By RO YCELYN BASTIAN
tbaslian AT hcnonline.com
As land owners clean up the trash and debris in Continental Plaza, the mess will still remain with Lanco-Continental Plaza, the former landowners association that weni out of business last year.
According to property owners, the association was established in 1984 with the idea to collect fees and use them to get water, sewer and other utilities installed. However, many believe the money collected was notsed tor that purpose.
“When I bought my property in 1984, it was my understanding that the maintenance fees that 1 paid would go toward maintaining the property and getting water and sewer so we could develop it,” said Dan Roscom, an original property owner. “When I purchased my two lots, they wen; digging trenches that 1 thought were for the utilities, but it was all just for show.”
According to Tom Baudat, with T and W Water Services, Lanco-Continental Plaza has not paid him for services rendered,
“I have had nothing to do with their water system (“or the past seven years and they still owe us $2,000 for services,” Baudat said.
Roscom paid his monthly fees to the association but quickly grew suspicious of them when he received delinquent payment letters.
“I called thebank to prove that not only did they receive my check, but that they also cashed it. They were just denying it. They even went as far
See CLEAN UP, Page 4A
Page 4A, Atascocita Observer, August 27, 2008
CLEAN UP
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as to threaten they were going to send it to a collection agency,” he said.
This owner was not alone. Other property owners claimed they also paid their fees but received letters to the contrary. Another property owner, Lola Nash, began lo suspect that Lanco-Continental Plaza, which was Shea Company when she purchased her land in 1985, was not a reputable organization when ii started contacting her.
“Just like theother property owners, I paid my monthly fees. I started receiving letters from the association that I had not paid them in 1995, which was not true,” she said. “I tried to take action against them in 2005 through the Texas Attorney General’s Office but was told thai we (property owners) needed to get a lawyer.”
Continental Plaza is a vacant subdivision that owners planned to develop. But as many got ready to build, they were rejected.
“After we purchased our property, we were told there were stipulations to building on it. We were told that we had to get the association’s approval by submitting blueprints, but many were rejected multiple times,” Nash, who planned to build a storage unit, said.
According to a former landowners association employee, the stipu-
Debris linen the entrance to Copperfield and the small
paved road connecting FM1960 East with Atascocita Road.
Photo by STEFANIE THOMAS/The Observe
lations were not the reason why no one built on the land; it was the owners.
“The land in Continental Plaza was sold to individual owners and in my opinion, no one wanted to go first and build anything,” said Tami Barnett, who stated she has had nothing to do with the organization since 2002. “It is a disaster; no one wanted to build.”
After fighting more than 20 years with Lanco-Continental Plaza Association, owners are taking matters into their own hands and will clean up the subdivision Sept, 20
and 27 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. All volunteers and owners are asked to come out and help collect and bag trash, tires and other debris associated with illegal dumping.
Phone calls to possible developer Dennis Wilkerson were not returned and Mary Chan, who sold property to the owners, refused comment.
In regards to rumors about Harris County Precinct 4 purchasing Continental Plaza and turning it into a football stadium, Commissioner Jerry Eversole’s Office has denied the claim.
“I have received confirmation that Precinct 4 has not purchased the Continental Plaza land, nor does it intend lo purchase the land. Additionally, Precinct 4 does not build football stadiums as erroneously told to The Observer newspapers, and as posted on www.king-wood.com and www.continental.10. forumer.com,” said Lori Bear, public affairs director for Harris County Precinct 4.
For more information on Continental Plaza or the clean-up, visit http://continental.10.forumer.com
