Christmas Cove
Friday, October 12th, we decided to bring our youngest son Ben with us on our second visit to the cabin. We wanted him to feel a part of the project and also felt that the cabin needed a family vibe. On our way up, Ben managed to locate a car in the Traverse City area that he wanted to purchase, so he and Tim made plans to leave the campsite first thing in the morning and head down to TC take it for a test drive. The fall weather was definitely raising its voice with temperatures in the low 40’s at night. This made it difficult to get warm and stay warm, but it was all well worth it.
The next morning, we got an early start so that the guys could get back and still have a full day to work on the cabin. I decided to take the opportunity to attend my first neighborhood association meeting. Tim and I had learned that we coincidentally knew someone who lived in the neighborhood, so I made plans to meet them at the meeting so that I could sit with someone I knew.
While waiting for the meeting to get started, I took the opportunity to introduce myself to those who were seated around me. I was thrilled to be meeting my new neighbors and excited to see if there was some way that Tim and I could become involved in our new community. The meeting was called to order and I readied my pen and paper to take notes for sharing later with Tim. It appeared that help was needed in many forms from beach clean-up to painting the club house to assisting with the build of a gazebo. Each member of the board reported in turn before the head of the Architectural Committee was given the floor.
I recognized this person as the same one who had disgracefully charged our property the weekend prior, but I had no reason to believe that we had reached a point of interference with the board. He began his report which included that of a shed and a family that was living in it. Of course, my mind went immediately to “Does this family need help? Did they encounter some sort of hardship that left them homeless and without shelter?” Before I could really wrap my head around what the family must be going through, the board member acknowledged that someone from the family was present. I was just beginning to feel a sigh of relief at the thought of the community coming together to help this family, when I realized that he was making eye contact with me and that WE were the family. I instantly felt the empathy drain from my body only to become replaced with a flood of discomfort. My cheeks turned red hot and my heart rate increased to a volume that had my heart practically beating out of my chest.
He did the unthinkable which was to make our situation public before requesting a meeting in private between us and the board. I allowed him to finish before raising my hand. Upon being invited to take the floor, I stood and calmly introduced myself to the community explaining that we just got the keys to our new property and that we actually live in Kalamazoo. I informed the group that according to the township, we do not require a land use permit as it has already been classified as a residence and that we were not staying there; in fact we are paying to stay at the State Park while we drive up to work on it.
Before I could finish, the board President rudely interrupted to remind me of the governing documents- Deed Restrictions and Bylaws of the association. I informed him that we had in fact read them and were very aware of the minimum square footage, however the structure existed prior to our purchase and was built in the early 1980’s, therefore it was the responsibility of the board then not to grant the former owners permission if it were going to be a problem. We therefore should be grandfathered in. Both men proceeded to take turns with raised voices threatening us with a legal battle. The President insisted that we would have to request a variance from the board before we could do ANYTHING to our property.
At this point, I couldn’t continue to defend our situation in front of all of these people. Tears began filling my eyes and all that I could think to do was to shame the two gentlemen for being so unwelcoming and for airing this matter in front of the entire community. I was flustered and quickly left the meeting with cell phone in hand to dial Tim. I could barely get the words out between gasps as I was so upset. I walked all of the way to our cabin before realizing that I left my keys and my purse under my chair at the meeting. I had to regain composure because I knew I had to go back in. Plus I couldn’t let them think that they ran me off.
I walked back into the meeting with swollen, but dry eyes. I quietly listened until the very end when they opened up the floor for questions. I heard a few others ask questions that raised red flags. I saw others get emotional which made me feel slightly better. When there was finally a lull, I raised my hand and asked the question “How do we go about requesting a variance.” The board president avoided my question and reverted to insisting that we would never be able to occupy our cabin. I raised my hand again and repeated the question. He continued hammering his truth at me until my friend Tom stood and insisted that he answer my question. Before I knew it there were others standing in my defense. When it was all said and done, nothing was resolved. All I knew was that our tiny little piece of sunny, northern Michigan was overcome with a very dark cloud. Had we just locked ourselves into a financial dead end?
I thanked those who stood in my defense and started towards my cabin. One of the quieter board members called to me and asked if he could walk me home. He apologized for what happened and admitted that he disagreed with how things went down. Although he couldn’t take away my fear, he set my mind at ease a little. Words cannot explain the shift that happened that day. All I know is that with every second we put into thinking about or working on that tiny cabin, the more vivid our reality becomes of the day when we will finally get to stay there.
Little Leelanau 