Covenant enforement proposal

At the summer meeting of the board of directors, the Architectual Review Committee, submitted a proposal to setup a process for covenant enforcement. Typically, covenant problems are easily resolved through contact, and in some cases, a written letter. However, there are rare circumstances where delinquent homeowners become stubborn in their refusal to comply with our covenants.

Currently, when a violation exists, the CCandR's authorize the committee to '...enter upon the property to make inspections, repairs, and maintenance at reasonable times and to charge the lot owner.' However, we feel that this is a drastic measure that could expose the HOA to legal liability should this course of action ever be taken. Imagine the problems if the HOA removed an illegal chain link fence, or towed a junk vehicle in someones yard. As the HOA's primary mission is to protect property values through the enforcement of our covenants, this proposed system would provide another process, which allows for small fines to be issued after all other options (contact, letters, etc) are exhausted.

The process requires a written notice of violation to be issued by the architectual review committee following an attempted intial contact either in person or by phone, and allows for the violator to request a hearing with the board of directors to explain and contest the violation. If the problem still exists after 30 days and the board has not intervened, a second notice of violation is sent via certified mail. If the problem still exists after another 30 days, the Architectual Review Committee can request that the Board of Directors approve the issuance of a fine, according to a preapproved schedule. If a fine is approved by the board, a notice of fine is sent via certified mail. If the fine is not paid within 30 days, it will double. Additional fines can be issued each calendar month up to 12 times per year, per instance, if the problem is still uncorrected and no action is being taken to correct it. Accumulated fines in excess of $100 will be placed as a lien on the property.

We are also considering an 'extraordinary circumstances' exception to the 60 day period, when the board of directors and architectual review committee unanimously agree to take expedited action. This would be applied in extreme cases, such as a landlord evicting tenants, and moving all their belongs to the front yard, leaving junk in the front yard for weeks on end... In cases like this, we feel that the community expects the HOA to take prompt action, and not nessecarily wait 60 days before compelling the homeowner to comply. In these cases, the 60 day period would be reduced to 10 days as prescribed in the CCandR's (section 31).

The amount of fines will vary on the covenant being violated, and the proposed schedule is;
Trash cans/debris in yards: $10
Nuisance (noise, animals, etc): $20
Vehicle parking/storage: $25
Unapproved modifications/tree removal: $50
Exterior Maintence: $50

Basically, if a notice of violation is issued, and the homeowner makes a good faith effort to correct the problem, comply with the covenant, or requests a hearing with the board, that will stop the process. Since Architectual Review Committee members serve indefinintely, we have given final authority to the board, who are elected for 3 year terms, to decide if a fine is appropriate. The entire process takes a minimum of 60 days, allowing a homeowner plenty of opportunity to correct the problem, or submit a plan of action for mitigating the problem.

You can review a previous post, http://coniferpark6.blogspot.com/2007/03/hoa-state-law.html, for information on the state law that grants authority to the board of directors to approve such a system.

The board has tabled the proposal until the fall meeting to provide for community feedback and a comment period. You may e-mail your comments to webmaster@coniferpark6.com, mail them to the P.O. Box 763, Port Orchard, WA 98366, or post them as a comment in this thread. If you post using 'anonymous' please include you name in the text of your comment, so they may be entered into the HOA record.

We understand that the prospect of fines being issued for covenant violations brings up the image of the architectual committee members walking around with ticket books, and want to assure the community that great care has been taken to ensure that this is not the case. This process has been designed to be a 'last resort', short of entering a property to correct a problem, and billing homeowners.

This issue will also be discussed at the summer meeting, and a consensus vote will likely occur to gauge the communities sentiment. Additionally, there is one open spot on the Architectual Review Committee, and the president, vice-president, secretary, treasure, and one member of the board of directors will be elected.