Fires in River Ridge

[breezesocks]

Before I start this post, I know it will not be popular with many of the residents of River Ridge.  Since November of 2019, there have been three major fires in River Ridge with the last one sadly resulting in the loss of life.  If I am not mistaken (and I may well be), all three of these fires occurred in the camping villages of River Ridge were people were living permanently in travel trailers.  We can argue until the next full moon about the hazards of living full time in a travel trailer, but the facts are they were never constructed or meant to be used for full time residency.  The State of Virginia has stated it is illegal for a travel trailer to be used in this manner and Mecklenburg County passed an ordinance in July of 2016 making it illegal.  Yet, River Ridge has a large (and growing) population of individuals living full time in travel trailers.

I have heard all the arguments ……………………… people cannot afford more, we cannot kick people out of their homes, and on and on and on.  The truth of the matter is, former Board of Directors of River Ridge ignored the original covenants of River Ridge and allowed this to exist and no one has had the courage to end this practice or even make an attempt to discourage it.  Now a death has occurred.

I ask you, who is "really" responsible for this death and is the current Board of Directors going to take any action to discourage additional loss of life and property in the future?

[TLMilligan]

I understand all the points in your post. The BOD went to the County and met about these issues. The County stated they could not enforce this “rule” and we asked how were we supposed to enforce what someone does on their own property if the county couldn’t enforce their own rules? We were instructed to advise all Property Owners of the rule and that was all we could do. The County knows people live in Campers but do not have the manpower nor the inclination to spend the man hours to prove someone is living full time in a camper. We discussed the issue in an open Board meeting and posted the minutes for all to see. The current Board has done as the County recommended. If you have any suggestions as to what can be done, the BOD welcomes any and all recommendations.

[breezesocks]

First of all, let me say thank you for your response to my earlier post. I have waited a long time to respond as I wanted to gather my thoughts and temper my discouragement. At least at this point, you have confirmed that the Board of Directors are aware of this problem. You stated in your reply that the Board of Directors are to "advise" the residents of River Ridge of Mecklenburg County's ordinance prohibiting full time residency in a travel trailer. I am wondering when or if this will ever occur. I have seen no such notice mentioned in any of River Ridge's newsletters, there is nothing posted about this ordinance on any of the bulletin boards inside River Ridge and there is nothing posted about this on this web page. A friend of mine recently inquired at the office about purchasing a travel trailer in a camping village and he stated he intended to live in it full time and he was never informed that this was in fact, illegal.

To be honest, I see no indication that the Board of Directors cares about this issue and I doubt that they ever intend to "advise" anyone that they are breaking the law. If the former Board of Directors had in fact enforced the original by-laws under which River Ridge was created, this would have never become a problem. They clearly stated that no one was allowed to stay in a Camping Village for more than 30 days. As a result of this being ignored throughout the years, what was once a nice camping community for families to enjoy has now become a low income slum for full time residents living in travel trailers and shacks.

I have heard the excuse that "we do not know who is living in River Ridge full time." That is nothing but a complete lie. When Rita worked in the office before retiring, she knew every single person who lived in a camping village full time. When electrical upgrades were being made in the camping villages, there was an extra effort to make sure these residents knew what they had to do to avoid any power interruption. I could look at the electrical bills and the water bills for the camping villages for the past year and easily identify who is living in a camping village full time.

No one seems to care anymore. The Sheriff's Department hates River Ridge because of the crime and problems some of the residents cause, more and more people are moving into the camping villages making them a bigger eyesore and some of the best residents of River Ridge are looking for a way to get out. I laugh out loud when someone mentions the "beautification committee" of River Ridge. Anyone got a bulldozer? This place has become such a dump that if a tornado ever hits River Ridge, there will be millions of dollars of IMPROVEMENTS made. To the Board of Directors of River Ridge, get off your rear ends and DO THE RIGHT THING .................. make River Ridge a "Golf and Camping Club" again, not a slum of travel trailers and shacks people call home. River Ridge was never intended to be a low income housing development, but that is exactly what it has been allowed to become.

