|
Hurricane Georges has come and gone leaving more news about shutters. The following article is quoted from the Broward Herald
published on Wednesday September 23rd 1998.
By Patricia Maldonado and Ann Martinez Herald staff writers.
Renters discover covering windows is their job.
So you've moved into one of those ultra-luxury rentals in West Broward for times like now when a hurricane looms in the Caribbean.
You feel safe, don't you?
But the new complexes, fitted with the comforts of a resort such as beaches, gyms and theaters, don't provide the muscle to put up those shutters.
Tenants at these sprawling apartment communities will have to put up the metal panels, hammer in the bolts and screw on the wing nuts.
Builders are only required to supply the shutters and that's it," said Oscar DiVeroli of Robico Shutters in Medley.
Tuesday, the scramble to prepare for the possibility of Hurricane Georges slamming South Florida created problems for renters at places like Pinehurst Club Apartments in Hollywood.
The complex's management searched for a contractor to install shutters throughout the apartment community of Hollywood Boulevard and South Park Road.
"There was no plan in place before," property manager Sue Pillsbury said. "We're looking to make plans now."
In a letter sent to tenants Tuesday, management said it would take two weeks to install shutters throughout the complex. As a back-up measure, managers said they planned to put shutters on the clubhouse and use it as a shelter.
"Management also discouraged tenants from putting up their shutters themselves", Pillsbury said.
But that didn't stop Jason Anzalone and his roommates from hauling the metal jackets out of their utility room and placing them over the sliding glass door on Tuesday.
But Anzalone quickly discovered he did not have enough shutters to cover the two bedroom windows.
"What's the point of having shutters if you can't get them up?" Anzalone said as his roommate bolted on the shutters. "I can't afford to have anything broken."
The new South Florida Building Code was adopted after Hurricane Andrew ravaged Miami-Dade County in 1992. It was rewritten to include safety features to protect homeowners and renters.
Developers building new apartment complexes are required to fit every new unit with shutters or wind-resistant glass. The code, however, does not address who installs the shutters, a key factor when preparing for a hurricane like Georges. State tenant-landlord laws don't address shutter installation, either.
"Even though the landlord provides the shutter, whether they install it or not-the law does not guarantee anything" said Michele Rappe, a Coral Springs attorney who represents 332-unit St. Andrew's Place, a rental community on Pembrook Road in Miramar.
But many management companies at the new complexes will not leave their tenants on their own in an emergency.
St. Andrew's Place is distributing the panels and bolts to tenants and providing renters with emergency numbers.
At the falls at Pembroke in Pembroke Pines, renters can find their shutters and supplies in their utility closet on the balcony. Management there is airing a shutter installation video on the community internal cable channel 13 and in the theater at the clubhouse.
Property Manager Carol Stone at Poinciana Lake Apartments in Davie has an emergency plan in place to protect tenants.
"We have shutters available for them and many volunteers ready to help," she said.
Residents at the 208-unit complex on University Drive will have the option of staying in the clubhouse and riding out the storm.
"Maybe we'll have a party," Stone said.
|
|
