Laguna Woods Village condo board mulls revisions to decades-old appliance policy in 3-story buildings
LAGUNA WOODS — Laguna Woods Village’s Third Mutual board on Tuesday, Sept. 18 discussed revisions to a 20-year-old policy that bans the installation of washers and dryers in three-story buildings.
Active since Dec. 15, 1998, the original alteration standard has prohibited third-story members from furnishing their manors with said appliances, while terminating variance requests to do so, according to a Village Management Services staff report.
The board’s efforts on Tuesday clarified existing waste-line sizes for plumbing pipe — 3-inch ABS plastic and 3-inch cast iron — as well as the “grandfather clause” within the resolution.
Washers and dryers installed with mutual consent prior to Dec. 15, 1998, are considered “grandfathered in.”
President Rosemarie diLorenzo said there were about 30 units approved prior to the resolution.
The revision also adds a clause to the original resolution that all non-permitted installations — often detected during the resale or leak-repair processes, diLorenzo mentioned — shall be removed by the mutual upon knowledge of existence.
“If by some chance, you have installed a washer and dryer without any permits, it is not grandfathered and you will be asked to remove it, if it comes up,” Director Burt Baum said. “We just want to alert all residents.”
Baum further explained that the issue is not with the pipe in the manor, but where that pipe leads — to the waste line. Simply widening the immediate pipe will not solve the issue he said, to which First Vice President Bill Walsh added that would mean tearing up concrete under parking areas and garages, resulting in “one heck of a project.”
Walsh noted that the “very costly” case study must be put on hold, as there are more pressing issues requiring staff attention.
“We’re not bending on this rule,” diLorenzo said, though the board agreed a future project is not out of the question. “But for now, it’s on a side-burner.”
The resolution must satisfy a 30-day notification requirement.
Business and Reserves Plan
The board approved the 2019 Business Plan for Third Mutual, which reflected a total basic assessment of $637.22 per manor per month, according to a staff report.
The staff report listed the total increase for members at $8.80 per month — $4.54 for Third plus $4.26 for GRF — or 1.4 percent in comparison wtih the current year.
Additionally, Third adopted a 30-year funding plan for replacement reserves with the objective of “maintaining replacement reserve balances at or above established thresholds totaling $8.17 million while meeting its obligation to repair and/or replace major components.”
Chief Financial Officer Betty Parker said that the consumer price index fluctuates but averages between 2 percent and 2 1/2 percent.
“Our goal is to not increase the assessment tremendously, but the thing is (while not having) increased at the rate of the CPI, we’re not compromising anything,” diLorenzo said, noting how the board has proactively taken on dry rot and poured more money into landscaping than in previous years.
Both plans were unanimously adopted.
Payment Plan
The board approved a payment plan agreement for delinquent charges including unpaid fines, fees and chargeable services.
The plan would initiate a monthly charge for interest at the rate of 10 percent per annum and would introduce an administrative fee of $25 per month as long as the agreement is in effect, according to a staff report.
Members unable to pay fees in a timely manner may submit a written request for a payment plan to the board, which will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Acceptance would not be guaranteed.
The resolution must satisfy a 30-day notification requirement.
Damage Reimbursement Administrative Fee
The board approved a staff-backed proposal to impose an administrative fee as reimbursement for damages to common area and facilities caused by a member or the member’s guest or tenant.
During the past six months, staff has processed 40 damage reimbursement cases, totaling about $150,000, ranging from $535 to $32,738, at an average cost of about $3,700, according to a staff report.
The report also noted the average staff cost per project — coordinating restoration, handling invoice payment process and compiling data for the reimbursement hearing report — to be about 13 percent.
To combat this, staff recommended setting a fee at 10 percent of the case-by-case settled reimbursement cost.
Staff projected that fees would range from $107 to $3,273, with an average fee of about $450.
The resolution must satisfy a 30-day notification requirement.
Heroic efforts rewarded
Security Director Tim Moy recognized Third Mutual resident Michael Gold with a certificate of appreciation for extracting a resident, as well as a burning mattress, from a manor fire at the Garden Villas on Tuesday, Aug. 7.
Initially, Gold noticed smoke coming out of the manor windows, Moy recounted. Before first responders arrived, Gold, who lives in the same building, entered the manor after assessing the situation and performed “lifesaving efforts.”
“This individual went above and beyond,” Moy said. “He risked his own safety, and we want to recognize him today.”
Resale report
The average resale price for a condo in Third Mutual in August was $433,175, up from $382,281 in August 2017, according to a VMS staff report. Resales year-to-date numbered 277, down from 329 the same time last year. Sales volume in August was $17.3 million compared with $18 million in August 2017.