Are you getting ready to make an addition to your house, redesign landscaping, or build a new shed or fence in your back yard? Before you start, make sure to submit your plans for approval to your association’s architectural committee.
While it may seem arbitrary from an individual homeowner’s standpoint, the architectural committee looks out for the entire community. Aside from stopping residents from painting pink polka dots on their houses, the committee’s job is to make sure that the size and style of the project, the type of building materials being used, and the overall look of the landscaping and new structure adhere to the association’s design requirements. Not only does this keep the community looking cohesive, it also helps to keep property values up by preventing individual homes from standing out. Of course, it’s also important to note that unapproved structures and landscaping might legally have to be removed at the owner’s expense, so save yourself money and headaches by getting approval first.
**For these reasons, it’s important to send your plans to the management company so that they can assemble a full package for submittal to the Architectural Committee. The Architectural Committee will review this package to ensure compliance with the association’s design standards and issue approval of the plans.**
Many community associations have a set of written Architectural Standards and processes. Some homeowners mistakenly believe these standards restrict their freedom of individual expression; actually, they provide a framework within which each homeowner can express individual tastes and preferences. The standards have been carefully developed to reflect a balance between individual rights and the good of the entire association—that is, property values.
Below you will find four reasons as to why associations need processes and guidelines to maintain architectural standards.
1. Most important, we need a basis for treating all homeowners fairly and reasonably. Written guidelines allow you and the design review committee to work from the same criteria.
2. Sometimes architectural requirements can be complex. The guidelines show you exactly what is required and helps you design improvements that comply with the community’s standards.
3. There’s also the application and approval part of the process. The review committee wants the paper work to be as simple as possible for everyone. The guidelines take the guesswork out of your application and their decision making.
In fact, they not only provide criteria for the current committee to make appropriate decisions, but for successive committee members to make consistent decisions in the future. Without the criteria in the guidelines, the application approved today may result in construction deemed unacceptable by new committee members upon completion.
4. One last purpose of the guidelines is to clarify the association’s authority in this area. State statutes and governing documents give the association a legal right to enact and enforce architectural review standards. The guidelines spell this out so that everyone understands that they must comply, even if they don’t agree.
Every association is unique, and Infinity Management is always available to discuss how architectural standards and reviews are conducted in your community association.