WCOM NEWS

4-30-04

Miramar residents appeal to city over unfinished roads

MIRAMAR--When Michele Guerrero bought a new home in Miramar's Palm Cove neighborhood, she never thought the homeowners would be responsible for finishing the roads.

It's been more than a year since the 93 single-family homes were completed, yet the final layers of asphalt on the streets have not been poured, forcing drivers to dodge potholes and protruding manhole covers.

Fed up, about 20 residents went before the Miramar commission last weekseeking help to resolve the problem.

"Could you help us have a safe, completed community?" asked Guerrero, who bought her new, four-bedroom home 2 1/2 years ago. "Someone should fix the streets. When we buy a new home, we should not have to take this action."

Palm Cove, a subdivision of Monarch Lakes, is between Flamingo Road and Interstate 75, north of Miramar Parkway. The three-, four- and five-bedroom homes sell from the mid-$200,000s to $315,000.

Hector Vazquez, the city's development coordinator, said Glassman Development Inc., which developed the community, was responsible for the roads. He said the city did not require a road performance bond because the streets are privately owned and maintained by the homeowner's association.

He said the city only requires a bond for streets that will be turned over to the city.

Attorneys for Glassman said they did not complete the roads because they are in litigation with Adrian Builders Inc. of Miami, which built the homes.

Glassman Development and Adrian Builders did not return four phone calls from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

"We are going to try to talk to the developers and see if we can get this improvement done," Vazquez said. "As far as having developers agree to anything, [that] may take some time."

Guerrero, who is president of the homeowners association, questioned why the city released the final certificate of occupancy when the community was not yet complete.

"It's not uncommon for the second layer of asphalt to be installed after the residential certificate of occupancy has been issued," Vazquez said. "The idea of a C.O. is to make sure that residential is complete. It's not necessarily tied to the roads."

The homeowners association also had to complete the tot lot and the guard gate.

"The bottom line is that Adrian Executive Homes left us without completing the community," said Olivia S. Benson, a resident since 2002.

(source) Sun Sentinel (Lori Sykes) 4-30-04