A Pierce County homeowners’ association proposed a one-time fee of more than $8,000 for its residents in addition to dues that could force some to move out if approved.
Members of the Tapps Island Association in Lake Tapps can vote to approve the proposal; however, in an ordinance with state law and HOA guidelines, the measure will be automatically passed unless a majority of members reject it. The fee was proposed at a Tapps Island Board meeting this fall.
“My husband went to the meeting and he came home and said, ‘We need to pack up and leave,’” Renate Lyman, who has lived on the island for 46 years, said.
Lyman said she always thought she’d spend her future on the island, but now she isn’t sure.
“My husband said after that meeting, a lot of people said it’s time to get out,” she said.
The board has proposed a one-time special assessment fee per lot of $8,035 if homeowners pay before March 1. There are payment plans for residents who cannot afford the fee all at once, but costs increase. For residents seeking more time to pay the fee, the fee goes up to $9,898.
KIRO 7 asked Lyman what she would do if the fee was passed.
“You would have to go without an awful lot,” she said. “Because you know, the taxes are getting higher, and everything else. You can’t afford it anymore. That’s just the way it is. It’s a reality.”
Another neighbor said she would likely have to sell her home and move off the island as a result of the fee.
The money is intended to build up the island’s Reserve Fund, which is “a pool of funds set aside for the repair and replacement of major community assets⎼such as roofs, roads, pools and evening plumbing systems,” according to the information packet provided to residents.
“It’s not a matter of ‘if’ these things will need repairs or replacement … it’s a matter of ‘when,’” the packet read.
Residents on the island already pay monthly dues to the Reserve Fund, but a study conducted about the fund recommended that more money should be allocated to it, according to the information packet.
A special assessment fee will be automatically passed unless a majority of members formally vote “no,” according to state law.
Residents said they were concerned that everyone in the community wouldn’t vote.
“You raise three little kids (and) think, ‘Oh, I want to raise my family here,’” Lyman said. “Then, you get hit with that. It’s just unrealistic.”
KIRO 7 reached out to HOA members about the matter and has not heard back.
