By Erica Solvig
The Cincinnati Enquirer

HAMILTON TWP. - Mike and Joellyn Voge were vacationing in North Carolina with their two young children when the news starting circulating among their neighbors in the Indian Lake subdivision.

Their already smaller-than-average front yards were getting sidewalks - an action that several residents say Ryan Homes promised would not happen.

"They specifically said there wasn't going to be sidewalks," Mike Voge said of their year-old home. "We probably wouldn't be here if we had known."

Neighbors here say the issue is the most recent in a slew of problems they've had with Ryan Homes, ranging from uncontrolled drainage in backyards to mold in new homes.

Fifteen of the homeowners filed suit against Ryan Homes, accusing the company of breach of contract, fraud and trespassing. Neighbors say they are not against sidewalks; they are against the way Ryan Homes conducted business.

"From day one, they knew all these homes had to have sidewalks and they just didn't want the people to know it," said homeowner Richard Russo, 70, a retiree. "Now, they've got us pinned here."

A Ryan Homes spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit or complaints.

Warren County requires subdivisions of certain densities to have sidewalks on both sides of the street.

The developer, Gallenstein Bros. Inc, never asked for a variance, according to Bob Craig, executive director of the county's Regional Planning Commission. "The sidewalks have to be there - that's all there is to it," said township Trustee Clyde Baston. "That's where it was supposed to be."

That's no consolation to homeowners like Tiffinie Wheeler, a married 23-year-old mother of two who now keeps her front blinds closed because the sidewalk runs close to the front window and people cannot help but look in. The walkways sit about 11 feet back from the curb, nearly through the middle of the small front yards.

"We used to feel comfortable keeping them open," she said. "Now, we live in a dungeon."

And now, the Rexfords cannot park their truck between the walkway and garage without it hanging into the pedestrians' path.

"We should be able to park in our own driveway," said Patricia Rexford, 29.

Residents say that after mold issues, drainage problems and replacing lush yards with dead sod when sidewalks were dug, they felt enough was enough.

They also say other promises - including plans for a clubhouse and children's play area - were not realized.

"The bottom line to me is if I've made an agreement with you, keep it," says homeowner Ben Showole. "Basically, it's fraud. The sidewalks were just the straw - no, the brick - that broke the camel's back."

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E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com