We are receiving a trickle of votes for the consolidated covenants and encourage you to get your votes turned in. The consolidated covenants are a necessary requirement to bring the HOA in compliance with state laws. Additionally, we’ve worked hard to ensure the old non-applicable language was removed while updating areas that needed more clarity. We offered several opportunities to provide feedback and input into the document including a public town hall. If you feel that the new consolidated covenants should not be approved, I ask you kindly to provide input to the board on your reasons why. This feedback is important to make sure we did not miss anything.
With that said, we have already found an error in the final document that will require an addendum to the hopefully soon to be approved document. In section 6.6, it says the Design Review Committee has 45 days to reply to an architectural design review request. The attorney suggested the 45 days because we are not an HOA agency, but a volunteer group. But we decided as a board that it should be significantly reduced and the final language did not end up in the document we posted for the HOA vote.
Also, some individuals expressed concern about the “lien” language. The lien language has not changed from the current HOA covenants and reflects state law.
We also understand there’s a concern about having to get approval for temporary holiday lights under the new covenants. The wording in section 5.16 is “Exterior lighting, including temporary holiday lighting, is subject to requirements set forth in any Architectural Requirements.” Current Design Guidelines talks about holiday lighting in section 10.10 without any mention of approval. When the Design Guidelines are updated next year, it’s our intention to make sure it’s clear that no approval is needed. So there’s no requirement for HOA or DRC approval on holiday lights.
If you are asking why can’t we just amend the version we are currently voting on, it’s because the version we are voting on was approved, posted on the website for everyone to review, and the legal process for voting and accepting it has already started. To stop now would mean we scrap the entire vote now, to include hundreds of dollars in mailing costs and many volunteer hours, delay it another 3-4 months and go through the notification process again, with the required timeline per state law. The sensible alternative is to pass the proposed consolidated covenants, collect more input and pass an addendum that will fix the area or areas that we feel need slight modifications.
We have worked laboriously to ensure the document is thorough. But, as a volunteer team with families and jobs, we missed a few items like the item in section 6.6. My word to you is that if we can get this passed now, then I can get your input about areas of concern and we can work through them and create an addendum to the new consolidated covenants that reflect the adjustments. I think this is the most expeditious and cost-effective process for completing this HOA project.
If you have questions on what was discussed at the June town hall meeting regarding the covenants, please see the notes and especially the homeowners questions and concerns at the end of the PDF.
I ask you to please vote favorably for the covenants and please help us in this process and provide feedback so we can start drafting the proposed addendum. Feel free to contact us anytime with questions.
Thank you for your support!