Renaissance
Ridge Report
The Renaissance Ridge Homeowner Association Newsletter
Happy New Year!
The Renaissance Ridge Homeowners Association (RRHOA) Board of Directors hopes that everyone had a happy and safe holiday season. 2002 is now upon us, and the new year brings new changes to the RRHOA. The Board has been hard at work fixing problems in our neighborhood and finding solutions. In an ongoing effort to increase communication to the homeowners this second issue of the Report shares the latest news with you.
The biggest change that you will notice in 2002 is the enforcement of the neighborhood's Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs). When the builders controlled the HOA they did a real disservice to the neighborhood by not enforcing the CC&Rs. They allowed homeowners to build without approval from the Architecture Control Committee (ACC), and they did not enforce the non-architectural rules unless a complaint was loud enough. The homeowners took control of the HOA in September and were given a mess! The Finance Committee received a budget that was almost $30,000 in the red. The ACC had a backlog of applications going back as far as two years, not to mention a tremendous amount of building that occurred without ACC approval. The Board had no real system in place to deal with communications, complaints, and questions.
How did we respond? The new Board and appointed Committees have spent many volunteer hours to clean it up! While there are still unresolved issues and unwritten policies to be debated, there has been a ton of progress since September.
The Finance Committee used a special assessment to balance the budget and fired the previous property management company to save money. The ACC has processed the backlog of applications and have resolved all but three of them. They have also defined the process for architecture approval, and are further defining the restrictions of what will and will not be approved. The Board has hired a new financial services company, set up an email address and phone line, addressed the common area punch list with Polygon, and has followed up on homeowner complaints. They have also spent hours interpreting the CC&Rs and defining the non-architectural rules and procedures.
You may be surprised about the CC&R enforcement in 2002. Many homeowners have become used to violating the rules for over two years. The CC&Rs state that building onto your home without ACC approval is not allowed. This includes large trellises, decks visible from above the fence line, sheds, ponds, hot tubs, dog runs and other types of architecture described in the CC&Rs. Backyards must be landscaped within 120 days of closing. Parking cars, boats, and other vehicles on the street or in a driveway on a permanent basis is not allowed. Neither is allowing the lawn to die or grow long.
Some of the policy for dealing with these issues has been executed by the Board; see below for more details. Other policies are currently being debated and will be examined over the coming months. Contact the Board (address, email and phone number is given below) if you would like to voice your opinion about any of these issues.
Some residents may be angered by the fines, and by the liens placed against their homes if the fines are not paid. The majority of the residents, however, appreciate the Board's work and, from the comments we've heard, think it's about time that the rules are enforced! When the rules are followed everyone can live more peacefully together in the neighborhood and have a happy 2002.
Article XII, Section 12 of the CC&Rs states:
"The rear yard landscaping shall be installed within 120 days of the date of occupancy. 'Rear yard' shall be defined as the Lot area located within the fence lines of the property."
As described earlier, the Board is immediately enforcing this rule. Any area on your lot within your fence lines, including the sides of your house and backyard, should be landscaped if you have lived in your house more than 120 days. Homeowners who have violated this rule face fines and will be contacted by the Board.
Article IX, Section 1 of the CC&Rs states:
"No
storage of vehicles, boats, trailers, trucks, campers, and recreational
vehicles shall be permitted in open view from any Lot or right-of-way."
Homeowners that park on the street, in a driveway, or in a shared access road (SAR) may be contacted by the Board and fined for violating this rule. Parking on the sidewalk is illegal and is subject to immediate towing by the city.
The last few weeks have been especially windy, causing the electricity to flicker and some trees to fall. A large branch of a tree fell near the 240th street entrance to the neighborhood, causing $825 damage to a brick post and damaging a section of fence. Other sections of fence were damaged from other trees in the common areas and protected wetlands. Martin Dunn, RRHOA President, has arranged for all of the damage from the storms to be fixed.
Last month's Report described the Neighborhood Block Watch program that allows neighbors to work together with the Sammamish Police Department to crack down on crime. To resolve some of the confusion about the process, here is a review of what you can do to participate:
If more than half the neighborhood participates then official Block Watch signs will be posted in the neighborhood and we will receive crime trend newsletters and crime alert bulletins.
v If you have built or installed anything that requires ACC approval (see last month's Report or your CC&Rs) or plan to build anything this spring, please send in a detailed description of the work, along with a $5.00 processing fee, to the ACC (see address below). Failure to submit an application may result in a fine.
v The winter storms and wind has caused some trash to blow around the neighborhood. If you see any trash on your property or on the sidewalk or street near your property please pick it up and throw it away. We want our neighborhood to look beautiful, even in the cold, gray winter months!
v There have been reports of animal waste being left in the common areas, especially near the trail along 242nd Ave. If you are walking your dog, you must always carry plastic bags with you to pick up its waste. It is illegal to leave animal waste on the ground; violators will be reported to the police and/or fined.
v The wooden posts next to trees were used when the trees were planted to help them stand up straight as they began to root. According to local nursuries, if you have a tree on your property that was planted more than a year and a half ago then you should remove the wooden posts and its wire arms so the tree can continue to grow unhindered. Loose posts have been spotted throughout the neighborhood. If the tree was planted less then a year and a half ago then please fix the posts; otherwise, please remove the posts on your lot.
v Native Growth and Protected Wetlands Common Areas are to be left completely undistributed by all residents. Please do not use these tracts for dumping yard waste, trash or any other items.
v Homeowner dues are assessed every January and July; please see the attached invoice and pay your dues so the HOA can pay its bills!
v Polygon has six homes remaining for sale as of January 8th.
v Thank you for participating in the satellite dish survey! The ACC received over 90 responses and will share the results in Feburary.
Address: Board of Directors:
Renaissance Ridge Homeowners Association Martin Dunn, President
c/o Century Small Business Solutions Don Corbett, Vice-President
229 South 4th Place Kyle Downey, Treasurer
Renton, WA 98055 Brett Waldbaum, Secretary
Katherine Hall, At Large
Email:
renaissance_ridge@yahoo.com Chairpersons:
Eva Gordon, ACC
Phone: Janice Mergden, Social
(425) 369-2110 Susan Barth, Social
Elisa Watkins, City Liaison