Comments (7)

  1. Susy Pita

    It’s been interesting reading all the recent comments on this site. I’m glad it exists because it has helped me to realize we were not alone in suffering through this agonizing process. Clearly the Board of Directors need to deal with the current ARB submission processes. When your long awaited dream home finally becomes a reality you can’t help but take things personally. We’re human. But we must remember to be fair and kind. On that note, I really don’t see why that beautiful weather vane and hanging orchids are causing so much of an issue. And seeking permission for replacing a dead plant? Some “wiggle room” here would be so nice. It would also save us thousands of dollars that will be spent on litigation. And no one will really “win”. We’re all really smart people so let’s find a way to compromise on some issues without getting lawyers involved.

    • Dave and Cindy Dyal

      Thank you, Susy. Your support is appreciated. Unfortunately, sometimes the legal system is our only recourse to correct a process that allows too much subjectivity and puts folks on notice that they have to follow the laws regarding private property rights. The HOA does not have final say over private property rights as has been ruled more often than not for the property owners — especially for subjective rulings and not based on formal guidelines but nebulous terminology contained therein.

      Your observation about getting permission to replace a dead plant is right on spot. We had some freeze damage and I am trying to nurse them back to health instead of filing for permission to replace them and all the drama that entails. At some point I will have to decide to simply pull them out, but not there yet as the plants still have life signs.

      Anyway, thanks for your response. I agree with your sentiments.

  3. Linda Shivel

    We love the added touch of the weather vane on his beautiful coastal home. It looks nice. We have no problem with hanging plants either.
    We need to ease off on all of these rules. For instance, your plant or tree dies and you need to ask permission to replace it. How does that make sense?

  4. Dave and Cindy Dyal

    Greetings neighbors:
    My application for approval of my weathervane and hanging orchids was denied by the ARB.

    My projects were denied for not conforming to “existing harmonious design” and to “prevent the introduction of design that is not in keeping.” I supplied the ARB with a copy of the 2022 Coastal Magazine House of the Year with a weathervane prominently displayed. So, the 3 people on the ARB arbitrarily decided that they do not like weathervanes or plants hanging in trees for all of us. Of course this is simply opinion and does not have any definition in our guidelines or covenants.

    When asked about the appeal process, Mr. Price told me to reapply to the same 3 people. When asked what the appeal is after that step (I would think that they would not change their minds), Mr. Price arrogantly stated that would be up to me and that the HOA has 100 lots that can spend $1000 each (I am assuming a special assessment?) against me in court. I stated that many neighbors have told me that they have no problem with either the weathervane nor the orchids hanging in the forested wetland that is part of my property across the street.

    My question to all my neighbors is, are you in support of spending thousands of dollars in HOA funds on a court fight? Do you find my weathervane not in keeping with the harmonious design of our “coastal” community? Do you find my orchids hanging from a tree limb in my wet land area objectionable? Do any of you plan to hang plants from your trees in the future? Does anyone want to install a weathervane on their “Coastal” home? If you want such architectural details on your beautiful homes, then we need to fight against these arbitrary individual opinions.

    I will file an appeal in a timely manner. I would appreciate emails from my neighbors who would be amenable to signing a petition in support of my two projects and especially objecting to spending any HOA funds on a court fight for such trivial matters as a weathervanes on our houses and hanging plants in our yards.

    If denied again, I have engaged an attorney and we are preparing for taking the case to circuit court where it is nearly assured that my case will be successfully upheld against the HOA/ARB.

    Looking forward to receiving support from my neighbors. Thank you in advance.

    • Norbert Sluzewski

      Dave – We have had our construction project in limbo since originally submitted to the ARB in October due to similar subjective objections by the ARB. The last denial referred us to the St. Johns Water Management Authority for approval of our seawall and backyard landscape design. Huh?

      Needless to say, and hearing similar sentiments from multiple Property Owners, clearly our current process cannot continue. In the issue you bring up, community aesthetics should not be dictated to the many by the few and we have to find a more community-based approach to address this issue.

      Here’s one idea: Following denial by the ARB for any non-structural reason, the applicant requests a community poll be conducted to approve or deny their specific request; results of the poll, if conclusive, are binding on the ARB.

      There are probably many other ideas to modify our ARB process and I would encourage everyone reading this to come up with and post their own. We can then “package” these and present to the HOA Board at a future BOD meeting
      Another question no one has been able to answer for me is, why aren’t we using the “Architecture” feature of the Watson Caliber portal to submit documents/files to the ARB, as opposed to the manual “pick-up-twice-a-month-from Watson” process which adds delay and lacks any transparency? Isn’t this something we should expect as part of our service arrangement with Watson for which we are paying a hefty fee?

      And Dave, for the record and to your direct question, I think a weathervane is a very attractive ornament (if tastefully implemented) and certainly orchids are a glorious flower that only add to the beauty of our community. And I would strongly protest using HOA funds for litigating matters such as yours.

    • Diana and Todd Reed

      Hello all – Todd and Diana Reed here to post as requested:
      1. We appreciate this site as a site to share information and good news – there is a lot of positivity in the community and a lot of good things happening, many as a result of the actions of the governing Boards – we hope that that ‘spirit’ of the site continues and that it does not evolve into a site used to bash/slander/disparage individuals or the Boards – let’s keep the positivity consistent with our great little community and the people who live here.
      2.While we believe that the ARB/HOA has good intentions for the community (there’s no malice intended in their decisions), like many others, we also disagree with the subjectivity of many of their findings.
      3. We agree that polling should take place for ‘subjective rulings’ in instances that are not time sensitive. if a homeowner wants a mural of flamingos on their garage door, and it is not specifically prohibited by the guidelines, then a community poll could be distributed and the community could weigh in – we have shared this view before and was told it was not feasible – that may be the case – we are not on either of the Boards, so we don’t know the specific ‘in’s and out’s’ that would not make this approach feasible.
      4. Importantly, Dave’s and Norbert’s experiences are not just theirs – there have been many other homeowners who’s applications have been denied based on similar subjective rulings, or were held to guidelines that ‘were coming’, but not in place yet, (we have 4 examples of our own personal experiences) which is why community input would be so beneficial. We feel it is unhealthy to have governance in place that can rule against a homeowner’s submission because they personally don’t like something, not because it is a violation of existing guidelines.
      5. This is not an opinion shared in darkness – we have shared our concern that having a few people interpret the rules, and subjectively apply their personal likes / dislikes in deciding the outcome of neighbor’s applications can lead to unhealthy / un-neighborly personal animosities.
      6. Rationally, having the very Board that denied an application act as the body that hears the appeal and renders a decision on their own findings is not productive.
      7. We need to be supportive of one another. We can support the Board members by offering them our honest candid input and working towards building a HOA/ ARB process that best suits our community. While we realize that that can be difficult when all official communication have to go through Watson Management, sharing your ideas, experiences and recommendations in a positive and supportive way and not addressing your specific application may be acceptable.

      Finally, we feel the weathervane is completely consistent with our community and aesthetically pleasing.

      Will post a separate post – but as a reminder Thursday 04/21 is the third thursday and time for the ‘men at the pit’ – Hope all the neighborhood guys can make it to the fire pit starting at 7pm. It doesn’t matter where you stand on these community issues – all are invited to fellowship with neighbors!

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