Miller v. Bay City, 131 September Term, 2005.

• Decision Date: 31 July 2006
• Docket Number: No. 131 September Term, 2005.,131 September Term, 2005.
• Citation: 393 Md. 620,903 A.2d 938
• Parties: Eric MILLER v. BAY CITY PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

903 A.2d 938

393 Md. 620

Eric MILLER v. BAY CITY PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.

No. 131 September Term, 2005.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

July 31, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

J. Donald Braden (Foster, Braden & Thompson, L.L.P., Stevensville, MD), on brief, for Petitioner.

Stephen Z. Meehan (Joseph B. Tetrault of Funk & Bolton, P.A., Chestertown, MD), on brief, for Respondent.

Argued before BELL, C.J., and RAKER, WILNER, CATHELL, HARRELL, BATTAGLIA and GREENE, JJ.

CATHELL, J.

This case concerns the creation of covenants of reservation in real property schemes of development. Eric Miller, petitioner, purchased a tract of land from Bay City Property Owners Association, Inc. ("BCPOA"), respondent. Petitioner filed suit in the Circuit Court for Queen Anne's County after being denied permission to build a residence on the purchased lot because the tract of land was alleged by BCPOA to be restricted to use as a "Community Boat Harbor Reservation." The Circuit Court granted petitioner's motion for summary judgment, finding that respondent failed to comply with the requirement that a plat reflecting the boat harbor reservation be recorded in order for the reservation to become effective. Respondent filed a timely appeal with the Court of Special Appeals. That court, in an unreported opinion, determined that respondent's recording of a declaration designating the lot in question as a boat harbor reservation was sufficient to comply with the requirement that a plat be recorded. Petitioner filed a petition for writ of certiorari on December 20, 2005; we granted certiorari on March 9, 2006. Miller v. Bay City Prop. Owners Ass'n, 391 Md. 577, 894 A.2d 545 (2006).

Petitioner presented the following question for our review: "Did the Court of Special Appeals have a legal basis to reverse the Circuit Court for Queen Anne's County?" The answer to this question requires us to determine whether a statement in a recorded declaration is sufficient to enforce a covenant creating the right to designate a reservation but specifically requiring the filing of a plat showing that the lot in question was designated as a boat harbor reservation. Under the circumstances here present, we hold that respondent's failure to file a plat, as specifically required, prevents it from enforcing the alleged restrictive covenant as to the Lot at issue in the case at bar.

I. Facts

On June 9, 1952, the deed for the development in which the property in question is located was recorded in the Land Records of Queen Anne's County. The land was to be developed as a residential community including "dwelling houses, a retail commercial area, non-commercial structures, including churches, recreational facilities and structures, and such other buildings as are customary in such communities . . . ." In the deed, the developers determined that

"it is considered impractical, at this time, or at any one time, to develop or lay out all of the said tract, or to fix, for all parts thereof, the particular residential dwelling, retail commercial area, or non-commercial uses . . .; but a general outline plat of the total acreage included within the whole of said development has been prepared by the said Corporation, which shows the area reserved for residential or dwelling uses, and other areas tentatively reserved for residential, dwelling and retail commercial uses and non-commercial and recreational uses, including tentative Beach Reservations, without particularizing or specifying as to the exact locations for the establishment of said additional Beach Reservations, or of the retail commercial, non-commercial and recreational uses which are to be made in the lands therein contained; and said `GENERAL OUTLINE PLAT' is recorded or intended to be recorded among said Land Records of Queen Anne's County, simultaneously with the recording of this Deed and Agreement . . . ." [Emphasis added.]

The plat filed with the deed presented a tentative layout of the tract of land.

Although most of the layout on the plat was tentative, the deed specifically provided that some of the lots would have a fixed purpose:

"WHEREAS, the said Corporation expressly reserves unto itself, and its successors, the right to change the Tentative Layout of the sections, blocks, and reservations, as to the ground plan lay-out, and as to residential and dwelling areas, and as to recreational and non-commercial uses, now shown on said general outline plat (other than Blocks One to Twenty, inclusive, in Section One, as shown on said Outline Plat, and the location of the `Community Bathing Beach', which said section, blocks, locations and facilities are hereby fixed and shall now be considered to be irrevocable and unchangeable), as, from time to time, the said Corporation shall determine for each succeeding section (which need not be developed or recorded in numerical order) the final determination of such plans and uses as to each section, to be evidenced by the recording of the Plat for the same among the Land Records of Queen Anne's County." [Emphasis added.]

