Developer D.R. Horton was met with the jeers and heckling of roughly 100 residents of the Plaza Grande condominiums when a company representative asked township officials to release an approximately $1 million performance bond.
For the second time in as many months, the developer was also met with the Township Council’s dissent.
Under the performance bond, D.R. Horton is responsible for maintaining roads, landscaping, sewers, sidewalks and other things in the 55-and-over community on Falston Circle.
Residents came out in droves to stonewall the bond release at a meeting last month at Town Hall, and were successful in convincing members of the council that it should at least be tabled for consideration at a later date. When the release was up for vote again on Sept. 23, residents rallied in similarly strong numbers to insist that the developer had not upheld its end of the deal.
“This community has suffered greatly due to what we believe has been gross negligence on the part of D.R. Horton,” Plaza Grande homeowners’ association representative Stephanie Pinck said. “We all live in homes that are deteriorating continuously.”
A recurring sinkhole that Pinck said swallowed a lawnmower was one of many issues that had Plaza Grande residents up in arms at the council meeting.
Pinck also noted that the Plaza Grande homeowners’ association was in the midst of a major lawsuit with the developer involving the association’s claim of more than $10 million in construction defects that, it claims, did not result from normal wearand tear.
“This lawsuit has been ongoing for a few years, with no end yet in sight,” Pinck wrote in an email to the Suburban. “This has caused great dissatisfaction among the residents for many obvious reasons, including the unsightly condition of our buildings and the burdensome and extraordinary expenses incurred and borne by us.”
D.R. Horton Division Counsel Todd Greene would not comment on the proceeding litigation.
Engineer Jim Grankowski of third-party engineering firm CME Associates said D.R. Horton had fulfilled its obligations as outlined in the bond, and recommended that the bond be released.
“[D.R. Horton] has completed all work. They addressed the sinkhole to our satisfaction, they double-checked the [storm sewer] inlets at our request, and all other work has been completed. We have no other choice but to recommend the release of the performance guarantee,” he said, provoking the ire of the Plaza Grande residents in attendance.
However, the second professional recommendation on behalf of the engineering firm was not enough to convince the council that D.R. Horton had satisfied the responsibilities of the bond.
“If everything [in the bond] was taken care of, I don’t think we’d have a room full of people in front of us from Plaza Grande,” Councilman Reginald Butler said.
Mary Sohor, the councilwoman for the district where Plaza Grande is located, lauded her constituency for staying active in local government.
“I know that [D.R. Horton] came and did some remediation, but from what I’m seeing and hearing here, there are still a lot of concerns,” she said.
The bond was withheld with a unanimous dissenting vote.
Contact Thomas Castles at [email protected].