.

Board approval for non structural alterations.

This might have been a good idea, but it overreaches. Why does the Board need to approve cabinets? This seems a gross infringement of the unit owner’s rights.

Electrical work — that could be anything from changing a light-bulb or resetting a GFI, to adding lamps to a hanging fan, to major rewiring. I can see needing approval for the last; incompetent electrical work could cause a fire or cause a power outage. But where do we draw the line? Maybe, if the town doesn’t need to approve a permit, then nor should we. 

Process

This entire process has been unsatisfactory, since it started in April. The proposal itself has undergone three major changes since then. If the proposal is so urgent, why has it changed so much? Are we sure it’s now what we want? There has been very limited discussion. Worse, the Board has abused its access to unit owners’ emails to promote the changes, while denying those of us who oppose some of them, the chance to respond in like manner. As you can see, I’ve responded anyway, but I had to overcome substantial impediments to do so. 

The Board Chair should not be sending out such emails from a personal account. If it’s really from the Board, send it from the Board account, and tell us when you met and how you decided to send it out, as required under sunshine laws. 

Let’s put this all on hold until we get the proposals and the process straightened out. The middle of a COVID spike, when even holding a meeting is a problem, may not be the best time.