Tensions mounting in this Hockessin area neighborhood amid clashes with civic association

What happens when your dream home turns out to be a part of a nightmare neighborhood?

For residents in the Westminster community near Hockessin, this seems to be the case.

Homeowners say that those leading the neighborhood’s civic association are fostering a hostile environment by changing bylaws without holding a proper vote, harassing neighbors and prospective buyers and seemingly using civic association dues to pay for legal fees.

The growing tension is expected to come to a head during the civic association’s annual meeting Tuesday as frustrated homeowners intend to present a petition with over 80 signatures calling for the Westminster Civic Association board to step down. Some neighbors have reported feeling hesitant to outwardly express disapproval for the board’s actions in fear that the members will retaliate against them.

Board members defended their actions Monday in response to Delaware Online/The News Journal questions, saying that the board is simply “upholding the bylaws and covenants” of the Westminster community.

The board argued that the petition has “no merit” and suggested that the bylaws haven’t been changed since 1990, despite county deed records indicating bylaw changes were filed with New Castle County on Sept. 5, 2023. The board characterizes the changes as "clarifications."

A relatively wealthy neighborhood with uniquely designed homes dating back to the early 1960s, each with an ample amount of privacy and yard space, Westminster paints an attractive picture of the suburbia dream.

For Amanda Clappsy, it was anything but.

The entire first year of living in the Westminster community “has been hell,” she said.

About a year after making extensive renovations to the interior of the Ambleside Drive home, including a renovated kitchen and finished basement, traffic bollards were installed in front of Clappsy’s driveway, preventing her from accessing her RV; letters threatening legal action have been posted on the doors of her and her neighbors; and neighbors have reported being watched by board members to ensure they stay in line with the bylaws.

“You don’t know who to trust because your next door neighbor is putting you under fire,” Clappsy said, adding that she initially thought everyone in the community hated her because of the communication the board put out. “Then (neighbors) started comparing notes, and it’s not just us. We’re getting the most heat right now, but it seems like everybody has a negative encounter, and it becomes an unwelcoming experience.”

Lawyers have now become involved on both sides and the board has remained steadfast that it has committed no wrongdoing, claiming that it acts in the best interest of the neighborhood. But with over half of the neighborhood’s 144 households demanding a change and law enforcement relatively unable to step in, what can be done?

What led to bollards being installed in front of a driveway?

Tucked behind the hills and curves of Westminster, Clappsy and her partner Shane Hillam found a mid-century modern home on Ambleside Drive just the right size for their family of four. Most importantly to the new owners, there was room for Clappsy’s RV, which she has used for her annual cross-country camping trips with her father.

Before she made the move, Clappsy reached out to the community’s civic association in November 2022, the Delaware Department of Transportation and New Castle County notifying them of her plans to lay down some gravel and make a second driveway on her property. All of them replied that this was no problem and she was free to do so. She and her partner were also assured that they would be grandfathered in if the new board were to change the rules.

The gravel path was installed in February 2023 and within the month, Clappsy’s RV was brought to the property where it could sit about 75 feet out of sight from Ambleside Drive. By the time renovations were complete, a lot had changed in the community.

In April 2023, the civic association board sent out an online survey for community members to vote on the aesthetic quality of RVs and boats. One week later, the board notified the Ambleside residents and cited that the survey had an “overwhelming majority” of residents against the RV.

In May of 2023, Michael “Sherm” Porter was elected as president of the Westminster Civic Association. A small business owner who owns Sherm’s catering and Destination Success Coaching, Porter also ran for the 7th District Senate Seat in 2022 but lost to current state Senator Spiros Mantzavinos.

Porter also happens to be Clappsy’s direct next door neighbor. Clappsy said that at no time since she moved in did a board member welcome her and her family, introduce themselves or initiate communication about the driveway or RV.

In September of 2023, Porter prepared a document of new bylaw restrictions, which the board now denies having done.

“The bylaws haven't been changed since 1990,” the board wrote in response to Delaware Online questions.

The 2023 recorded bylaws prohibited the parking of boats, trailers, RVs and vehicles “not in proper working condition” in order to maintain the “visual integrity” of the neighborhood. The bylaws also “strictly prohibit” fences unless under extraordinary circumstances, despite many properties already having them.

The end of 2023 spiraled into a flurry of cease and desists and legal back and forths including accusations that Clappsy does not own her property; and on March 1,  Amanda woke up to the sight of Cirillo Construction crews installing four bollards at the end of her RV’s driveway, making the vehicle inaccessible. Police were called to the site, but claimed they could not file a report for a civil matter.

According to a representative from the Westminster board, the bollards cost $3,300. WCA also stated that they had no requirement to notify neighbors of the civic association’s financial contribution to the installation of the bollards.

“Larger vehicles imperil several historic structures…They also damage the already taxed roads,” the representative said. “The board felt that the only way to prevent further damage to the roads was to install the bollards to mitigate damages for both the homeowner and the community.”

Clappsy said that the entire situation made her feel isolated from her new neighbors and made her question if she wanted to stay in the house that she had put so much time, money and effort into making her own.

After the bollards were installed, neighbors began knocking on the Clappsys’ door to show their support and shared the same frustrations.

“We didn’t know who to trust,” Clappsy said. “But when they knocked on the door I was in tears. We started comparing notes and realized it’s not just us."

Currently, Porter and Clappsy are both communicating mainly through their respective lawyers, aside from a heated confrontation on Clappsy’s driveway in early April. That interaction, captured by Delaware Online when interviewing the homeowner about the problems in the community, was the first face-to-face Clappsy says she’s had with Porter since moving into Westminster.

