Altamira - Restaurant New Construction

[kenshade]

Altamira - New Construction Restaurant & Pool Bar
I see that there are significant construction changes being made to our restaurant & pool bar. Some owners have very serious concerns and are objecting about its impact on the front of Altamira. We have been told that there are no plans!!!!!!!! I am therefore very surprised that the development has been authorized!!!!!!!!

[Fiona Franchi]

Plans to renovate the restaurant and pool bar were presented to, and authorised by, the Adeje town hall. The previous tenant found the new tenant, as the previous tenant was not earning enough out of the business to continue paying the rent. The new tenant, (Lorenzo) would only take on the tenancy if he were allowed renovate the property. Not only did he feel it was looking very dated but also the plumbing and flooring was in a bad state of repair. He approached the town hall and was granted permission by them prior to his signing the contract with the community. He signed the contract on 26th December and began works on the 27th with a view to opening for business on February 14th. The community president was not asked for permission as Lorenzo already had the authorization from the town hall. He has invested over 250,000€ in the project, some of which (the waste water plumbing and some of the re-tiling) would have had to be paid by the community had he not carried and paid for the work himself.


Some Altamira residents expressed concern over the hight of the awning that will cover the entire frontage of the building. This was then lowered by Lorenzo, although I believe that some owners are unhappy with the amount it was lowered.


He plans to make the area very contemporary, with mostly white furnishing and large green plants. The music will be kept low he says and "chilled out" (his words). The area in front of the hairdresser's and massage units will only have large plant pots and no tables and chairs..... both of the tenants in these units are delighted at the prospect of the area being modernized and the potential upturn in business for them.


No member of public visiting the restaurant or bar area will have access to the Altamira. Frosted glass will separate the pool area and atrium from view and the doors will require the same key that operates the gate from the pool to the walkway.


There will still be a pool bar area that can only be used by Altamira residents and this will be closed from 5pm.


Lorenzo owns a large number (18 I believe) other restaurants in Tenerife so hopefully at long last we will have a successful bar and restaurant for all the residents to enjoy.

[monica]

Thank you Fiona for the information on the new restaurant - it is very useful and helps to explain a lot of unclear points.

[kenshade]

Hello
I fear that the current situation is very unclear and I believe some owners are actively questioning the legality of the restaurant construction works. So we may need to wait for the legal arguments to be settled, perhaps this may be done before the AGM, but only time will tell.

[kenshade]

Hello Altamira owners

The new restaurant & pool/sports bar, the alterations were finally agreed at the Altamira AGM on the 14 March 2014.
The Votes for 129 & opposed 19, so we can see that it was finally agreed by a significant majority.

For those that are interested in the history of the decision making process, it appears that it is as follows;
26 December 2013 = New Tenant.
Jan 2014 = Restaurant & bars construction started. (Permission?)
13 Feb 2014 = Altamira management board, the majority voted in favour of the restaurant & bars construction.
20 Feb 2014 = Restaurant construction gains some official permission.
14 March 2014 = Altamira AGM, the majority voted in favour of the restaurant & pool/sports bar construction.

Some owners remain unhappy with the changes and the sports bar signage, however we are hopeful that the new owner will listen to the suggestion to remove/alter the sport bar signage.

Everything seems to have now been retrospectively approved, so we must now move on and make the best of it.

[kenshade]

Hello Altamira owners

I have recently read the minutes of the Altamira AGM and I wish to make some comments relating to Item 3, The Restaurant.

I note that one English owner commented that "Altamira is a tourist resort, not an old peoples home". However while Altamira may have a touristic license,it seems from item 6 that only 25% is is actually officially used for tourist purposes, therefore the remaining 75% is mainly used for residential purposes.

The minutes now show that only 49% of all the owners actually voted in favour of the restaurant changes. I had previously commented that I believed it was passed by a significant majority, but this may now be open to interpretation.

I am sure many of you will be aware that Altamira is controlled by the Horizontal Property Laws and these laws offer some protection for apartment owners. It seems that some changes may actually need the consent of 60% of owners and more importantly the consent of the owners directly affected by the changes. Also if some owner feels that the changes are seriously detrimental to them, then they can challenge the changes/resolutions in court. I should add that these laws are likely to be open to interpretation and therefore the outcome may be unknown.

