Comments (3)

  2. Dave and Cindy Dyal

    Norbert, your posting is spot on. Notwithstanding comments made by others, the HOA is not to be a dictatorship but a management board of the views and values of the community. Unfortunately, the HOA guidelines put in place by the developer was a cut and paste document from somewhere else and is not a functional document for this specific development. We have entirely different lifestyles here with some houses on small lots with waterfront; houses on multiple acres without waterfront; houses on small lots but with forested wetlands within their lots; and houses on small lots without waterfront. Even those lots on waterfront differ greatly as some have an easterly view that structures or landscaping on their property cannot obstruct their neighbors’ scenic views. None of these properties can be treated the same. Therefore, the ARB and HOA board will need to evaluate each of these types of properties in their own unique way and not be stymied by some concern of equity or equality as none of those lots are equal nor equitable. We each bought what we bought with full understanding of those features and we expected to utilize those features to the best of our ability and property rights.

    The property owners can amend our covenants by law. It is not the desire to indiscriminately discard the entire document but to adjust them to the reality of our community as it truly is. Any locally promulgated guidelines can be readily amended (as we have already witnessed). It should be the desire of an elected board to promulgate such rules in the sunshine and with the simple majority of the property owners in agreement. City and County Commissions and Boards have public comment and input on all proposed new ordinances. Our HOA is no less accountable for changes that affect our properties than broadly elected City and County commissioners.

    More homes are being built nearly every week. As those new residents arrive and have to reside under some nebulous rules that most of us glanced over at the sales meetings and did not expect to be “interpreted” in extreme ways, they too will see the need for less regulation and more freedoms of expression in our homesteads.

    I truly hope that a new board or a re-elected board members will make the necessary amendments to allow for freedom from ” condo commando’s” and let us live our lives in peace and fully enjoy our God-given freedoms and property rights.

    See you all at the meeting.

  3. Les and Carol Abend

    Norbert, it is a difficult position for you to be the gatekeeper of the SSL website and a BOD candidate, so I appreciate your responsible protocol to remain an objective editor.
    The concepts that you articulate are worthy goals, especially regarding transparent communication with HOA members. That being said, the Board of Directors not only has a fiduciary responsibility to its membership but it also has a fiduciary responsibility to uphold the governing documents established through the requirements of Florida Statute 720. The Statute is the outline that establishes the BOD as an HOA’s representative government. Although HOA leadership can be responsive to member input, the law requires that this be accomplished through the forum of public BOD meetings. That is not to say that an informal phone call or email to a BOD member about a topic of concern is in conflict with Statute 720, only that the law dictates a specific manner in which business of the Association is conducted.
    As for “materially reducing the criteria for HOA ARB requirements,” please be aware that most of the Architectural Guidelines were established by the Developer. The property was marketed with those Guidelines established, many of us purchasing our lots based on the concept of the community that was sold to us. If a broad brush attempt is made to substantially change the criteria, you risk litigation from members that accepted the Guidelines and want them enforced. Certainly, you can revise Guidelines to be less ambiguous, a practice that prior and current BOD leadership has utilized.
    Norbert, your other suggestions have merit and can certainly be considered by the next BOD, but the concepts must remain within the goal posts of our governing documents.

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