Rowe Updates Board on Permitting Stats, Yard Art,, Lighting and an Upcoming Seminar for Builders and Contractors

The Chair of the Architectural Control Committee, Janet Rowe, gave the quarterly ACC report to the Hot Springs Village Property Owners’ Association Board on August 18, 2021. Inspections are up over last year and new home builds have more than doubled from 2020. Small permit numbers are lower than 2020 and this may be due to COVID restrictions loosening and more people are traveling.

Year-to-Date Statistic Comparison July 2021

• Inspections Completed 2020  –  1390
• Inspections Completed 2021  –  1740

• Small permits 2020  –  745
• Small permits 2021  –  329

• New homes 2020  –  39
• New homes 2021  –  81

Yard Art

Jane said, “this year we were tasked to construct a rule concerning yard art.”  

The POA Compliance Department has received “complaints on a few properties with yard art being in question.”

Compliance approached the Architectural Control Committee in February with several rules that were extremely restrictive. The ACC was not in support of these extreme restrictions and voted against the establishment of those rules.

The Compliance Department was requested to “draft a nuisance type rule governing yard art that was deemed as excessive or deteriorating in appearance.” The ACC was not privy to the yard art rule(s) drafted by the Complaince Department.

In July, the ACC was approached again with the same rules that were presented to them for review in February. Again, the ACC found these rules too restrictive.

During a work session the ACC again reviewed and discussed this issue.  A sub-committee was formed to draft yard art rules. Members serving on the sub-committee were Janet Rowe, Ron Poshard, and John Hyduke. 

The Yard Art Sub-committee researched yard art rules in numerous other HOA/POA communities.  The sub-committee utilized some of the wording within those rules to fashion a document that fits the character of the Village.  The sub-committee found that the communities with more restrictive rules were very different types of communities than Hot Spring Village, with cookie cutter houses and tiny yards. This does not reflect the Village where lots range from zero lot lines up to 10 acres. Some communities only allow four decorations and on a 10-acre lot, these decorations would be “lost.”

The yard art document which is included below in this article is not extremely restrictive, but it does allow for the Compliance Department to take action on certain properties that receive complaints. 

Each Board Member was supplied with a copy of the new yard art rules.  The holiday decoration rule for the Village is now included with yard art, moving it from the signage rules.

Exterior Lighting

Rowe stated, “we were also approached concerning exterior lighting rules back in February. Again we felt rules were too restrictive.  There is a current extremely simple rule that helped in the situation that arose this last month, but it is a little vague and there will be a revised ruling coming out, which will more descriptive for folks so they can better understand what we expect.”

Seminar for Builders and Contractors

The ACC is discussing holding a builders’/contractors’ seminar. The last time a builder’s/contractors’ seminar was held was two or three years ago. This seminar was well received, but there are new builders and contractors and holding another seminar would be beneficial. Rowe said, “we will be inviting builders and contractors as well as landscapers to review the rules within the Village and try to streamline the process of applying for the permits for various projects.  It is hoped that everyone submitting a permit will know what is required upfront and for landscapers we will be discussing how to submit a readable diagram and using a free app that would streamline their drawings, making it easier for permitting and also for the landscapers.”

Board Vice-chair, Tucker Omohundro, said the lighting issue deals with lights shining in people’s windows and things of this nature.

Rowe said, “If you have a spotlight in your backyard, make sure it is not shining into your neighbor’s house.” The lighting issue was brought to the POA’s attention because of some very bright buoy lights on Lake Balboa. These lights were shining into bedroom windows.

The lighting rules will be fine-tuned to be more definitive in the next couple of months.

Chair Corry asked where the rules would be published. The ACC Chair said she was planning on publishing them in various Facebook Groups and she is hoping the POA will publish the rules in the Digest and any other source of communication at their disposal. The rules will also be on the Explore the Village website in the Governing Documents section.

Board Member, Pam Avila, said she was grateful as a Property Owner that the ACC was taking a commonsense approach.

Rowe thanked Dirctor of Programs and Operations, Stephanie Heffer, for all her work with the committee.

Yard-Art-Final-8-19-21

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By Cheryl Dowden, August 19, 2021

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