Bogomolov v. LAKE VILLAS CONDOMINIUM ASS'N

127 P.3d 762
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJanuary 30, 2006
Docket55505-7-I
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 127 P.3d 762 (Bogomolov v. LAKE VILLAS CONDOMINIUM ASS'N) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bogomolov v. LAKE VILLAS CONDOMINIUM ASS'N, 127 P.3d 762 (Wash. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

127 P.3d 762 (2006)
131 Wash.App. 353

Vladimir and Elizabeth BOGOMOLOV, husband and wife, and the marital community composed thereof; Victor and Fortunee Cohen, husband and wife, and the marital community composed thereof; Larrie and Marilyn Elhart, husband and wife, and the marital community composed thereof; Lisa Johnson; James and Marjorie Kimbrough, husband and wife, and the marital community composed thereof; Marjorie Michael; Kay Siefken; Dennis Thornton; and William and Jean Thornton, husband and wife, and the marital community composed thereof, Respondents,
v.
LAKE VILLAS CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION OF APARTMENT OWNERS, a Washington non-profit corporation; Matthew Bratlien, Steve Lanman; Hazel Odom, Betty Wilder, Defendants,
Gary and Linda Baermann, husband and wife, and the marital community composed thereof; Jill Boileau; Rick Carrol; William and Kellie Jones, husband and wife, and the marital community composed thereof; Paul and Susanne Walker, husband and wife, and the marital community composed thereof; and Jane and John Does A-Z, Appellants.

No. 55505-7-I.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

January 30, 2006.

*763 Nathan James Neiman, Attorney at Law, Bellevue, WA, for Appellant.

Christopher Ian Brain, Paul W. Moomaw, Tousley Brain & Stephens PLLC, Seattle, WA, for Respondent.

APPELWICK, A.C.J.

¶ 1 Lake Villas Condominium Association amended its declaration to allow for construction of a new boat dock with 16 boat slips and for assignment of these new boat slips under 99-year leases to certain condominium apartment owners. The association received a 60 percent vote from condominium owners to approve the amendment. After finding that the condominium declaration required a unanimous vote for such amendments the trial court invalidated the amendment.

¶ 2 We hold that the construction of the dock and boat slips was to occur on condominium common areas. Under the terms of the association's declaration, the assignment of these new boat slips under 99-year leases to the exclusive use of individual owners effectively converted common areas to limited common areas. This necessarily changed the values and percentages of ownership of the owners. These changes and the proposed amendment authorizing them required unanimous consent. The amendment was not properly adopted. We affirm the trial court.

FACTS

¶ 3 Lake Villas is a residential condominium with 60 units located on the shores of Lake Sammamish within the corporate boundaries of the city of Redmond, Washington. The land was originally deeded by the State to an individual owner in 1917. In 1975, the land, along with its proposed buildings and a dock with 24 boat slips, was submitted as a condominium by the execution and recording of the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, Restrictions and Reservations for Lake Villas (Declaration). The Declaration, with a survey map and plans, was filed in King County. The Declaration and survey provided for the construction of buildings, a dock, and 24 boat slips.

The 1975 Declaration

¶ 4 The Declaration contains the legal description of Lake Villas' land, and its proposed improvements, Section 1 of the Declaration states that the land includes "Second[-]Class shore lands adjoining." The Declaration describes three types of property: apartments, common areas and limited common areas. No party asserts *764 the dock and slips proposed to be built are apartments so we will not be concerned with that definition. Section 5 of the Declaration describes eleven types of common areas, including "[t]he land above-described," "lawns, landscaped areas and walkways which surround and provide access to the buildings or are used for recreational purposes," and "[a]ll other parts of the property ... normally in common use." Section 6 also defines limited common areas as those common areas which are "reserved for the exclusive use of the apartments to which they are assigned, to which apartment there is hereby reserved an exclusive easement for the use thereof."

¶ 5 Section 6(d) of the Declaration further provides that "[a]ll the boat docking spaces shown in the Survey Map and Plans and designated by numbers or letters are considered limited common areas in that the exclusive use thereof may be assigned to particular apartments." The original 24 boat slips constructed pursuant to the Declaration and Survey are owned by individual condominium apartment owners as limited common areas.

¶ 6 Under the Declaration, all fee owners and contract purchasers of apartments are considered apartment owners and members of the Lake Villas Condominium Association (Association). For purposes of voting and payment of fees for condominium upkeep, each apartment is assigned a value and percentage of undivided interest in common areas, along with each apartment's interest in limited common areas. Section 7 of the Declaration provides that "[t]he total percentage of any apartment will be the combined percentages of the apartment and the open parking spaces and dock spaces assigned to it, if any." These percentages and values are outlined in Schedule A to the Declaration, and include the values of individual dock spaces. Schedule A reflects that dock spaces 1-18 have a value of .035 percent, and dock spaces 19-24 have a value of .06 percent. Section 11(b) of the Declaration further provides that the aggregate number of votes of all owners in Lake Villas is 100 votes, and that the total number of votes available to owners is "equal to the percentage of undivided interest in the common areas and facilities appertaining to such apartment."

¶ 7 Section 28(a) states that it may be amended at Lake Villas Condominium Association meetings "if at least 60 [percent] of all of the owners vote for such amendment." However, this section also provides that "[a]ny decisions changing the value and percentage of interest expressed herein" require the consent of the apartment owners as provided in chapter 64.32 RCW, "or if the Act does not so provide or is inapplicable, shall require unanimous consent of owners and their mortgagees." The Lake Villas Bylaws (Bylaws) similarly provide that the percentages of undivided interest in the common areas may only be altered by amendment of the Declaration.

The 2003 Amendments to the Declaration

¶ 8 In 2003, individual Lake Villas apartment owners (the defendants below, hereinafter Appellants) sought to amend the Declaration to grant to the Association the authority to construct and lease to Association members up to sixteen (16) new boat slips. The owners who wanted to lease the new boat slips would pay for the construction of the proposed dock and slips.

¶ 9 The amendment contained a project design for the proposed dock to be added onto the existing dock. Subsequent letters between Association members regarding communications with the City of Redmond and the Army Corps of Engineers confirm that the proposed dock would be an addition to the existing dock.

¶ 10 The proposed amendment provided that the new slips would be owned by the Association, but rented to individual apartment owners under 99-year leases. The amendment also provided that once the slips were constructed, they and their leases would be transferable by the unit owner to either a buyer of the unit or to another unit owner in Lake Villas. The proposed lease agreement stated that annual rent for the slips would be calculated based on the same cost to owners of existing slips, or .035 percent of the annual budget for 16-foot boat slips and .06 percent of the annual budget for 24-foot boat slips.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
127 P.3d 762, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bogomolov-v-lake-villas-condominium-assn-washctapp-2006.