I appreciate that many owners think the restaurant changes are an improvement and I myself have used the restaurant on a number of occasions, but it is very important that we try to appease the aggrieved apartment owners.

I have recently received two emails from fellow Altamira management board members and it is clear that the majority of the Altamira seafront owners are not happy with the changes and they are bitterly complaining about the decision making process and the outcome.
I think it would be fair to say that they are very much aggrieved by what has happened. We need to include these owners in trying to find solutions otherwise I fear a very bitter and protracted dispute.

[kenshade]

Hello Altamira Owners
Further to my last comments of 30 April, I mentioned that the voting may have needed 60% and that according to the AGM minutes only 49% of the owners actually voted in favour of the restaurant changes. However it seems that after 30 days of receiving the minutes, and if those owners who did not attend and do not dissent then they are counted as favourable, so it is now highly likely that the votes have exceeded the 60% required.

[kenshade]

I have recently learned that some aggrieved owners are still not happy with the sports bar & restaurant changes. I understand that they wish for this matter to be settled in the law courts.

I have been unable to obtain a copy of the court summons - statement of case - complaint, so I am unable to determine if the complaint is trivial or serious.

If it is trivial then under normal circumstances the decision for the restaurant changes should remain.
However if it is a serious complaint, then such a decision will probably need to be settled in court.

I think many of us had hoped that some sort of compromise could have been agreed, but unfortunately that has not been achieved.

[kenshade]

According to the Spanish Horizontal Property Laws, some changes may need to be passed by at least 60% of the complex quota and other changes may need a unanimous vote. The aggrieved owners are complaining that neither of these were achieved at the time of the 2014 AGM and therefore they are asking the courts to decide on the legality of the decision making process relating to the restaurant changes.

The Restaurant issues were again raised at the Altamira AGM on the 13th March 2015 and there were a number of lawyers present. Within the AGM agenda, item 1. a legal discussion immediately started regarding the voting procedures and there were a number of heated exchanges between some of the parties present, this part of the agenda lasted for 2 hours and the whole meeting lasted for 7 hours.

I understand this legal complaint is due for its first court hearing on the 30th April 2015 and hopefully we may then have a better idea of where this complaint is heading.

I believe the majority of the Altamira owners are generally supportive of the restaurant, however many of them would like to find some sort of compromise between the parties and this may require some changes to the signage and the scale of the construction.

I understand that the aggrieved owners are open to having some discussions to find solutions to the restaurant complaint, so hopefully this can be achieved within the foreseeable future.

[kenshade]

Regarding the aggrieved owners and the court case, I have not read the recent judgement, but I have been informed that the decision was in favour of the Altamira community. I understand that such cases are often appealed and I suppose the aggrieved owners will be closely examining the judgement. Perhaps we may learn more at our Altamira AGM on the Friday 11th March 2016.

[kenshade]

We held our AGM on the 11th March 2016 and we now have a new President & new Vice President with some other changes to the management board. The aggrieved owners have said that they are appealing against the latest judgement, however they have also indicated a willingness to work with the new board in an effort to find solutions to the ongoing problems and the new Altamira management board is willing to work with them. It is important for both sides of the dispute to work together in an effort to come to an agreement and avoid continuing legal actions, because the outcome of the appeal and other legal actions are uncertain.

[kenshade]

Hello Altamira

Since my last comments our problems have gradually got worse. It seems to me that all of our ongoing legal court actions are a result of the restaurant lease signed on the 26th December 2013 and the resulting construction works, the removal of our boundary walls and the changing of our communidad bar into a public sports bar. Additional problems have been caused by the playing of live and other loud music from within the restaurant and the new chillout bar. However the loud music has now been greatly reduced, but we need to keep on top of that issue.

During our 2017 AGM the President, Vice President and two board members resigned, including myself. However I later acted as an adviser to the board.

During the 2018 AGM some board members resigned and I rejoined the board as the Vice President, however I only accepted the position as no other owner wished to take on the role.

