Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2017)
PAGE A8, KEIZERTIMES, JANUARY 20, 2017 HOA: Decision could have CHARGE, much wider impact continued from Page A1 (Continued from Page A1) The Kuhns presented the HOA board with letters from two doctors citing the medical necessity, but the request was denied and the family later met with hostility from neighbors. When one neighbor claimed her view of the street was obstructed as she tried to pull out of her driveway, Re- nee purchased a parabolic mir- ror for her to install at the edge of her property. The neighbor declined to use it. Another neighbor allegedly shoved Gary twice outside his home as the situation unrav- eled. Yet another began sitting outside her home monitoring the family’s activity. “She had a chair and a note- pad and did it for days,” Gary said in an interview last year. “She was trying to log our be- havior.” The HOA did suggest alter- natives such as parking the RV offsite or a van with a chemi- cal toilet, but neither fully ad- dressed the situation. The van would have lacked a shower. Parking it offsite would have left Renee without transpor- tation as the Kuhns had to sell one of their vehicles to pay for the RV. Gary used the family’s other car for commuting to and from work. With no resolution in sight, the family sold their home and moved to Woodburn in the fall of 2015. In November 2016, Girod resigned as the HOA president to take on a paid role as interim McNary Estates general man- ager. “As a longtime resident of McNary Estates, she loves our community and is well versed with our governing documents. Teresa’s qualifi cations make her the perfect candidate and I feel fortunate that she has agreed to accept this position,” wrote new president Kathie Stevens in a news item posted to the McNary Estates HOA website. Stevens was the neighbor who allegedly sat in her garage “It is the disabled person who gets to decide what is appropriate” — Dennis Steinman Kuhn family attorney and logged family activity ac- cording to the original com- plaint. Summary judgment In making her summary judgment decision, Aiken cited standards of the FHA and rea- sonableness of the accommo- dation request as reasons for her decision against the HOA and Girod. Aiken found that the defen- dants violated FHA standards because refusing to accom- modate the RV negatively im- pacted the Kuhn family’s “use and enjoyment” of their home. The HOA board originally contended that accommodat- ing the RV impacted the fam- ily’s travels, not housing. “Any reasonable factfi nder looking at the summary judg- ment record would conclude that if the RV were parked offsite, Khrizma would face ‘injury or pain’ in accessing the mode of transportation deemed best for her by her parents and her doctors,” Ai- ken wrote. Representatives of the HOA suggested in fi lings with the court that the Kuhns might have expanded their garage or purchased a smaller RV. How- ever, Aiken wrote that present- ing those alternatives – which would have required their own variances from HOA policy – after-the-fact was a matter of too-little-too-late. “Under basic principles of fairness and waiver, (the defen- dants) are not now permitted to avoid liability by faulting plaintiffs for failing to come up with those alternative accom- modations,” she wrote. As to the reasonableness of the request, Aiken found that the Kuhns had attempted to overcome safety concerns with the purchase of the parabolic mirror. “Plaintiffs submitted un- contradicted evidence that their house was on a short, dead-end street with little traf- fi c. The burden therefore shifts to defendants to show that the requested accommodation was not reasonable under the circumstances,” Aiken wrote. “(The) defendants’ argument that parabolic mirrors are themselves a safety concern due to sun glare is speculative and unsupported by any evi- dence in the record.” A landmark decision While the decision in the case affects the Kuhn family, the HOA and Girod most im- mediately, Steinman, the fam- ily attorney, said the potential impact is far-reaching. “While this decision is spe- cifi c, it will set in stone for Or- egon that the ability to park a vehicle in front of your home is integral to your enjoyment of your home,” Steinman said. On an even grander scale, the decision impacts who can decide what an appropriate ac- commodation is for someone with a disability. “It’s like having someone choose to wear contacts and then someone who wears glasses coming along and telling them they made the wrong choice and will have to change,” Steinman said. “In this case, the defendants were trying to impose their decision, but the court has decided that it’s the disabled