Similar complaints from neighbors

Clappsy is not the only neighbor who has felt coldness from Westminster’s new board leadership.

Similar to Clappsy, Jamie Strano and her husband were excited to move into what they thought was their dream neighborhood. Jamie had been a part of the nearby Westminster Pool and had always eyed Westminster as a place to settle down long-term.

A neighbor sold the Stranos their current house in the community and told the couple that they had been approached by Porter who wanted to find out who was buying the house and to ensure that they knew about the bylaws. When the realtor declined giving that information to Porter, the civic association president contacted the Stranos anyway.

“We never got a proper welcome to the neighborhood from the board,” Strano said.

Strano was cornered by a board member while in a public setting wanting to make sure the new residents were aware of the bylaw changes. She also reported that another board member walks past her house multiple times per week to make sure Strano is complying with the bylaws, apparently even checking the trash cans.

“Is this really the neighborhood we moved into?” Strano said. “We moved into a neighborhood that cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars. I don’t want to be told how to live.”

Fences are also now strictly prohibited according to the latest bylaws. If a resident wants to construct a fence, a “meticulously prepared plan” must be submitted and all neighbors must consent to the installation. Even if a resident does meet these terms, the board does not guarantee a fence will be approved.

That’s the problem Heritage Road homeowner Amanda Oncay has run into, despite over half of the homes in the Westminster neighborhood already having fences.

Oncay has been twice denied by the association board on her request for a fence. The first time she requested fencing was after “aggressive dogs” came onto her property and chased after her 6-year-old child. Then the board changed the bylaws making it even more difficult for newer homeowners to erect a fence.

So in March Oncay requested the fence under “reasonable accommodations” for her disabled child. She also began asking for neighbors’ signatures seeking a “special meeting” of the civic association board to discuss these issues. The board denied her request again, but this time Oncay is considering filing a complaint with the Delaware Division of Civil and Human Rights.

“The board acts like they don’t care. Every request I’ve made is because I'm trying to protect my small child who is 6-years-old, so I don't know what they want from me,” Oncay said. “We did discuss moving to be completely honest with you. I don’t want to live in a neighborhood that treats neighbors in such a way.”

When asked about this request, the civic association board confirmed they denied Oncay’s request and said, “We are unable to respond further to this email as the board is required to respect medical privacy laws.”

Board members added they weren’t aware homeowners were considering moving because of the hostile environment.

“This would be the first we are hearing this information,” the board said.

Westminster sees a drop in home sales

The Westminster Civic Association board has also contacted potential buyers of homes in the community, prompting those buyers to pull out of contracts or look for a home elsewhere, residents and real estate agents said.

Cheltenham Road resident Buddy West, who has lived in the Westminster neighborhood for 17 years and has been a real estate agent for several decades, said one agent contacted him “crying” because the board president had contacted them demanding they turn over contact information for a prospective buyer.

When the prospective buyers reached out to Porter prior to purchase to find out whether they could erect a fence on the property, West said they were treated so poorly that they pulled out of the sale. The home went back on the market and sold for $15,000 less than the original offer, West said.

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The longtime resident and real estate agent said he also listed a home in the community for a neighbor that Porter negatively impacted. West warned Porter not to contact the prospective buyers, but the board president did so anyway.

“He has no authority to call any buyer because they aren’t residents yet, but he calls the buyers (anyway) and starts haranguing them,” West said. “They were going to pull out.”

So the seller knocked $20,000 off the sale price to keep the buyers, he said.

West said the board’s actions have dropped the values of property in the community, indicating that it’s a neighborhood in decline.

“We looked at 40 communities around us and everything is going up for them,” West said. “Real estate agencies don’t want to list properties in Westminster. If they do, they have to do a full disclosure about what is going on here because it’ll impact the buyer, so what he’s essentially done is closed off our community.”

The WCA board denied negatively impacting home sales in the community, pointing to a home that recently sold in three days.

What is the board allowed to do?

The Westminster Civic Association board defended all of its actions, saying that the board was in its legal right to install bollards in front of Clappsy’s home.

The board also denied changing the bylaws, even though county deed records show revisions filed in September 2023.

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Clappsy’s attorney Nicholas Kondraschow, who specializes in common interest community cases, said restrictions that affect homeowners in a community usually require the approval of said homeowners.

But recently, he’s seen “a lot more ‘clarifications or interpretations of restrictions’ that may have received homeowner approval, but, just to be clear, these ‘clarifications or interpretations’ often expand on these restrictions, or change the restrictions, without receiving homeowner approval,” Kondraschow said.

September 2023 meeting minutes indicate board members suggested to residents they weren't changing the bylaws, "just clearly defining them for everyone."

The Delaware Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (DUCIOA), codified in 2009, outlines in greater detail and specificity the obligations and authority of common interest communities. But for communities created prior to the legislation taking effect, it may not apply.

Under DUCIOA, bylaws must be recorded with the Recorder of Deeds’ office and requires unit owners “at a noticed meeting with a quorum to vote on amendments to the bylaws. While that authority can be delegated to a common interest community’s governing board, members in the community “retain the right to amend the bylaws,” according to a spokesperson in the Delaware Department of Justice.

The Westminster board did not say if a vote of the full membership was taken prior to enacting the 2023 bylaw changes, instead saying the board hasn’t changed the bylaws since 1990.

Community members plan to present the petition at the civic association’s annual board meeting on Tuesday, April 16. The board sent an email to the community stating that New Castle County Police will be present.

“This is a beautiful neighborhood,” Strano said. “All of my immediate neighbors have been great, we all get along. The board members are the problem.”

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Why this Hockessin area community started a petition to oust its board