August 25, 2008
A Special Letter to the Residents of
Shadow Woods,
As you may know, when the Shadow
Woods Subdivision was originally created in 1978, the developer recorded a set
of deed restrictions. These rules
provide for, among other things, the creation of the Shadow Woods Homeowners Association,
the collection of dues, the maintenance of the common areas by the Association
and a list of requirements and restrictions on the use of the lots within the
subdivision. After thirty years those
restrictions are up for renewal this year.
Over the past year, the Association Board has been working on updating
our subdivision deed restrictions in light of the ever-expanding obligations of
the Association and the changing circumstances in the subdivision.
As
the deed restrictions affect all of us as homeowners in Shadow Woods, the Board
of Directors wants to make sure that all residents are aware of the proposed
changes and have an opportunity to review and comment on them. A meeting of the homeowners was held in
November of 2007 to discuss the potential changes. It was a lively meeting and the Board members came away with
clear direction from the residents. In
the time since that meeting the Board has met many times to review and discuss
the proposed amendments to ensure that the residents’ concerns were addressed.
Based
on homeowner input from last fall’s meeting and extensive discussion by the
Board of Directors, the Board has drafted proposed changes to the deed
restrictions. A full copy of the proposed amendments [see link at bottom of page] is available at www.shadowwoods.com and all residents are encouraged
to review them. The following is a
summary of significant changes to the existing deed restrictions:
-
Establishment of an Infrastructure Maintenance
Fund. As a subdivision, we are liable for costly infrastructure
repairs to an aging subdivision. In 2006 we learned that the city
requires subdivisions to pay for repairs
to the private storm sewers which service residents’ sump pumps and
fall within the easements and common areas. Shadowwoods contains 419
homes and approximately 31,000 lineal feet of private storm sewers for
which the Association is responsible.
Recently the Association paid $1,713.50 to clean out a 481 foot section
of the private storm sewers after it began to back up into a resident’s
home. Assuming the Association
would be required to clear all of the storm sewers at one time or another,
the costs could exceed $110,000! Should
repairs or reconstruction be required those costs could be even higher.
In
order to contend with these eventual costs in a timely manner, the amended
restrictions would establish an Infrastructure Maintenance Fund. This account would be funded by an
additional assessment of $25 for each resident as part of the 2009 and 2010 annual
assessments. This would create a fund
of approximately $21,000 which would be kept in a separate bank account and
used exclusively for emergency repairs and replacements to the common areas,
including the private storm sewer systems, removal of dangerous dead trees and
similar unexpected expenses.
The
creation of this fund will allow the Association to respond quickly and conduct
emergency repairs without limiting the Association’s ability to provide its
normal annual services.
-
Charges for Late Payment of Assessments. Over
the years non-payment of the annual assessments by some residents has
limited the Association’s ability to provide services to the subdivision
and efforts to collect such overdue amounts often end up costing the
Association more than the amount to be collected. The result is that we have over
$6,278.03 in past due assessments plus $2,574 unpaid for this year, for a
total of $8,800 owed to the Association.
In order to provide residents with greater incentives to make their
payments on time and to allow the Association to collect those funds owed,
the revised restrictions increase the past due interest rate from 6% to
10%. The changes also add a
one-time charge of 15% of the overdue amount to help cover the cost of
collection. In the event the
Association takes action to collect the amount due and that cost exceeds
the 15% late fee, the resident will be responsible for the additional
costs.
-
Electric Pet Fences. The
restrictions are being revised to allow for underground “invisible” pet
containment systems which did not exist in 1978.
-
Single Trash Hauler. Given
the effort and time it took to have our subdivision streets replaced, it
seems prudent that we do everything within our power to maintain
them. The board investigated the possibility of a single trash
hauler for the subdivision as a way to cut down on wear and tear on the
roads. We learned that contracting
with a single hauler can provide significant savings to residents. In an effort to maintain our new roads
and save money for the residents, the revised restrictions authorize the
Association to contract with a waste hauler for the subdivision. When the details of any such contract
are available they will be shared with all residents so that the savings
can be achieved. Additionally,
should the City of Rochester Hills elect to require that a single trash
hauler provide services for the entire city, our contract could be
canceled and the city requirements would govern.
-
Property Maintenance. Our
homes are often our largest investments and it is important for all
residents that the homes and yards look their best, however from time to
time, whether due to owners being transferred out of state or for other
reasons, yards are not maintained in a manner keeping with the rest of the
subdivision. To remedy this
situation, the deed restrictions will provide that should the Association
receive a complaint about an overgrown yard and the Association determines
that such yard is not being kept in good order, the Association will
provide notice to the resident requesting that the yard receive proper
care. In the event the Association
receives no response and no corrective action has been taken within 15
days, the Association may elect to enter the lot and correct the problem
by trimming grass, trees, shrubs and take other action as may be
required. The resident will be
billed for the cost of such action as an additional assessment. This will allow us to keep Shadow Woods
a lovely place to live.
-
Assessment of Fines. The
existing deed restrictions contain numerous rules and restrictions
regarding the use of lots and the common areas, including limitations on
fences, construction of out buildings, use of fire arms, containment of
pets, etc. Although these rules
exist, the Association has no enforcement options other than a lawsuit to
enforce the restrictions. The cost
of such a lawsuit prevents enforcement of many restrictions. The proposed revisions allow the
Association to assess fines against those residents found to violate the
restrictions. In the event the
Association learns of a violation, it will provide notice to the resident
and allow an opportunity to cure the violation or provide a defense. If, after considering all the
information available, the Board of Directors finds a violation, it may
assess a fine as follows:
-
First
Violation – No fine.
-
Second
Violation - $50
-
Third
Violation - $75
-
Fourth and
subsequent Violations - $100
Such
fines shall be considered additional assessments and will be collected
accordingly.
As previously
mentioned, the foregoing has been a summary of the significant changes to the
deed restrictions. There are numerous
other minor language changes which are not discussed here. A full copy of the Amended and Restated
Declaration of Restrictions for Shadow Woods Subdivision is available at
www.shadowwoods.com. Please feel free
to contact the Board of Directors with any comments on our website.
It is also
important to note what is not being changed by these revisions, namely, the
calculation of annual assessments. The
provisions relating to the annual assessment will remain unchanged and
approving the revised deed restrictions will not lead to an increase in your
annual dues, beyond the creation of the Infrastructure Maintenance Fund
discussed above.
The final vote
to approve the revised deed restrictions will take place at the Association’s
annual meeting in November of this year.
Be on the look out for 2 proxy statements with this years’ annual
report, the first will be for the election of members of the Board of Directors
and the second will be to approve the revised deed restrictions. It is important that every resident vote,
as approval of 75% of the residents is needed to enact the changes. We believe that the proposed changes are
needed to secure the future of our subdivision and we look forward to your
support.
Sincerely,
Shadow Woods Subdivision Association Board
To review the proposed amendments to the Deed Restrictions, click here for a PDF file containing a full copy. To read them online, you'll need Acrobat Reader software installed
on your computer. If you do not have this program, a free, safe
download of the latest version is available here.
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