Benefit of Owning a PUD

This post was edited on October 25, with the addition of the photo of our entrance sign.

On October 12, Anonymous asked this reasonable question as part of a comment. I was planning on publishing this tonight at 12:01 AM, but on reading the banter, I decided to post it now:

"What I'm asking is, what is/was the benefit of us owning our own water pipes, roads, etc?"


Here's my response. We live in a PUD, which is a "Private Urban Development." That means, we own the buildings, the streets and even the water lines below them.

The principal benefit, for the developer and for the residents, is the ability of a PUD to deviate, in certain acceptable ways, from other zoning norms for the city. That means our buildings can have a different setback from the street and different separations, and instead of large grassy front lawns and sidewalks, the buildings can be arranged in an unusual way to allow that land to be put to use behind the buildings for walking paths, streams, waterfalls and extensive landscaping.

The trade-off for this is, we are responsible for some aspects of our property, including the streets, that other parts of the city are not.

You may have noticed that our streets don't adhere to the general arrangement of other streets in the neighborhood. Even our street signs are different! Our streets are a slightly different width, we have a fire lane on one side of the streets, designated as "no parking". We have a sign at the entrances designating the property as "no trespassing" with a general statement about parking and an "Unauthorized vehicles will be towed" sign. 

Parking on our streets is, unlike the city streets, reserved strictly for OUR residents, their guests and deliveries or maintenance. The streets are private. There are rules about the general types of vehicles that are allowed.

We are, for all intents and purposes, a gated community without the gates. 

To paraphrase several municipalities description of a PUD, a Planned Unit Development has the benefit of producing a well-designed development that will have a positive effect on health, security and general welfare. This benefit is achieved by establishing a unitary control over an entire development area, rather than control on a lot-by-lot basis. A typical PUD development plan includes the following information: land uses, distances between buildings, allocations for open space, on-site parking, density limitations per acre, periphery setbacks, floor area ratio, land coverage, land use relationships with adjoining areas, and any other applicable specifications as deemed necessary by city planning staff.

Some of the advantages pass to the city. They provide services for which the responsibilities of the city ends at our entrances and property lines. That includes water and snow removal. Of course, the city provides residents with fire and police protection.

If a perspective buyer is interested in a very quiet community, with great foliage and private walking paths, etc. this place can't be beat. Here is a post I made earlier this year and I think it sums up some of the pros and cons:

Link to "Our City Within A City"

Special Entrance Signs
There are two signs at each entrance. They pertain to the rules and the regulations, and to how to retrieve your vehicle if it is towed. The signs are very explicit. They make it clear, you are entering private property, which is exactly what our PUD is. Here is one of the signs, and I added this photo on October 25, 2010:

Comments, Corrections, Omissions, References, Miscellaneous News

Note 1.  I do agree that it is sometimes shocking when owners don't understand some of the basics of living at BLMH. Anon. above may be fully aware, but some of our owners are not, based on simple conversations including the recent water line break. Here are the responses of several owners on Sunday:

1. Don't worry about it, it's a city problem.
2. Don’t worry about it, it's a city problem. (Yep, two different owners).
3. We should sue somebody.
4. Won’t the company that just did the driveway replace it under warranty?
5. Why didn't I get a notice before the water was shut off; that's common courtesy!
6. Ouch! We own that pipeline!

The realtor who is selling a property should explain the realities of a PUD to a perspective buyer. Perspective owners should, for their part, do more research. Unfortunately, people don't always do their homework. They don't research the property, they don't check the rules and regulations, etc. before purchasing. Then, after purchasing they become dissatisfied because they discover these things. Some come to the conclusion they were "duped" or become a disgruntled owner, who does their best to make the board and other owners miserable. Some may, after purchasing and getting their first "rules violation" notice, discover that we even have rules!


Recent boards have apparently decided that the way to deal with this is appeasement of disgruntled owners, so many of our rules are no longer enforced, or are enforced haphazardly and inconsistently. Taking such an approach removes some of the advantages we have. For example, attempts by well meaning but misguided board members to open up the community to outside groups and events. We then are in a situation where our "gated community" is no longer gated, We then also have the disadvantage of paying for something, a benefit, we no longer have! 


Those streets are our property and we pay for their maintenance. Larger vehicles do exert much more wear and tear on them. No kidding. Check the condition of some sections of  north Lakecliffe. 


This approach will, I expect, result in some much larger problems in the future.


I have strongly recommended our association consider a sales brochure with this basic information, and much more. However, there is currently little interest. So for now, it seems this association would rather take the risk of acquiring owners who are uninformed at the time of purchase, and would also rather "clean up the mess" and deal with these unhappy people. 


We could also have a much more expanded "Welcome Packet." However, that's a little too late inform a buyer of some of the basics. Hmmm, should we publish a 900 page "owners manual" to go with the 1800 page "Board Member's Manual" which includes all the procedures a board member should follow when there is a water main break?