To: Owners of any Proposed Construction or Improvement Project in West Meadow From: West Meadow Owners Association, Board of Directors and Building Landscape Review Committee Re: Design Review, Fees and Deposits, and Construction Guidelines (Revised January 2015) We welcome you and your pending construction project or improvement project to the West Meadow neighborhood and look forward to reviewing the details of your design. We would like to take this opportunity to describe to you the design review process and encourage you to contact us with any related questions. Part of what makes our community special is the covenants, and the care that each owner takes to meet the covenants, which provide consistency and harmony the neighborhood, and are a protection of our property values. Covenants, BLRC and Design Review Design review and construction in West Meadow is governed by the Covenants, these Construction Guidelines, and other resolutions adopted from time to time by the Board of Directors of the Association. The resolutions may be found in the Minutes of the Meetings of the Board of Directors of the Association which are posted on the web site of the Association. Projects are defined as primary construction, or secondary construction. For primary construction, this means improving a lot for the first time so as to build a home on it. Secondary construction is any improvement that is not primary construction. The definition of improvement from the covenants is shown below. Improvement(s) - shall include, but not exclusively, all buildings, outbuildings, bridges, roads, trails, pathways, driveways, parking areas, fences, screening walls and barriers, retaining walls, stairs, decks, water lines, sewer lines, springs, ponds, swimming pools, tennis courts, lagoons, ditches, viaducts and electrical, gas and TV distribution facilities, hedges, windbreaks, crop plantings, natural or planted trees and shrubs, poles, signs, loading areas and all other structures, installations and landscaping of every type and kind, whether above or below the land surface. It is the responsibility of the owner and those engaged or employed by the owner (including architects, engineers and contractors) to become familiar with the provisions of the Covenants, Construction Guidelines and other resolutions which may apply to the to the design review process. Please adhere to the covenants, and advise your architect and builder of these covenants, which should be thoroughly reviewed prior to the start of the design process. Page 1
Remember that you -- the owner -- are responsible for your building project. For projects and submissions, the owners must contact the Building and Landscape Review Committee (BLRC) members as listed on the website. The BLRC is appointed by the Board of Directors and is responsible for reviewing and approving or disapproving plans and applications for primary new construction, and monitoring construction and improvement activity within the subdivision. The Board of Directors does not play any direct role in this process, and there is no provision in the Covenants which provides for the appeal of any BLRC decision to the Board of Directors. As required by the Covenants, the BLRC will act within 15 calendar days of its receipt of your plans and application fee. Please submit your plans early, well in advance of when you intend to start construction, to allow sufficient time to resolve issues that arise during the review process and make any necessary changes to your plans. Please note that the BLRC will strictly adhere to the building design guidelines found in the restrictive covenants, as found on the website. Plan Review Fees The BLRC charges non-refundable fees for the review of plans, as follows: New Primary Construction Review of new house construction $150 per submission $50 per review Additions & Exterior Remodels, Secondary Projects Review of later construction, additions $75 per submission $25 per review Landscaping Plans Review of landscaping plans $75 per submission $25 per review If your plans are approved, then the single review fee applies. However, if your plans are rejected and pending changes, then a review of these changes is treated separately and payment of an additional review fee, outlined above, is required for each subsequent review. This is also the case if you propose changes after your plans have been already approved. When you submit your plans for review, please submit the review fees as a check make out to West Meadow Owners Association, along with your plans, according to the schedule above. We will cash your review check upon start of the review. Impact Fee and Performance Deposit The Association requires, prior to the commencement of primary construction, payment of a non-refundable Impact Fee in the amount of $250, plus a refundable Performance Deposit of $5,000. These amounts are due prior to formal approval of plans. For other secondary improvement projects that are not new primary construction, the Association requires a refundable Performance Deposit of $750, which shall be received prior to the start of the project. The Performance Deposit is held by the Owners Association for the purpose of securing compliance with the Covenants and Construction Guidelines (set forth below), and addressing potential Covenant violations during construction, as discussed below. We will hold this deposit Page 2
