PARKER — Wisteria Lane may have met its match. The tidy cul-de-sac that is Switzer Park Lane, in the Willow Park subdivision, boasts lush manicured lawns and rows of matching two-story houses painted in soothing neutrals. It used to be a neighborhood where block parties were well-attended and neighbors didn't bother with the formality of knocking, residents say.

But ever since Eric and Tracy Brandaw moved in with their enormous gray RV, accusations, animosity and lawsuits have been mounting.

The Brandaws moved out of their home three years ago after they discovered a mold problem that caused serious health issues for them and their 5-year-old son, Colin, the couple said.

"(Tracy Brandaw) developed a severe respiratory condition related to mold contamination. Pending remediation, the patient is restricted from re-inhabiting her house at the current time," according to a certified letter signed by Dr. Karin Pacheco of National Jewish Medical Center.

"I was sick. Really sick. I felt like I was dying," Tracy Brandaw said Thursday.
She said Eric and Colin developed asthma because of the mold.

"I don't want anyone else suffering any more like this. ... I'm tired of people not knowing the truth about what mold does to you," Tracy Brandaw said.

Tensions rising

After living with family and in apartments for two years, they bought an RV and parked it in their driveway last September.

As they sue their builder, Ryland Homes, for what the Brandaws say are construction deficiencies that led to the mold, the Willow Park Home Owner's Association is suing the Brandaws to have their RV removed.

Tension in the neighborhood has mounted to the point where accusations of harassment and lies abound, almost none of them related to the RV.

Ed Hurden, 62, has lived one house down from the Brandaws for three years and has been on the board of the Willow Park HOA for more than a year.

"The problem and the tension in the neighborhood is not because of the motor home," he said. "The problem and the tension is because of the people who live in it. Nobody likes them. ... They have alienated everybody on the block."
Tracy Brandaw thinks the issue is really about money.

"The neighbors are afraid of their home values going down because all of our homes were built at the same time," she said. "I think they've been lied to. They are under the understanding that we're not being upfront and truthful about our situation, and we are."

Hurden and others accuse Tracy Brandaw of causing the mold in her home.

"The woman has a water fetish," Hurden said. "She's out there every day doing something with water."
Hurden said Brandaw hoses off her house and shoots the water upward between the siding and into the eaves.
"If I'm going to powerwash, I'll powerwash," Brandaw said. "It didn't cause mold and it's not going to cause mold. Of course I'm not powerwashing my house and putting water into my walls."

As to why she is frequently seen hosing her driveway and RV, Brandaw said, "It keeps the dust down, which helps with the asthma."

Stacy Musil, 34, has lived in the cul-de-sac with her family for four years. She said her kids ask why the Brandaws videotape them, which Musil finds harassing.

"We have backup cameras," Tracy Brandaw said. "I do use them. I do record with them because we've had so much harassment. ... We've been having people put concrete and sand in our yard.

Headed to court

Annette Richmond, the HOA attorney, said the HOA is not picking on the Brandaw family in particular. "We enforce the covenant across the board. Everyone is treated the same," she said.

She said the HOA understands that the Federal Fair Housing Law requires that the group allow a reasonable accommodation to persons with disabilities but that the HOA does not consider parking in a driveway for an indefinite period reasonable.

Hurden said the Brandaws' lawsuit is a scam. "The mold issue is not an issue of mold. The issue is monetary gain," Hurden said.

Marya Barlow, corporate spokeswoman for Ryland Homes, said all the homes in the Switzer Lane cul-de-sac are up to code.

"Laws have changed and codes have changed since their home was built," she said.

She said Ryland offered to fix the Brandaw house three years ago. "We acknowledge the mold exists and would like to remove it for them," Barlow said, adding that a Ryland inspector looked at the house and found a 3-foot- by-3-foot growth beneath a window on the lower story and a silver-dollar-sized chunk upstairs.

"We probably could have fixed it in a day for 10 to 20 thousand dollars," Barlow said.

Tracy Brandaw said it will cost $170,000 to get rid of the mold and fix the house so it won't grow back, money the Brandaws can't get loaned to them because they don't have the equity.

The jury trial against Ryland begins Sept. 4 in Douglas County District Court. A status hearing in the HOA case is set for Oct. 2 in county court.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5675909,00.html
 
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