[TLMilligan]

Let me start by saying thanks for your input. I stated in my earlier response to you we had discussed this issue in an open Board meeting and that the minutes reflected that. There was also a post made on Grapevinenow. I don’t know why your friend was not told about the “legality” of living full time in a camper. I will pose that question to the office. You state you have no indication that the BOD cares about this issue and has no intent to “advise” anyone that they are breaking the law. I can assure you that the BOD cares about every issue within this community. And, yes, had the previous BOD’s not allowed living in campers to start and had gone strictly by the Covenants, we would not be having this conversation. But the fact is it did happen and we are having to deal with it now. I keep hearing how the Sheriff’s Dept hates River Ridge, I have had conversations with several different Deputies when they have been in here, I have only heard compliments and praises of how the Security in River Ridge does such a great job when they are only volunteers that receive no compensation for all their hard work and sacrifices of their time. Maybe you have spoken with different Deputies than I have. As far as your reference to the Beautification Committee, have you volunteered to serve on this committees to help bring the standards up within the community? I am sure the Property Owners who read your post are extremely proud that you consider their community a “slum”. It didn’t get into the shape that you consider it to be in overnight, therefore changing your perception will not happen overnight either. Thanks again for you input and I hope you have a great day!

Terry L. Milligan
Director Boating and Fishing
59-C

[breezesocks]

I will be retiring in 12 months and I intend to spend more time in River Ridge ............ but not live there full time as I am in a camping village and unlike the growing number of full time residents living in camping villages, I try to obey the law. I also think more of my life than trying to live full time in a structure that was not built for or intended to be used as a home. I would love to donate my time and talents to River Ridge but I am not very enthusiastic about serving on the Beautification Committee. I see them to be largely ineffective for many of the problems River Ridge has. They do a great job of keeping the entrance way to River Ridge decorated, planted with flowers and decorations, etc. and many more things within River Ridge but they have been totally ineffective in making people remove their junk unlicensed cars, junk boats, junk travel trailers, and garbage from their lots. If you do not think this statement is true, I will be glad to list in this forum the 30 worst looking, junkiest lots in River Ridge. Maybe the BOD could award them the "junkiest lots of River Ridge" award. Several months ago it was stated that "tickets" were going to be issued to property owners who did not clean up their lots. I thought to myself "finally" something is going to be done; however, I have seen no changes whatsoever and the worst looking lots are still ............. the worse looking lots. What happened to this effort? River Ridge is constantly looking for new revenue and trying to avoid raising the annual dues, well there is a gold mine out there waiting to be scooped up by fining some of these property owners.

What River Ridge has long been lacking (and I strongly encourage the BOD to consider creating) is an Enforcement Committee. Give this committee some power and "bite" to clean up River Ridge. A long time ago when River Ridge had a manager this was not an issue; however, it seems now that no one has the time or the authority to enforce the Blue Rules and regulations of River Ridge. Give this authority to a volunteer Enforcement Committee. One of the first things this committee needs to do is examine (and have surveyed) the walkways and public property owned by River Ridge and make property owners remove their vehicles and the structures they have built (yes, property owners have built onto River Ridge property with no consequences) from property that is owned by all the property owners in River Ridge. If you want an example, park your car where the short term camping section is in River Ridge in front of the Chapel. Try walking to the nearest bathhouse in Adventure. You will find the public easement is blocked by trucks, cars, golf carts, and possibly a permanent structure or two built on River Ridge property. This is just one example of what has been allowed to occur AND EXIST in River Ridge. Oh, and while you are "trying" to walk to the bathhouse in Adventure, notice Lot number 91A which has two full size travel trailers parked on it. The second unit was bought in months and months ago and it is right on the property line and definitely in violation of the Blue Rules that state only one camping unit per lot. Why has this been allowed to exist ............................... BECAUSE RIVER RIDGE HAS NO ENFORCEMENT.

Create a volunteer Enforcement Committee and I will volunteer to serve the day I retire. I believe there are many others who would be willing to serve in order to "clean up" River Ridge and make it a better place for everyone. You asked earlier for suggestions and recommendations, this is mine. Now will the BOD shoot the ball, pass the ball, or fumble the ball?

[TLMilligan]

Thank you in advance for being willing to volunteer to help make our community better. Infraction tickets have been written for many various violations, however, each Property Owner that receives an infraction ticket has the opportunity to go to Tribunal. With the current COVID-19 situation, there has been no Tribunal. Until we are allowed to resume Tribunals there is nothing that can be done. Tribunal hears the Property Owner’s side of the story and renders a decision, normally a fine and a timeline to correct the issue. In the event the issue is not corrected, another infraction ticket is issued. Tribunal then has the opportunity to impose a $10.00 per day fine until the issue is corrected or up to 90 days. This is the only legal recourse that we have. I understand the majority of Property Owners within the community want a better looking and maintained neighborhood. It comes down to we can’t force Property Owners to do anything. As you can see by the explanation, it takes time to really see results, and with the Pandemic going on it has just added to the timeline. I will discuss the issue with 91A with the Board member in charge of Architecture, as well as your claims that someone has built on common property. Again, thank you for your input.

Terry L. Milligan
59C

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