The votes have been counted for the proposed consolidated covenants. Before discussing those results, I want to thank the board members for all their hard work and the non-board HOA volunteers that tallied the votes.
Below are the results:
| FILING | # Homes Eligible to Vote |
% Voted | # YES votes Needed to PASS |
YES | NO | RESULT |
| 1&2 including Filing 1 Replat A |
26 | 88% | 14 | 19 | 4 | PASS |
| 1A | 2 | 50% | 2 | 1 | 0 | FAIL |
| 3 | 42 | 78% | 29 | 15 | 18 | FAIL |
| 4 | 28 | 93% | 19 | 17 | 9 | FAIL |
| 5 | 15 | 80% | 11 | 12 | 0 | PASS |
| 6 | 45 | 80% | 31 | 26 | 10 | FAIL |
Filing 1,2 and 5 approved the proposed consolidated covenants. The results will be sent to the attorney this week to codify, formalize and record with the state. Those filings will benefit from the more defined, more flexible covenants including but not limited to, addressing many of the concerns of homeowners where the old existing covenants were too ambitious or not reflective of modern society. Additionally, now the updated architectural review committee guidelines can be finalized for 1,2, and 5 allowing those filings much more clarity and flexibility in future architectural guidelines (ADC) and policies. The new covenants and future ADC guidelines will modernize, clarify and allow for easier changes as desired by the homeowners. Early next year, an addendum vote will be sent out to filing 1,2, and 5 to address some of the language that homeowners found not agreeable. This includes clarifying the review timeline for the Architectural Design Committee and confirming that fire pits are not subject to restrictions in excess of those set by the City of Longmont.
As to the filings that rejected the proposed consolidated covenants, nothing will change for them. Their existing 20+ year-old ambiguous covenants and guidelines will remain in effect except where state law takes precedence. In the future, when Filings 1A, 3,4, and 6 revisit their covenants to comply with state law, those Filings will bear the cost.
We were surprised by the feedback and comments received within the last 24 hours or even the last few hours before the voting deadline. One homeowner said, “the board has too much power” another expressed concern that approving the covenants would result in higher dues. To be clear, the homeowners vote on the budget and the yearly dues, and the homeowners vote for who they want on their Board. The Board has only as much authority as granted them by the homeowners. And your Board has worked diligently to engage homeowners. We sent mailings, emails, and website posts on the entire process going back to the spring of 2022 to solicit homeowner input. Thank you to those who participated throughout the process. Most of the input we received was actioned and discussed. If your comments or input did not reflect in the new covenants there was a practical (and usually a legal) reason why it wasn’t included. In those instances, engaging the board to discuss your concerns before voting would have been preferable to sending in comments with your ballot (not much we can do at that point). It is disappointing that so many people in Filing 3 and 4 voted no. Those two filings provided the least input into the process, so there may be a correlation between having bad information or voting via rumor mill rather than calling on the Board to answer questions.
Next on the agenda for the HOA volunteer board members for the next few months:
- Finish addendum for 1,2,5.
- Secure a contract with a new Landscaping and snow removal company
- Draft architectural design guidelines for Filings 1, 2, and 5 (other filings will follow guidelines in the original covenants).