Suspicious vehicles

UPDATE: This vehicle is the paper deliver guy, and works as a contractor to the Kitsap Sun.
Several people have called the SUN to complain already, and they have said that they are working on the noise problem. There is no need for other people to contact them at this time.


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As a follow-up to the alert I sent out last night, I saw this suspicious vehicle this morning. I was getting ready and heard a car with loud exhaust at about 6:05 AM, so I went out side to take a look. The vehicle went down dover, turned around and sped back up the hill. I went and fiddled with the trunk of my car, so I could be closer to the street when he passed and get a good look without making it look like I was checking him out.

It was a red convertible sedan with a short rear spoiler, and a black soft top. It may have been an early 90's Mustang, but I don't know cars that well. The license plate was WA 950-NMO. I didn't get a good look at the driver or if there was a passenger.

And as a side note, my street reflectors seems to be staying put since I put down the bricks. Some bored kid rearranged the blocks and hid the posts last week, but it was easy enough to fix. Grass is just starting to grow up there... hopefully if I can keep people from driving on it for the next month or so.

HOA state law

I read some interesting homeowners association case law recently, and also caught up on happenings in the state legislature. Did you know that a law was recently passed that prohibits us from restricting political signs? Although we can restrict the manner in which they are displayed, we cannot prohibit them altogether as section 20 currently does.

Here's some good links, that are good resources to consider when discussing covenants, HOA authority, and law. I'm putting these here as much for my reference, so I can find them easily in the future.

HOA Case Law
http://www1.leg.wa.gov/documents/Joint/HOAA/HOA%20committee-%20Washington%20State%20Case%20Law.doc

Recent legislation
http://www1.leg.wa.gov/documents/Joint/HOAA/HOAbillsummary.pdf

Washington State Law
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.38


Levying of fines for violations
This issue has come up, and I haven't had the time to research the issue fully until recently. After reviewing the law and susequent case law, It is of my opinion that the HOA has the authority to do this, as authorized by the board of directions.

Specifically, RCW 64.38.020(11) states "Impose and collect charges for late payments of assessments and, after notice and an opportunity to be heard by the board of directors or by the representative designated by the board of directors and in accordance with the procedures as provided in the bylaws or rules and regulations adopted by the board of directors, levy reasonable fines in accordance with a previously established schedule adopted by the board of directors and furnished to the owners for violation of the bylaws, rules, and regulations of the association"

Further, our declaration (the CCandR's) sectyion 31.a states "In the event the owner of any lot shall fail to maintain his lot or the buildings located thereon in accordance with the provisions of this declaration, then the Architectural Review Committee may, by a majority vote of its members, take such action as is necessary to bring the property into conformity with this declaration...."

The CCandR's delegate the authority to levy action to the Architectual Review Committee, and leaves open any action to compel compliance. Since state law allows the levying of fines as implimented by the board of directors, and our declarations leave open 'any action to compel compliance', an amendment to the CCandR's is not required. This is unlike what was required to increase the assessment last year, as the CCandR's clearly state that a vote is required to increase the assessment beyond the consumer price index. I do think it is nessecary to solicit feedback from homeowners, through the newsletter, prior to enacting these rules though, as we want to ensure that this is in the communities interest.

The fining schedule proposed by the Architectual Review Committee previously, seems very reasonable, allowing for two warning letters, 60 days, and attempted personal contact before levying a small fine against a property. We'll need to discuss some details of the process more in detail at upcoming meetings though.

Street Reflectors

I put out some reflectors on the grassy strip that I maintain along Fircrest, because some people felt like they could park on my lawn there, and I also thought it would help get people to slow down a bit as they come around the corner. Seems to have worked. Nobody's parked there recently, and people do seem to be slowing down... however, my reflectors keep getting knocked down, or stolen during the daytime. They're all up when I go to work in the morning, and then I come home, and they're knocked down, or missing altogether. Eventually, they seem to find their way back when a responsible homeowners finds one somewhere and bring them back.

I don't know who is doing this, but it's becoming a game. I straigthen them up, then they get knocked down again.

I'd appreciate it if anyone sees someone messing with them, if they let me know. It might just be a bored kid walking home from school, in which case, just ask them to stop, and then ask them if they'd like to make some money helping me pull weeds.