Phyllis Muller does not have to rake her front lawn in the fall or shovel her walk in the winter. Should her roof leak or the paint start to peel on the mustard-colored shutters of her tan townhouse in Willistown Woods, she simply has to make a telephone call, and the job will get done.
In return for those conveniences, however, Muller has given up her freedom of choice in such matters as what color to paint her shutters, what awning to install or where to walk her dog.
The reason for this is a phenomenon of planned suburban developments called the homeowners' association. The associations, composed of residents of the developments, were originally intended to manage areas owned in common, such as open space, stormwater basins and recreation facilities. But in many communities, they have grown into a mini-government that takes care of most daily maintenance while setting strict standards for many aspects of a homeowner's life.
What's more, the homeowners' association gives residents a collective voice and a power base in their townships that some communities are skillfully using in confrontations with neighboring developers and the builders of their own homes.
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When the residents of Paoli Woods, a community of 79 orange-brick townhouses south of the Paoli Shopping Center in Tredyffrin Township, learned that a developer wanted to build about 100 apartments on an adjacent seven- acre tract, the homeowners' association went into action.
The group hired a lawyer, resident Melvin Buckman, and a land planner, at a cost of several thousand dollars, to present its concerns about security and landscaping in discussions with developer Lewis Brandolini, who represents Paoli Markets Inc.
"I think that is a good example of being in an organization with the strength of 79 people," said Buckman. "I think it was useful to present him with an association of people not satisfied with what he was doing unless certain other things were done. An individual homeowner is less likely to get a lawyer."
The association negotiated several guarantees from Brandolini, who agreed to leave undeveloped most of a stretch of land that buffers Paoli Woods from Route 252; to reduce the number of apartments; not to extend an existing road, and to add fencing and landscaping to shield the apartments from Paoli Woods.