person’s voice that matters most. A landlord or an HOA can make a sugges- tion, but it is the disabled per- son who gets to decide what is appropriate.” Caden was a seventh grade student at Claggett Creek Middle School where a crisis team planned to be on-hand when school resumed Tues- day, and would be available for as long as they were needed, said Rob Schoepper, Claggett principal. “Caden was a great kid and hard worker in class. He will be greatly missed by all our students and staff,” Schoepper said. Also on Tuesday, the direc- tor of the Oregon Department of Human Service, Clyde Saiki, announced the agency would be conducting a review of the actions leading up to Caden’s death. A Critical In- cident Review Team (CIRT) will be convened to investi- gate the matter. CIRTs are charged with reviewing cases of a child’s death while in state care for the purpose of draw- ing out lessons for agency im- provement. While Caden was not un- der state care, the agency di- rector has leeway in deter- mining when to call for such investigations. “While this matter does not qualify for a mandatory CIRT under the statute, I am mak- ing this discretionary decision in order to determine whether there are system issues that gave rise to this tragic out- come, and which may allow us to make improvements in our system,” Saiki said in a state- ment. The fi nal results will be shared with the public. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact KPD Det. Tim Lath- rop at 503-390-3713, ext. 3481. TROUBLE: ‘There was alcohol and drugs in the house’ (Continued from Page A1) The next year of the Law- rences’ lives proved to be tu- multuous. “The boyfriend and I would talk quite a bit, I was cool with him more so than Amy,” Jason said. “They were both abusive and I know there was alcohol and drugs in the house.” Jason recounted a night not long after they moved in when Amy pulled into their driveway with her high beams on in the middle of the night. “She came to the door and was asking us if we had any oxycontin,” Jason said. Robertson was seeking to replace pills she’d taken from her mother, Katie added. It wasn’t the only odd visit. “She would come to our house trying to sell us electron- ics. She cleaned offi ces and I’m pretty sure she was taking them from the places she cleaned. We reported her to the company she worked for,” Katie said. While the relationship be- tween the two families was ARRAIGN, continued from Page A1 The attorney for the state said Robertson “admitted to causing the death of her son by strangulation.” Robertson only rare- ly looked up from behind the window and her sobs prompted some of her family to leave the courtroom while the arraignment wrapped up. Robertson continued to weep as she left the court- room. Numerous fam- ily members gathered in the amicable at times, Katie said the biggest dust-up came July 4, 2012. “Amy was out in our drive- way with her sister and mom, yelling and making a lot of noise while our daughter was asleep,” Katie said. “I went out to talk with her and she got right up in my face, nose-to- nose, and threatened to beat me up.” The situation cooled when Jason and other neighbors in- tervened. “Amy ended up getting evicted because she was so loud and always trying to fi ght with everybody,” Katie said. Jason said employees from the Oregon Department of Human Services made several visits to the house while the two families were neighbors. Those visits have caused him a considerable amount of heart- ache in the past couple of days. “(Caden) should still have more birthdays, but now he never will because the system failed him,” Jason said. lobby of the Marion County Court Annex after the ar- raignment. Robertson was arrested by Keizer police Sunday, Jan. 15, and charged with the aggra- vated murder of her 12-year- old son, Caden Berry. Robertson is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hear- ing on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 4 p.m. A hearing on indictment is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 26. Marion County Circuit Court Judge Lindsay Par- tridge will take over as the presiding judge with a status conference slated Feb. 1. ESCE parents meet Jan. 26 On Jan. 26 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Early Childhood Spe- cial Education (ECSE) parent night will take place at Wil- lamette ESD, 2611 Pringle Road S.E. The meeting will intro- duce individuals to Salem- Keizer programs and services. The meeting is intended to help make the transition to starting school as smooth as crossword possible for children and their parents. Call Ginger Wyler at 503- 399-3101 to RSVP. ASL or Spanish interpreting can be provided upon request.
