A 1,049-Home Community Still Waiting for a Vote
Homeowners at North Shore at Lake Hart, a 1,049-home community in southeast Orange County, Florida, were supposed to elect a new board this year. Instead, for the second year in a row, the election was called off while the community’s leadership continues fighting a court order in appeals court, according to an investigation by WKMG ClickOrlando reporter Mike DeForest. A spokesperson for the HOA’s management company told the station the election is being deferred until the case makes its way through the courts.
The case dates back to 2023, when homeowner Miriam Burtoff filed a dispute petition with Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation, arguing the HOA’s board had illegally amended its bylaws in 2021 to bar homeowners involved in litigation against the association from running for a board seat. An arbitrator, Keith Hope, sided with Burtoff that December, ordering a new election. In his final order, Hope found the HOA had a “history” of “improper conduct of elections and board meetings.”
Confirmed by a Judge, Still Not Resolved
An Orange County circuit court judge confirmed the arbitrator’s order in April 2024, which normally would have cleared the way for homeowners to finally cast ballots. Instead, the HOA’s board appealed to Florida’s Sixth District Court of Appeal that November. As of the ClickOrlando report in June 2026, that appeal remained unresolved.
Two sitting board members told DeForest they want the matter settled at the ballot box rather than in a courtroom. Board member Kurt Kuhl said homeowners want an election and are suffering from fatigue fighting the association. Fellow board member Gregory Mathison pointed to a related legal fight consuming the community involving a 77-year-old neighbor who has been jailed since March 2026 for contempt in a separate fee dispute.
Neighbors Describe a Community on Edge
For residents who live there, the repeated postponements have hardened into a source of daily frustration. Homeowner Tonja Niemi told ClickOrlando she loves where she lives but needs an election. Dolores Petropulos, a retired Orlando police officer, said many of her neighbors are now afraid to criticize the board publicly.
What Happens Next
Until Florida’s Sixth District Court of Appeal rules, the community remains in a holding pattern that has now stretched across three election cycles and multiple layers of the legal system.
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