WADSWORTH, Ohio — The Great Oaks Condominium Homeowner's Association in Wadsworth held its first meeting since News 5 reported that riding bikes, rollerblading, ball playing, and skateboarding were not allowed in the neighborhood.
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On August 17, some frustrated families called News 5 about those rules. On Tuesday night, residents for and against those regulations got a chance to speak to the Homeowner's Association.
"I feel like both sides got to share their concerns and their opinions and voice what they wish to see happen. The main topic, compromise. Both sides are going to need to compromise and so I hope that they figure that out," said Megan Montgomery, Great Oaks Condominium resident.
In mid-August, a sign was posted at the front of the neighborhood that read, "No bicycling, no skateboarding, no ball playing, or rollerblading." At that time, the Great Oaks Condominium Association sent this statement: "The safety of everyone in the Great Oaks community is of the utmost importance. Condominiums have smaller, private streets and so there are rules designed to protect everyone's safety."
Now, that sign is no longer up in the neighborhood. Montgomery said, "We were driving, and we were like, 'Oh my gosh, the sign's not there anymore.' So, we don't know if they took it down or somebody else might have come and taken it down. But they did not say anything about the sign being missing, so our assumption is they took it down."
On Tuesday night, the Homeowner's Association Board of Directors went into executive session after the meeting for more than an hour. After that, News 5 caught up with a board member, who said that these rules could be changed through a majority vote of homeowners in the neighborhood. The next opportunity for a vote would be at the Great Oaks Condominiums annual meeting in May.
For now, Megan Montgomery and some of her neighbors will continue to allow their kids to ride bikes outside.
"We love living here, and we want to continue living here, and we just want the kids to be able to be outside to be kids and have fun," said Montgomery.