In addition to the lots evidently designated for a "Community Bathing Beach," the deed contained a number of covenants that established the process to be used for future designations and restrictions on the use of the lots. One of those covenants stated:

"COMMUNITY BOAT HARBOR RESERVATION"

"(7) The Corporation, for itself and its successors in the ownership or development of the land contained in said Community, desires and expects, and therefore reserves the right, in the future, to select, fix and determine the location, upon the waters of Board [sic] Creek, of a parcel of land, to be known and designated as a `Community Boat Harbor Reservation' and to show and designate the location of said `Community Boat Harbor Reservation', upon a plat thereof; to be hereafter filed for record among the Land Records of Queen Anne's County".¹

"(8) Upon the date of the recording of said plat, upon which is designated the location of said `Community Boat Harbor Reservation' such `Community Boat Harbor Reservation' shall, from thence-forth be expressly and irrevocably reserved, dedicated and restricted to use in common by the bona fide members of the Association, which shall be formed, as hereinbefore and hereinafter indicated, for the harboring of boats, of such boating and recreational projects and activities as may be conducted, and the conducted, sponsored or promoted by said Association." [Emphasis added.]

The original deed, therefore, provided specifically how the "Community Boat Harbor Reservation" was to be created and that there was only to be one. The only plat filed after the original tentative plat, is dated October 17, 1958, and does not designate any lot or lots as a "Community Boat Harbor Reservation."

On April 7, 1963, the lot in question in this appeal was transferred, with a number of other tracts, to the Bay City Improvement Association, Inc. ("BCIA"), later to become BCPOA. Eleven years later, on December 16, 1975, BCIA recorded a "Declaration," which stated:

"Explanatory Statement"

"By Deed and Agreement dated May 29, 1952, and recorded among the Land Records of Queen Anne's County, . . . The Bridgeside Company established certain `covenants, restrictions, reservations, dedications, conditions, agreements and understandings' with respect to a subdivision known as `Bay City' . . . .

"Paragraphs (7) and (8) of the Deed and Agreement of May 29, 1952, refer to a `Community Boat Harbor Reservation' to be established by The Bridgeside Corporation, or its successors in the ownership or development of the land in Bay City. . . . Bay City Improvement Association, Inc. was assigned certain rights and privileges with respect to the provisions of the aforesaid Deed and Agreement of May 29, 1952.

"By Deed recorded among the Land Records . . ., Bay City Improvement Association is the owner, in fee simple, of Lots 11 and 12, Block 24, and Lot 27, Block 32, as shown on a plat entitled `Plat 2, Section 2, Bay City', . . . dated October 17, 1958 . . . .

"At a meeting of the Board of Directors of Bay City Improvement Association and at a meeting of the members held on September 7, 1975, the Corporation authorized and directed that the lots designated in the preceding paragraph be designated as `Community Boat Harbor Reservation' as referred to in the Deed and Agreement of May 29, 1952.

* * *

"Bay City Improvement Association, Inc., does further declare that:

"1. The portion of the aforesaid Plat of October 17, 1958, which shows the lots designated above is hereby adopted as the plat which shows and designates the location of said `Community Boat Harbor Reservation' as referred to in Paragraph (7) of the Deed and Agreement of May 29, 1952.

"2. From the date hereof, the lots referred to herein shall be expressly and irrevocably reserved, dedicated and restricted to use in common by the bona fide members of Bay City Improvement Association, Inc., for the harboring of boats or such boating and recreational projects and activities as may be conducted, sponsored or promoted by the Association subject only to reasonable regulations and charges with respect to such use as may be made by the Association."

The declaration was recorded in the Land Records of Queen Anne's County; however, a plat designating the "Community Boat Harbor Reservation" was never filed as required by the original reservation of the right to designate. Moreover, Lots 11 and 12 in Block 24, although contiguous with each other, are far removed and on the opposite side of Broad Creek from Lot 27 in Block 32 and not even opposite of that lot across Broad Creek. Accordingly, they cannot reasonably be construed as a single harbor. It is beyond dispute that the respondent is attempting to create multiple boat harbors where, even if it had done so properly, the reservation it was attempting to exercise only conferred upon it the right to create a single boat...