though the entire process of primary construction, which includes in full the structure, landscaping plans and adding the streetlight(s), according to the approved plans, and with construction occurring in a timely fashion. Fines may be imposed by the Association and withheld from the Performance Deposit in the event of non-compliance. In the event of fines, we will typically notify you about a violation, providing you with the opportunity to take corrective action, and if the violation is not corrected then the fines will be imposed and withheld. When your project is complete, your Performance Deposit - less any fines withheld during construction - will be returned. NOTE that per BOD resolution, the construction deposit conveys with the property. So, for any sales of property under construction, the deposit should be considered in the transaction, such that the builder/owner may be the one posting the deposit but that it will be returned to the new owner of the lot, when the project is complete. Construction Guidelines These guidelines are only intended to highlight and further define the Covenants and other policies adopted by the Association. (1) BUILD ONLY TO APPROVED PLANS. Any deviations from the approved plans are prohibited and changes must be reviewed and approved by the committee. (2) INSPECTION. The BLRC and the Association reserve the right to inspect the progress of the construction at all times. (3) NORMAL WORK HOURS AND NOISE. During construction, please be respectful of the neighborhood with noise, as much as possible, and restrict work to normal operating hours (8 am 5 pm, Monday through Friday). Noise is a part of construction and unavoidable, and we understand that. Tools and machinery are of course acceptable during reasonable hours. Music must be kept at reasonable levels. Also, please be sure to appropriately tack down any construction materials (e.g. Tyvek) which can flap in the wind and make noise, particularly at night. (4) CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS AND MUD ON THE STREETS. Please keep your job site clean and orderly. We recommend a covered dumpster on site and continual transfer of debris to it. Please note that we reserve the right to fine for excessive construction street debris and blowing construction debris, consistent with the covenants. Do not stage materials or equipment in the street or on adjacent properties. Vehicles should be parked in front of the construction site if possible. (5) DOGS AND OTHER PETS. Contractors bringing pets to work on homes under construction in the subdivision is discouraged. It is the joint responsibility of the contractors, and the property owner, to ensure that all pets are on a leash at all times, as required by City Ordinance. Animal control issues may be referred to the City by residents, the Association or the BLRC. However, the Association reserves the right to fine for animal control infractions during building. Page 3
(6) DILLIGENT PROGRESS AND COMPLETION. Section 7.8 of the Protective Covenants provides as follows: All work on any improvement in the single family residential property once started much be continued on a continuous and diligent basis until completion which shall not exceed l8 months without approval from the BLRC. It is the intent of the Board of Directors and the BLRC that disruption of the neighborhood and inconvenience to neighbors due to extended periods of construction be kept to minimum. As part of the approval process the owner and contractor will be required to provide a complete by date and obtain the approval of BLRC for that date. A complete by date extending out to l8 months will normally not receive approval absent extraordinary circumstances. Spec homes should be brought to substantial completion, including landscaping, in a continuous and diligent manner, regardless of whether the home is under contract or sold to its new owner. Both the owner and the contractor and will be required to insure that work is continued on a continuous and diligent basis. If the construction is not complete by the complete by date, the Association will assume that the work has not been continued on a continuous and diligent basis and may impose appropriate fines without additional notice unless, prior to the approved complete by date, the owner requests an extension in writing and provides a detailed justification for such request. An extension will only be granted generally for delays beyond the control of the owner and contractor. Delays beyond the control of the owner and the contractor are not caused by the need or desire of the contractor to work on projects other than the project in question, or a failure of the contractor to order labor and materials on a timely basis. It also is assumed by the BLRC that by providing a complete by date the contractor has taken into account the normal variances in weather and the availability of materials and labor to insure that the work proceeds on a continuous and diligent basis. (7) COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE BLRC. The Board of Directors and the BLRC believe that it is important that communications with homeowners regarding the design review process be handled promptly and without confusion. This is particularly important as members of the BLRC are unpaid volunteers and, like the homeowners, generally have other full time jobs. The preferred form of communications with the BLRC is in writing. When phone conversations or face to face dialog occurs, which are permitted, these should be summarized in writing afterwards. In order to streamline the communications process it is the policy of the BLRC to communicate with regard to pending applications only with the owner and not with third parties such as architects or builders engaged by the owner. If, the owner wishes to designate an owner s representative to communicate with BLRC and does so in writing provided to the the BLRC, then the BLRC will communicate with and only with the owner s representative and will operate on the assumption that matters sent to the owner s representative or conversations with the owner s representative are being shared with the owner by the owner s representative without the need for duplicate communications to the homeowner. Decisions communicated to the Page 4
BLRC by an owner s representative will be considered to be binding upon the owner. At any time the owner may change the owner s representative and upon receipt of written notice that the designation has changed, the BLRC will communicate either directly with the owner or the replacement owner s representative. The BLRC will not however generally forward copies of previous communications with the owner s representative. The BLRC does reserve the right to waive the provisions relating to communications to facilitate the process or if the BLRC believes that the owner may not be fully apprised of communications with an owner s representative. The decision to do so is a decision made by the BLRC in its sole discretion. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and compliance with the Covenants. Sincerely, The West Meadow Owner s Association, Inc. Board of Directors and the Building Landscape Review Committee Page 5