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EDGEWATER OF BRANFORD

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EDGEWATER’S LAND DISPUTE

We are very grateful for the actions the previous 2007-09 Board took to protect Edgewater property. It rediscovered that Edgewater owned ~13,000 square feet of land behind those fences. (It is about 1/3 acre, the size of the foot-print of A-building plus 6 garage buildings). That Board had the area properly surveyed, sent notices (approved by the Association attorney and that Board unanimously - see written proof below) to those neighbors using our property. It re-installed our emergency evacuation gate and carefully signed out the issue to the current Board when it left office.


The current Board has repeatedly tried to blame the last Board for the land dispute. The problem was actually the result of several past Boards neglecting to enforce our property rights along that property line. Rather than ignore the potential problem, the 2007-09 Board worked to fix it.

Ironically, some members of the current Board were on those previous Boards, which for several years apparently made no effort to enforce Edgewater’s property rights, so strengthened any claims our neighbors could have had. The current Board has also tried to make political hay with a 4-year-old, demonstrably-false, libelous letter in which those wanting to claim your Edgewater land attacked Peter Gloor personally. (e.g. An honorable Edgewater Owner took responsibility in writing for some of the actions the letter accused Peter of - see a copy of his letter below.)

The bit of bad news concerns the other about 5% of the behind-the-fence Edgewater property. Four weeks ago, the courts turned an approximately 24 x 30 foot area over to the one neighbor who said he was suing as soon as he received the matter-of-fact adverse-possession-blocking notice. Without the notice though, 100% (twenty times more) of that property could have been lost. (I found the trial result online:  click here for the link).


Roughly speaking, under CT “adverse possession” laws, a neighbor can go to court to claim your land if for 15 years they use it without your objection and without your use or maintenance of it.

Part of the Edgewater land behind those fences and garages 1-18, other than the emergency evacuation road, could be hidden from anyone’s view and could be used for our small boat storage, a clothes line, a community garden, a more plantings along our entry drive, and if the Owners approved it, additional storage buildings that the Association could sell to Owners, a recreational area (badminten, bocce) etc.

Through 2000 Edgewater routinely cut the grass in much of the area, in effect maintaining our property rights there. (I secured a letter from that landscaper). I know of no efforts made between 2001-2005 to retain our property rights of the land in question. My Board could have ignored the problem like a couple of past Boards did. However, every additional year that we did not maintain our property and object to our neighbors use of it would have strengthened our neighbors various claims on the land and increased Edgewater’s liability should someone be injured on our land.

In 2008, on the advice of the Association attorney, my Board had the area properly surveyed and resumed having grass cut there. With the unanimous approval of my Board, we sent a letter, (its wording approved in writing by the Association attorney; see written proof of all this below), to our neighbors objecting to their use of our land. (you can see written proof of all this below)

Immediately after receiving the letter that our lawyer advised the 2008 Board to send, one neighbor said that unless Edgewater signed our property over to him, he would definitely file suit to claim a portion of the land in question. The Board declined to turn over the property in a letter unanimously approved by my Board (including someone still on the current Board – see below).

In 2009, some neighboring property owners sent a slanderous letter to all Edgewater Owners, attacking the Edgewater president personally.[A honorable Edgewater Owner has admitted in writing (see website) that he was responsible for much of what the neighbor’s slanderous letter accused the president of. I believe members of this Board have perpetuated our neighbors’ slander by repeating the falsehoods in it and, as recently as this year, posting that letter on their locked Edgewater bulletin board.]

I believe the neighbors’ letter was an effort to get a more agreeable Board in place. Under that new Board, neighbors have been parking daily in our emergency access road (contrary to the fire marshal’s written instructions to the Association) and have paved another portion of Edgewater property to use for their parking. The Board spent nearly $20,000 on new fencing and placed the fencing with posts sunk in concrete without regard to the actual property lines, leaving all the same Edgewater property behind our fences.

The current Board chose to hire attorneys to defend against the “adverse possession” land claim (It is Ms. Anderson’s firm., which is also now working on the fourth draft of those Documents). In 2008 our Association attorney told me that we should have our title insurance companies defend the property in court, because they would have to defend our legal claims to the land for free. This has surely contributed  to this Board’s spending Association (our) money at a rate  of nearly double of our Board spent (see July’s yellow notice). 

 

Board approval, including Tony Grammatico, of a second letter sent to the neighbor to try to dissuade him for a suit he said he was definitely going ahead with.


He said he would sue right after Edgewater sent him the above  letter Neibhbor 1, which ended any period of our neighbors’ adverse, open and continuous use of our property (required to make a claim on our property)

An honorable Unit Owner explains how he was responsible for the some of the things a neighboring property owner accused Peter of and that  worst of the accusations never happened. The Board is still circulating and posting that “slanderous” letter Jeff refers to.

Here is that letter (Neighbor1) sent to neighbors. You see it was approved by the Association attorney (above), approved 4-0 at a Board meeting (above), and then Board members again given the chance for final comment before being sent out (above). It ended any period of our neighbors’ adverse, open and continuous use of our property (required to make a claim on our property)

Multiple approvals by attorney and Board of letter sent to Edgewater neighbors regarding the property issue.



<-attorney approval

<- Board meeting approval; Includes approval by Tony Grammatico, on this current Board.

<- Board members get final

     chance to proof-read

<- August 25, 2008; Neighbor 1

    letter forwarded to prop

    manager to send out

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Edgewater Property

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Below are photos of Edgewater land behind out southeast fences. The white lines are a very rough (and unofficial) indication of where the actual property lines are according to the land survey done by Edgewater in 2008. Note our new, very expensive fences were placed without regard to the actual property lines (with the posts set in concrete). The photos are arranged roughly east to west.

Land reassigned by Court

Edgewater Property

Land reassigned by Court

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Viewed from the other side (facing east)

Edgewater Property
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