Apparently the homebuyers at The Landings at Waterford saw how their neighbors to the east in Sunshine Meadows were treated by the City of Coeur d’Alene, that project’s developers, and some real estate agents.   The Landings folks see that after five years, Sunshine Meadows property owners still do not have the neighborhood park they were promised.  Sunshine Meadows property owners still have just a vacant lot, a promise, and another colored drawing.  So, wisely, the property owners at The Landings are acting.

The issues raised by The Landings people are fairly well outlined in Coeur d’Alene Press staff writer Suzanne Jacobson’s article headlined Landings residents:  Dogs or Kids?  There is one line in Jacobson’s article that will sound sickeningly familiar to the folks in Sunshine Meadows.  The line concerns mysterious representations made to homebuyers about when the park will be done.  It reads, “Original expectations, though never formalized, included a finished park by 2006.” 

Read a more recent Coeur d’Alene Press editorial titled Bark away, but dog park wanted.  Jump to the next-to-last paragraph which reads, “Residents at The Landings may have been promised a park within two years by someone, but (City Parks Director) Eastwood says it was not the city.”

Maybe the City didn’t promise The Park at the Landings in two years, but that is nearly the same promised timeline four dozen residents of Sunshine Meadows say they were given. It seems reasonable to conclude that while the City may not have made the promise, the City did nothing to prevent other interested parties from allegedly contributing to the expectations for earlier park completion when the properties were marketed.

Go back and reread Jacobson’s article Landings residents:  Dogs or kids?  Note how the City used the Landings Park land in the Kroc Center deal.  Note the assurances that the land swap would cause not delays in the Landings Park.  

So what’s the answer?

Well, as the residents of Sunshine Meadows found out, the only thing more useless than complaining to the City of Coeur d’Alene is not complaining at all.   The Landings property owners have apparently hired attorney John Magnuson to represent them.  Good move.   The City allowed financially interested parties to tie property sales prices to the presence of a neighborhood park, so The Landings property owners need to do whatever is lawful and necessary to protect their investment.   The City allowed its name to be used in marketing The Landings.  Don’t think so?  Read the inscription below.  It is taken from the bottom of the sign at the top of this post.  [Correction on 04-14-2008:  John Magnuson has not been hired as the attorney to represent property owners.  Magnuson, an attorney, is one of the developers.)

According to Coeur d’Alene Press staff writer Jacobson’s article Growing pains, “(City Parks Director) Eastwood said Landings residents have indicated they were willing to help financially in park development.”

Uh-oh.  Parks Director Doug Eastwood may be reprising his  “forced teaming” pitch.   Forced teaming is a technique used to make people think they’re somehow partially responsible for finding (or funding) a solution to a problem created by others.  He used it on the people from Sunshine Meadows, too, at the meeting at Fire Station #3 on May 21, 2007.  I was there and recorded it.  Here’s a characterization of his spiel: 

We just don’t have enough money to make this park happen right now, but if you good folks will invest some money and sweat equity, it will happen a lot sooner. We’re all in this together, you know. We (the City) want this park as badly as you do, and you can make it happen.

The subtle implication, of course, is that if The Landings folks don’t comply with his request, they assume some of the blame for the park’s not being completed.

Whoa, Mr. Eastwood.  Someone promised finished parks to the homebuyers in both Sunshine Meadows and The Landings.   The City either tacitly or explicitly allowed someone to represent earlier completion dates even though the sign at The Landings says “2010/11.”  Now the City hopes the homebuyers will chip in money to help make the park happen faster so the City’s involvement will be forgotten?  Wrong!  The property owners have already paid for their respective parks!   

The residents of both Sunshine Meadows and The Landings need to draw outside attention to what has happened.   Talk about this with your attorneys.

If you believe you have been misled by the City, the developers, or real estate agents, consider filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau in Spokane.  The basic facts you ought to provide are:

• What exactly was the misrepresentation?  What was promised or implied?
• Who said it?
• When was it said?
• Under what circumstances was the misrepresentation uttered (e.g., during a meeting between a real estate agent and you, the prospective buyer)?
• Why and how you relied on the statement you believe to have been a misrepresentation.
• If you have documentary evidence (e.g., flyers from sign literature boxes that imply parks will be completed “soon” or withing a specific time frame; letters or emails to and from real estate agents; etc.) include copies with your complaint.
• What remedy you seek.  (In addition to your personal remedy, consider collectively demanding the City of Coeur d’Alene pass a “truth in marketing” ordinance that forbids misleading marketing of Parks and other amenities and  provides enforcement and severe penalties for those who disobey it.  Self-policing in the real estate industry does not work.)

Why the BBB?  What can it do?  If it accepts your complaint, it can contact the alleged violator(s) and try to mediate a solution.  More importantly, though, is that the complaint puts alleged offenders on notice that you’re serious about expecting all parties to comply with promises they’ve made or been allowed to make.   Complaints remain on file at the BBB, and they are available to people who inquire.

Second, take a look at the Idaho Attorney General’s Idaho Consumer Protection Manual.  A homebuyer is a consumer.  If you feel that you were misled by a real estate agent, a developer, or the City, see if your fact situation would be appropriately presented to the AG’s Office, Consumer Protection Division.  

If you choose to complain to the BBB or the AG or both, homeowners should submit separate complaints.  A pile of 20 or 50 or 100 or 300 individualized letters of complaint, each succinct but containing the essential elements of the complaint outlined above, is far more effective than one form letter with many signatures.   Don’t expect the cavalry to ride into town and clean up the mess.  The value of the complaints is to draw outside attention to allegedly dishonest behavior so that future homebuyers won’t be as easily victimized.