JonathanS2 (Georgia)
Posts: 10
Posts: 10
Posted:
I've be reading and re-reading my HOA's ACC Guidelines and at some point a thought hit me that I've not been able to get rid of. I wanted to float it here to see what others think.
The ACC Guidelines as we have them now are, I understand, unchanged from when the developer created them over two decades ago. Many of the items seem to not be geared toward protecting property values but toward maintaining a uniform look to the subdivision (we have over 400 homes) such that the developer wouldn't have to deal with houses not looking like the new ones being built.
Thus things like the following are in the ACC Guidelines
- an ornamental storm door or a storm door that is split horizontally
- no obvious edging of any kind is allowed
- basketball hoops and posts must be painted in muted tones to match the houses
- window treatments must be white or off white
- no ornaments hanging in windows
- no birdbaths, figurines, statues, etc are allowed in the front yards
It occurred to me that my wife and I chose this neighborhood we were encouraged by the personal touches many of the houses showed and how different they were from one another; that it wasn't cookie-cutter. We took the several basketball hoops (all black) as a sign the neighborhood had children. We noticed that some houses had no storm doors, some had rather ornate front doors, some had plain doors, some had ornate storm doors while others had plain while, single-pain doors. We liked the look because it didn't seem "antiseptic".
The new ACC is focused on enforcing the ACC Guidleines strictly but I'm wondering if perhaps we need to take a long look at the guidelines and perhaps change them to something a bit for appropriate for an established community. Some examples would be:
- Storm doors in black, brown or white, spilt or single pane are allowed but no frosted or stained glass. Doors must be metal or fiberglass.
- Window treatments facing the street must be white, off-white, tan or brown or must match the colors of the house
- A single lawn ornament is allowed as long as it does not violate community standards and does not detract from the aestheics of the house or garden. This would include ornamental planters.
I know these are more vague and leave room to interpretation but perhaps that is the point. The builder's rules, of necessity, are cut-and-dried as they don't want to get involved in discussions with a new homeowner over whether the asthetics of something they want to do match the house. They want to keep building and selling without causing a distraction.
What does everyone think?
The ACC Guidelines as we have them now are, I understand, unchanged from when the developer created them over two decades ago. Many of the items seem to not be geared toward protecting property values but toward maintaining a uniform look to the subdivision (we have over 400 homes) such that the developer wouldn't have to deal with houses not looking like the new ones being built.
Thus things like the following are in the ACC Guidelines
- an ornamental storm door or a storm door that is split horizontally
- no obvious edging of any kind is allowed
- basketball hoops and posts must be painted in muted tones to match the houses
- window treatments must be white or off white
- no ornaments hanging in windows
- no birdbaths, figurines, statues, etc are allowed in the front yards
It occurred to me that my wife and I chose this neighborhood we were encouraged by the personal touches many of the houses showed and how different they were from one another; that it wasn't cookie-cutter. We took the several basketball hoops (all black) as a sign the neighborhood had children. We noticed that some houses had no storm doors, some had rather ornate front doors, some had plain doors, some had ornate storm doors while others had plain while, single-pain doors. We liked the look because it didn't seem "antiseptic".
The new ACC is focused on enforcing the ACC Guidleines strictly but I'm wondering if perhaps we need to take a long look at the guidelines and perhaps change them to something a bit for appropriate for an established community. Some examples would be:
- Storm doors in black, brown or white, spilt or single pane are allowed but no frosted or stained glass. Doors must be metal or fiberglass.
- Window treatments facing the street must be white, off-white, tan or brown or must match the colors of the house
- A single lawn ornament is allowed as long as it does not violate community standards and does not detract from the aestheics of the house or garden. This would include ornamental planters.
I know these are more vague and leave room to interpretation but perhaps that is the point. The builder's rules, of necessity, are cut-and-dried as they don't want to get involved in discussions with a new homeowner over whether the asthetics of something they want to do match the house. They want to keep building and selling without causing a distraction.
What does everyone think?