PARKER — The residents of Sun Bay Town Homes were alerted one day in March that their cars were being towed.
All of the residents own their homes, parking around the complex seemingly a right they had. The reaction was to call the Parker Police Department. Turns out they had to put up with the inconvenience.
This has been part of a recent cycle of events at Sun Bay, 6053 E. U.S. 98, including a second towing run conducted July 4 weekend.
The architect of this confusion was Georg Koll, the developer of Sun Bay who owns property around the complex: a grassy plot on the north side of the property and a townhome sized section just east of Tyndall Parkway abutting an existing structure.
He did not tow the vehicles very far, just removing them from his property, which includes seven parking spaces on the north side of the pool in the center of the complex and the driveway that serves as the entrance to the structure.
Koll said he had sent a 30-day notice asking residents to clear vehicles back in 2004. He sent an updated notice on May 15. Parker police confirm that Koll has the right to tow vehicles off of his property. Koll did not charge for towing costs.
“It’s almost like he wants to harass us,” Sun Bay Homeowners Association Vice President Jennifer McGrew, unit 6079, said.
Koll said towing was his only reaction after he was threatened by one of the residents when he tried to inform them about his property and intention to finish the development.
“He told me to get off his property,” Koll said holding up both fists in a boxing stance.
The towing incident was McGrew’s second interaction with Koll since she moved there in 2007. The first was at 3 p.m. Feb. 24, recorded by the Parker Police in an incident report.
Resident Carol Price called the police stating that Koll was banging on the outside wall of the house, 6053, with a hammer next to his property near the road. Koll states he was just measuring using the only tool available, a hammer. Parker Police Lt. Dennes Hutto could not say which side was right, but information filed with the Bay County Court shows Koll faces a charge of criminal mischief.
Koll made the homeowners association move its dumpster off of his property. Where they have it now still touches part of his property on the southeast side. His wife April Koll said they thought about putting up a fence which would keep the dumpster off. The homeowners asked the Parker City Council in June to put the dumpster onto Tyndall Parkway even though it’s an eyesore.
“We don’t have anywhere else to put it,” McGrew said
Hollye Dubois, unit 6087,has lived at Sun Bay since the late ‘90s. She said Koll has taken an interest in developing the last portions of Sun Bay off and on over that time. The barren plot directly east of her home has been vacant as long as she has lived there.
McGrew said the homeowners association had previously taken responsibility for the area, cutting the grass and trimming the trees. With Koll demanding responsibility, the property is overgrown, the trees looking mangy next to the freshly shorn counterparts only a few feet over.
Dubois noticeably has many potted flowers in front of her house. She said many of them were located on the empty plot before Koll made her move them.
“This is like a continuous cycle,” she said. “We learned from the last time.”
She said Koll made similar demands back in the mid 2000s going as far as tearing up the plants Dubois had planted on his property.
“He told us what a great job we did keeping it up, that we made his property look good,” she said. “Mr. Hyde reared his head.”
Koll was part of the original development back in 1984, originally financing the project having just moved from Germany. His partner went bankrupt and foreclosed but Koll finished the other sections of Sun Bay, the last of which was completed in 1990. Spending much of his own money on the project, he waited to recoup losses before wanting to finish the final sections.
He originally envisioned phase four as a stretch of town homes parallel to the seven homes to the south. He wanted the final plot to be a separate commercial development, since the property was zoned as mixed use. He now wants to put another townhome connected to the existing structure.
The homeowner to the west is not keen on this plan. Koll has threatened to put a new home an inch away allowing moisture to collect on the homeowner’s wall, potentially creating damage.
“Rain goes in between creates moisture,” Koll said. “She wants to be like that she can fill it herself.”
Parker city code is murky on whether he would be able to do that. Koll has not gotten a permit to build on either piece of land, City Clerk Nancy Rowell said.
Koll would not give a schedule for development.
“It’s none of their business,” he said. “It’s my property.”
So far Sun Bay residents are following his wishes, staying out of the parking spaces and keeping the empty lot clear.
“We question whether he wants to build because he never has,” Dubois said.