Common Property Is Abused

Common Property, also referred to as the Green Belt on Lake Jackson, seems to have a recent increase in rogue use, particularly in the Turtle Cove Property Owners Association (TCPOA) area.

This protected property extends approximately 30 feet from the shoreline in the designated areas on the lake.

According to the covenants and restrictions of record of TCPOA, under section 3.03 entitled Protection and Preservation of Common Properties, it states, “The Grounds shall be preserved in their natural state. No docks, piers, floats, slides or the like shall be built or maintained anywhere along the shoreline of any Common Property. Boats shall not be indiscriminately beached on common shore line.”

In spite of these covenants and common knowledge, “Lake Space Poachers” disturb the natural state of the property by clearing away the growth, installing illegal docks, and tying up boats to the shoreline for days and weeks.

This does not set well with most property owners.
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Earl Dehlman, a Turtle Cove waterfront property owner put it this way: “If people want a lake front lot they ought to buy one, pay the price for it and pay the taxes on it. I think the people who do otherwise are cheating the land owners that are on the lake.

“Everybody who has a piece of property in Turtle Cove knows the covenants. The people who violate them are breaking their word legally. It has been to court before and it’s been upheld in court. Georgia Power and the property owners association should remove these boats and docks, because the people who put them there are really cheating the 95 percent of the people who abide by the covenants.”

According to Nancy Fountain, who heads up the Architectural and Environmental Control Committee at TCPOA, she is working with Georgia Power to have the responsible parties remove the unauthorized boats and docks, and recently sent a letter to them confirming that two violators in the cove just south of Pheasant Beach in Turtle Cove are, in fact, on Green Belt property.

When contacted, Wanda Green, Lake Resource Manager for Georgia Power, confirmed that she had been made aware of these two instances and they were under investigation. Ms. Green went on to say that as soon as the owners of the boat/dock were determined a letter would be sent asking them to remove their property from the Green Belt.

She added that failure to do so would result in legal action being taken against them.