Op-Ed: Jasbinder Singh's Reply to President's Court Residents

By Jasbinder Singh

I can fully understand the Homeowners Association's (HOA's) response to my blog in the Patch.  Nobody wants to see his development portrayed in a negative light.  

President’s Court is a very attractive development, but it could have been a lot better. And, that was the point of my article. I am sure the HOA understands that it is difficult to improve the Town’s administrative processes without discussing their shortcomings. One has to call a spade a spade, if one wants to play a card game.

I consider the President of the HOA, Mr. Michael Bahadar, a friend. He really cares about the development and its residents. Obviously, I have ruffled some feathers and I will try to address their concerns in person.  

Regardless, I am bit mystified by the blame heaped on me by the HOA.  The characterizations (of the shortcomings) might be mine, but almost all the information was provided either by the homeowners themselves, the public record, or the citizens of the Town. 

Consider the following: 

Parking:   Before I began doing my research, I did not know that:

• The HOA had asked the Town to allow the residents to park in the Haley Smith Park in the evenings, especially on the weekends. Mr. Bahadar told me that while we were sitting together in his living room.

• Visitors sometimes have to park on Missouri Ave and other streets outside the development. Mr. Bahadar told me that.

• Residents often park their own cars in the few visitor spaces (if they are available) to make their driveways available to their guests.  Sometimes there is a hunt for the available spaces. Mr. Bahadar and another resident told me that.

• One of the residents had to stand in front of a truck to prevent it from towing her car (or her guest’s car) away. One of her neighbors had called for a tow truck because the car had been parked along the yellow curb of the only street in the development. A resident told me that.

• Even very short-term parking violations can elicit the tow-away response from the neighbors. A resident told me that, and Mr. Bahadar confirmed that during my conversations with him.

All this and more suggest that there is a “parking problem” in the development.  My article was about how and why did this problem occur in the first place.

Homes Too Close Together, Open Space etc.

The HOA may not be thrilled to know this, but this development is known for the closeness of its homes. For some people, in spite of its upscale nature, it is an example of what should not be done in the Town.

Consider this:

• The Architectural Review Board (ARB) of the Town in 1996 disapproved the design of the development by citing, among other things, the closeness of the homes. Please review the Town’s file on this development or the main article on herndonopinion.com for more details.

• Whenever I mention that I have written about a development that lies across from Haley Smith Park, the response almost always is, “Oh, that development with narrow spaces between large homes?” Most people already know about the development. Some of them had come to see the homes when they were first offered for sale in 2001 or 2002 and decided not to buy.

• Before and during the recent people public hearing on a very similar development called Vine Haven, some of our residents expressed considerable interest in the President’s Court and its high density.

• A new development, called Heglar Oaks, was initially proposed to have density similar to President’s Court; however, the design was changed substantially after it became clear that community activists and nearby residents were opposed to the high density.

I am sure that the HOA knows that I am not an architect.  My views about the attractiveness of a development, even if they have merit, do not mean much.  However, the views of respected architects and that of our citizens do matter. The residents of the HOA may love their neighborhood, but it could have been better.  And, it could have blended with the adjoining neighborhoods better, or even enhanced them. 

Respectfully,

Jasbinder Singh

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