Lawrence Park Condo Residents Address Flooding and Molding Concerns

BROOMALL–Three residents of the Lawrence Park Condominiums on Lawrence Road pleaded with the Board of Commissioners for help with ongoing flooding problems, and now mold, which one resident said has posed health problems for her child.

Catherine Campanella, who rents her Lawrence Park condo unit from her parents, the unit owners, along with Cindy Hilaman and Lynn Healy, both of whom own their condo units, went before the board on Monday night during the public comment portion of the board meeting seeking aid.

The women said and heavy rains last weekend resulted in flooding in some of the condo buildings’ basements and hallways.

The water from the storm rose as high as four to eight feet in some of the condo buildings’ basements, township Director of Code Enforcement Joseph Romano told Marple Newtown Patch in an interview.

Because the basements are considered common areas, repairing the areas and remediating any problems are the responsibility of the condominium association and the property manager, rather being the responsibility of the owners of the individual condo units, the women said.

But Campanella said the property manager does not return residents’ repeated calls and water from a nearby creek which overflowed during the storm is still sitting outside her building, infested with mosquitos and contaminated with sewage.

Campanella said her greatest concern is her 4-year-old daughter, who was “diagnosed with mold infestation in her lungs,” and is now on a nebulizer, although she had previously been healthy.  Campanella said she has remained in the condo but her daughter has been living apart from her since a doctor diagnosed her with having mold in her lungs.

Romano said township officials visited the condos the day after the hurricane and saw that water was being pumped out of a basement and flood-damaged drywall was being replaced. 

Campanella said there was more flooding after last weekend’s heavy rainstorms.  “There’s water still pouring into our basements,” Campanella said.

The commissioners said they were sympathetic to the women’s plight, but limited as to what they could do as the property is privately owned.

Fifth Ward Commissioner John Longacre II said, “We have the right to condemn the building, but then you don’t live there. We don’t have the money to buy the property.”

Romano said the best solution to the ongoing flooding problems would be to approach FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency)to find out if the government agency would be willing to buy the property, which is in a flood plain.

“Next time there’s a storm, it’s going to happen again,” Romano said of the flooding. 

Flood insurance has paid to make flood repairs to the condo buildings three times recently, Romano added.

In the end, the commissioners agreed to have township officials visit the condominiums on Tuesday.

Third Ward Commissioner Jim Balk suggested that the township also test the air quality in the condo buildings.

“Our first priority will be and should be the health of inhabitants,” Balk said.

Township Solicitor Adam Matlawski cautioned that if the air quality is tested and it does not pass, the township will have to revoke the use and occupancy permit and it would be the responsibility of the owners (both the condo association and the owners of the individual units) to make repairs.

Healy said she had not lived in her condo for nine months when it flooded, damaging all of her belongings at a time when she did not have flood insurance and then three months after she moved back into her condo, Hurricane Irene hit.

Healy said she now has flood insurance but as a precaution, she removed all of her furniture and belongings from her condo before the storm. Since then, Healy has been living with her daughter 60 miles away and has to drive more than an hour to get to work.

Healy said when she bought her condo, she knew it was in a floodplain but she did not know that the property had been flooding for years.

“It’s upsetting that this has been allowed to continue all these years,” Healy said.