November 2023
Dear Neighbor:
Thank you for taking a few minutes to read this note. The Board has worked hard this year to continue to maintain and update the neighborhood as budget allows.
Over the years there have been amendments to our Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CCR’s). This year we are addressing rental restrictions and decided to fully revise the CCR’s to reflect all the previous amendments and update the document. Thus we are proposing a newly Restated Declaration of CCR’s that will replace the previous CCR’s and all previous amendments.
The CCR’s are a 19 page document and due to the high cost of printing and mailing the document to each home we will be emailing the document to you via the email that AMI has on record. This email will be sent out Monday, October 30th. For those who do not receive the email, you may go to the Shelborne Greene website, https://shelbornegreene.com/ and go to the “Download Vault” tab. You may also email me directly and I can email to you the document for your review. If you prefer you may also call me to request a printed copy of the document. See my email and cell phone information below.
As mentioned above we are proposing to adjust the rental restrictions in the neighborhood. We are proposing to require a homeowner to own their home for at least 5 years before allowing the home to become a rental, we would like to reduce the number of rentals from 17 to 10, and make it very clear that short term rentals such as Airbnb or VRBO, which have never been allowed, definitely will not.
Thank you for your review of the proposed Restated CCR’s and your vote to agree or disagree with the new document.
With regard to HOA Board open positions, I am planning on re-running in the Village and resuming my role as President of the HOA and Rick Arenstein is planning to re-run in the Gardens. We will have a position available in the Village and Orchard sections and encourage neighbors to consider helping on the board. Please feel free to email or call me to discuss if you have questions about the board positions.
This past year we have tackled some necessary upgrades, including:
- New key fobs and security cameras for the pool & tennis court.
- Removing and replacing the mulch at the playground.
- Upgraded play equipment.
- Solar Panel guidelines.
- Tree removal of diseased or dangerous trees. Many trees have been removed and replaced, and others are scheduled.
- Continued increases in the maintenance of our extensive common areas. We have over 80 acres of common area that require continuing maintenance.
- Exterior fence repairs – it has taken some time to find the correct fencing company who will be able to address the exterior steel fence repairs that are needed. We hope that work to begin in 2024.
Your board members contribute much more than just their time for the monthly board meetings, and I want to thank our Board for their continued efforts taking care of the pool & playground, taking down the umbrellas and replacing them when they get broken, picking up trash and keeping all the areas clean and neat. Also, extensive efforts monitoring our 80 acres of grounds, addressing issues when trees need trimming or removal. We are also very lucky to have several neighbors who jump in to help with these efforts helping to maintain the neighborhood.
As in years past, we continue to deal with neighbor’s complaints:
- Garbage cans clearly in view from the street, located outside the home
- Yard and home maintenance issues, including overgrown areas around patios and decks, clearly visible from the street, weeds and lack of trimming, overgrown bushes or trees that affect sidewalk travel
- Mailboxes in need of repair or replacement
- Multiple cars and trucks in driveways and parked on the streets
- Pet feces left in neighbor’s yards.
I’m sure that in this most competitive home sales environment, we don’t need a reminder, but these oversights (or blatant disregard for the covenants and local ordinances) unfortunately have the distinct possibility of reducing the value of all of our homes. Potential home buyers in our neighborhood discuss these unsightly conditions while they drive through searching for their potential purchase. Obviously, if they don’t like what they see, they go to other nearby neighborhoods. These issues arise at almost every monthly meeting.
Per our covenants, if you are planning to make changes to the exterior of your home: color or material changes, revisions or additions, and landscaping, you must complete an ARC request and receive approval before beginning any work.
The board continues to revisit our Reserve Study. Identifying those community assets and their life cycles, in order to plan capital budgeting in the future. Our budget this year contains an annual assessment increase of $44.00 for the year ($11.00 per quarter) as allowed by the Association Covenants and Restrictions Article VII Section 7.2(i).
Please remember, your board members are your neighbors and we are all interested in maintaining our neighborhood in the most effective manner.
We encourage you to visit our website https://shelbornegreene.com/ as new information can be found there when available, and also join our Shelborne Greene Facebook page that we try to keep as a private group only for our neighborhood.
Thank you!
Carol Schuler
HOA President
317-379-8256