Oakland households to vote on future of lake association after long dispute

OAKLAND — A 10-year dispute among 1,645 homeowners about their obligations to a 74-year-old lake association agreement under which their homes were built may finally be decided by vote next month.

Ramapo Mountain Lakes board President Joseph Bove confirmed Wednesday that residents were being notified by email that paper ballots will be mailed shortly, and will decide whether the association will continue to collect fees and oversee the maintenance of its common areas.

A shareholder meeting tentatively scheduled for Nov. 22 will announce the results.

"Guidelines require mail notification take place 14 days prior to the vote," Bove said. "Depending on the vote, we will have two agendas ready, one to dissolve the association, and one to determine how it will continue."

The bucolic private club spread over 700 acres at the borough's center began as a summer-home retreat in 1948, on land formerly known as Edward Page's dairy farm. Owners were stockholders, but the obligations tied to that membership were only filed with the county. They were not included in individual property deeds and were forgotten over time as homes changed hands and were converted for year-round use.

Members had exclusive access to the club's two lakes — Crystal and Mirror — when the complex opened. Friendships begun on the beach were solidified with year-round socializing at the association's clubhouse restaurant, tennis courts and swimming pool, at the intersection of Hiawatha Boulevard and Mountain Lakes Road in the servant quarters of Page's De Tweelingen estate.

It was only after the clubhouse burned to the ground in the 1980s that residents lost touch with one another and their shared obligations. By 2006, the private club was forced to open Crystal Lake Beach Club membership to the paying public when only 60 of the 1,645 households signed up for season passes.

In 2012, the association found itself in need of further financial support and began sending dues notices to member homes based on their proximity to the lakes. However, it took until 2018 for the courts to rule that the residents were indeed members of the association and required to finance their share of the upkeep.

Those who did not pay their dues were subject to liens on their homes.

Liability question

Dues have increased over time and now stand at $539.43 per year for the 62 homes surrounding Crystal Lake, $131.89 per year for 21 households around Mirror Lake, and $65.94 per year for the remaining residents.

Todd Horn, who has lived on Manito Avenue, 1.7 miles from Crystal Lake, since 2003, says he wants nothing to do with the association as currently configured.

"Liability is my biggest concern," Horn said. "The dues started at $50 a year, but that's not where it's going to end. There is a 36-inch drain pipe that needs fixing. What if someone drowns in the lake? We have senior residents living here on limited incomes."

An additional cause for concern is the proposed 150-unit townhouse/apartment development a mile uphill from Crystal Lake, north of Indian Hills High School. Runoff from the site will enter Pond Brook, which feeds into Crystal Lake. Developers estimate only a 1% increase in runoff, but residents are skeptical.

"To what degree do the developers want to be good stewards of Oakland?" Adam Elkin of Lakeshore Drive asked at the project's September hearing. "If they are building more, they should help offset the burden."

Cindy Holdefehr of Lakeshore Drive is among those who want the current administration to continue and has organized a Save Our Lakes group that wants to keep the present governing structure.

"It is protection for our lakes financially and ecologically," Holdefehr said. "I think if changes are made to the board structure to reflect our varying interests, we can work this out."

Ramapo Mountain Lakes has posted on its website a multi-step process to dissolve the current board and replace it with an Oakland Waterways and Lakes Conservancy. Instead of one overarching board, separate groups would be formed to manage the beach club, with separate homeowner associations for Crystal and Mirror Lake residents.

Inflation hits Halloween candy:Want a scare? Check out prices in the candy aisle as NJ confronts Halloween inflation

Save Our Lakes attorney Matthew Earle questioned this proposal in a Sept. 12 letter to Ramapo Mountain Lakes attorney Brian Hannon. He suggested that the state Department of Environmental Protection's Safe Dam Act may not allow the current members to dissolve their responsibility for lake upkeep. He also suggested that a transfer of the board's assets would require a two-thirds majority vote.

"Transfer of the lakes to a shell entity with insufficient resources to maintain the dam for the express purpose of avoiding dam liability would in no way excuse Ramapo Mountain Lakes or its constituent owners from responsibility for the dam," Earle stated.

In response, Hannon told Save Our Lakes the board is willing to listen to a proposal to take title of one or both of the lakes, and how it would be funded.

"The board is in the process of vetting at least one other option at this time but if Save Our Lakes wants to submit a proposal the board feels it prudent to consider same to determine the best course of action moving forward," Hannon said.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Oakland households to vote on lake association after long dispute