Comments (8)

  1. Abby and Steven Hager

    thank you for the thoughtful reply Norbert . i think you explained what many feel . we need guidelines on the impactful issues but we also need flexibility on the small personal touches that people want to be able to customize their homes with some degree of individuality and personality. currently we live in a community of 550 homes and we had a weak ARB that people pretty much let poeple get away with doing as they pleased resulting in 15 years of stagnant property values. people painted their houses as they chose ( one did it in bubble gum pink with chocolate brown trim – ugh). others set up car repair shops or their kids rock bands in the garages . once you allow a precedent it becomes more and more difficult to rein in the craziness as you’ve let the horse out of the barn and one just points to the other and says well you let him do it why can’t i . once we elected a strong board and arb and started to enforce the rules – over many years – our values have gone up and up. so to me i would rather see as you so well put it a better set of easily followed guidelines that reinforces the existing agreements we all signed knowingly that will streamline the review process . what i don’t want to see is people infringing on others property rights and obstructing the waterfront views or turning our neighborhood into a free for all of design and landscaping (paint too) disasters. huge docks or backyard party spaces that the other side of the canal would have to look at because that house is on the opposite side. we need to be conscious of how our decisions impact our neighbors enjoyment of SSL not just our own. privacy is one of the reason we picked SSL as its a small community and we hope our neighbors will respect that by not infringing on our right to enjoy the natural beauty and the waterfront lifestyle. appreciate your willingness to state your views and respect your opinions put forth. thank you.
    steve

  2. Abby and Steven Hager

    thank you for this info . wondering about your views on the ARB . many feel its to stringent and want to do away with it so they can do as they please . others feel its an important part of the Boards duties to keep our community from going downhill and losing property value . what are your views as to the role and scope of the ARB ?

    steve

    • Norbert Sluzewski

      Steve – thanks for the direct question. Let’s tackle the two extremes individually as both are unsustainable.

      Having no ARB, or one which is a rubber-stamp for all requests, inevitably leads to a dissolution of an architectural style and consistency of property character across the development. Eventually, property values are negatively impacted as the development begins to lose its cohesive nature, intended character and brand in the neighboring community.
      In the opposite case, where the ARB regulates the most minute details of the architecture of each property, imposing norms of aesthetics upon property owners which don’t represent the overall sentiment of the community, that leads to friction, discontent and, not surprisingly, also has a negative impact on property values as word gets out about the restrictive nature of the development.

      The argument has been voiced that, because we are a community of custom homes, where no set of standard templates are limiting our choices in home style and architecture, that this must then be counterweighed by stringent ARB actions, with its own tight rules and controls.

      So now to directly answer your question. It is not so much about whether to have architectural rules and guidelines – I believe everyone in the community would agree that we need to have these. The issue has become whether the current guidelines (1) are consistent with the majority of property owners’ style and architectural preferences for the community and (2) are the rules understandable and easy to follow and apply without being subject to interpretation or subject to personal biases.

      I recall a recent ARB meeting where the board struggled to dissect an existing interpretation of a specific guideline, parsed words to reformat it, and did all this, including making a substantial on-the-spot change to an existing guideline, all without any input from property owners. I believe this represents a prima facie example of where we have opportunities to improve the operation of our ARB.

      A full proposal for how to revamp our ARB documents and processes is beyond the scope of this (now not so) brief comment, but suffice here to note that it would have to include:

      1. A redrafting of our current ARB guidelines to make them substantially more compact, baseline-driven, with easy to understand and follow steps for construction, modification and improvement. Engage a professional builder and/or architect knowledgeable and experienced in North Florida construction to aid in developing guidelines.

      2. Engage the community in the review and vetting of the guidelines. Polling, meetings to discuss, solicitation of opinions – all should be a part of the drafting process, as well as any changes made thereafter.

      3. An approval process which aims to complete all reviews within a reasonable amount of time (weeks, not months) with as-needed review meetings with petitioners and their contractors to resolve discrepancies and advance the approvals. I’ve previously written on this in It was a good day at the ARB Meeting (I think)

      Always welcome and encourage other opinions from those who are knowledgeable and experienced in this topic or just would like to offer their insights.

  5. Dave and Cindy Dyal

    Wish that all the candidates posted their management and leadership philosophies on this forum. The single sheet of paper is too limited for such important decisions. Some limited themselves to the form provided while others sent information sheets.

  7. Diana and Todd Reed

    Thank you so much Norbert for sending this out and I am so sorry Watson did not send this with the packet. It’s very helpful and important to hear from each candidate and understand their position, ideas, and goals. Thank you again.

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