The main court case for the removal of the construction works and the rebuilding of our boundary walls etc has now gone to the Madrid appeal courts, so we are all waiting for a judgement.

There are other associated court cases that the aggrieved owners are taking out against the Altamira Communidad and they have recently won an important case against the communidad. The Altamira community agreed at the 2018 AGM to appeal against that decision, however I voted against the decision to appeal.

There is now another court case taken out against our 2018 AGM, the aggrieved owners want it declared null & void, I think their decision is because the 2018 AGM decided to lodge an appeal against their recent victory.

I shudder to think about the final legal bills and who may need to pay, I certainly won't be happy if I am asked to contribute, because I warned the Altamira management not to allow the changes, without firstly checking if they complied with the Spanish Horizontal Property Laws and obtaining the approval of those directly affected.

Since our 2018 AGM the President has been unwell and was in hospital, however he is still in regular contact with the board. To make matters worse our office administrator/secretary (Eveline Janzen) went off ill just two days after the 2018 AGM and is still off work, this was unexpected and it is causing us some real problems, but I am sure many would like to wish Eveline a swift recovery and for her to return back to her work in Altamira.

[kenshade]

Hello - Altamira Community of Owners

Please note, that I am writing this on my own behalf and not on behalf of the Altamira management.

Eveline Janzen is still signed off work on sick leave, I hope she makes a swift recovery and returns back to her Altamira office.

I have been asked by an Altamira owner to comment on some recent rumours relating to Eveline and the aggrieved Altamira owners.

RUMOUR 1. It has been rumoured that the aggrieved owners are complaining about the Altamira management and the 2018 AGM. I understand that the complaints may relate to before and after our 2018 AGM and these are now subject to legal proceedings.

RUMOUR 2. It has also been rumoured that Eveline does not want to return back to her work in Altamira. I understand that she would like to come to a financial settlement before leaving her employment with Altamira. Unfortunately Eveline has taken out a number of court cases against the Altamira community. It has been rumoured that she wants a large sum of money, around 120,000 euros, the amount may be higher than that, but I am unable to confirm the actual figure claimed. It is likely that such a large claim would be subject to many objections and any negotiated settlement would need to be agreed by an owners meeting. However if no settlement is reached, then it is due to go to court sometime in January 2019 and the court can then decide on the settlement amount.

Rumour 3. It has been rumoured that Eveline may be in the process of selling her apartment. I am not aware of this, so I am unable to comment further.

It is unfortunate that this is all happening when Eveline is unwell and is unable to work or discuss it with us. However in light of all the legal problems, I would hope Eveline is willing to come to some reasonable settlement with her beloved Altamira.

[kenshade]

Hello Altamira Owners

Please note, I am writing this on my own behalf and not on behalf of the Altamira management.

I have recently learned that Eveline Janzen has sold her apartment and her two garages. However she remains an employee who is still on sick leave. Eveline has taken out four court cases against the Altamira Community and she is claiming around 130,000 euros. I assume many owners will be astonished by her claims and she is making things very difficult and costly for all the Altamira owners.

Regards - Ken Shade

[kenshade]

Hello Altamira Owners

Please note that I am writing this on my own behalf and not on behalf of the Altamira management.

I have recently been asked by some owners if I can give an update on the court cases.

It has now been nearly 5 Years since the problems started with the Restaurant/Bar lease & Construction. The legal procedures are slow, the initial 2014 court case is still awaiting a judgement from the appeal being considered in Madrid.

I understand there will be a court hearing this month,I believe it relates to issues involving our 2016 AGM.

There are rumours of other complaints made against certain members of the Altamira Management, I am not yet aware of any court dates.

With regards to the Eveline Janzen court cases taken out against the Altamira Communidad, there is a court date due to be held in late January 2019. I am aware that many owners are angered by Eveline's complaints made against Altamira and in particular her claims for 130,000 euros. I had earlier commented that I hoped Eveline would re-consider her demands and there is now some indication that Eveline is willing to enter into discussions. So hopefully this will be helpful to all involved.

Regards - Ken Shade