AN ELDERLY man has been told to deconstruct a playset he built for his grandkids by his neighborhood oversight committee.
The sturdy three-seat swingset doubled as an arbor for Bill Maloni’s wisteria tree at his Chevy Chase Village home in Washington DC, he said.
Maloni completed construction of the playset in the spring of 2015 but was not contacted about it being a problem until months later.
The seven-person Board of Managers overseeing his Washington, DC, community cited him for a code violation and told him to remove the playset due to its location on the property, according to The Washington Post.
“I continue to hope that logic will prevail,” Maloni said about the situation.
“But I doubt it.”
Maloni has lived in the wealthy neighborhood for over 20 years and purchased the $1,500 playset to encourage his grandchildren to play outside.
Community officials said that Maloni is obligated to follow the same regulations as the community’s other residents.
“The village is interested in compliance. . . . The rules apply to everybody. They apply them equally,” said Suellen Ferguson, an attorney who represents Chevy Chase Village.
And the area in which the playset was constructed should remain without any large instructions, according to community guidelines.
The playset was 15 feet wide and 7 feet tall with a cement foundation.
Maloni discussed the matter with village officials at multiple community hearings.
“I feel I’ve been patronized, stiff-armed, told ‘no’ and received very little of the famous ‘neighborhood cooperation’ the chairman claims exists and is manifest,” Maloni said, according to a recording of one meeting.
But his request was ultimately denied for an exception by a 5-to-2 vote, leading Maloni to consider legal action.
The neighborhood is quite strict with its coding violations, according to community leadership.
“The Board historically holds a very firm stance regarding the covenants,” said Ellen Sands, the permitting and code enforcement coordinator for the village.
“Recently, the Board denied a variance request filed by an applicant who sought to maintain a freestanding basketball hoop which had been installed — without the applicable Building Permit. The Board required that the Applicant remove the basketball hoop within a stated timeframe,” she said.
But many of Maloni’s neighbors said that they had no problem with the playset staying where it was.
“All Saints Church would be in favor of allowing the arbor/play structure to remain in its current form,” the rector of a nearby church, Rev. Edward T. Kelaher, wrote in support of the playset.
“It does not trouble or offend us in the least, presents no unfavorable appearance, and seems most common and reasonable for its purposes and location,” he said.
The city offered to allow Maloni to install a similar playset with a non-permanent base, but the resident allegedly refused.
The U.S. Sun has attempted to reach out to Bill Maloni for an update and further comments.