Sherwood Forest

December 2001 Tattler

Dec 01, 2001

YEAR-END REPORT TO SHERWOOD FOREST RESIDENTS

Your Sherwood Forest Association Board of Directors has been working hard this year to maintain and improve our beautiful community. Here is a list of some of our accomplishments. Many involve projects that will be ongoing in 2002:

?· Under the leadership of board member Linda Jones, Sherwood Forest applied for designation as an historic neighborhood. After a study of our neighborhood, the Detroit Historic Designation Advisory Board voted unanimously in September to recommend to the Detroit City Council that Sherwood Forest be granted historic designation status. We look forward to becoming an "official" historic neighborhood sometime in 2002.

?· Sherwood Forest has been an active member this year in the Detroit Historic Neighborhoods Coalition, a group of dozens of communities from all areas of the city working together to promote the interests of historic neighborhoods. Our representatives to that group are Linda Jones and Sue McMillan.

?· Sherwood Forest has also been an active member of the Twelfth Precinct Neighborhood Coalition, which consists of neighborhoods within the Twelfth Precinct that have banned together to address common interests and concerns in our area of the city. This group has worked closely this year with ICARE to affect the future development of the Michigan State Fairgrounds. It also sponsored a highly successful Candidates' Forum at New Prospect Baptist Church in August. Our representative to the group is Roosevelt Wise.

?· Catherine Mayberry, joined this year by new board member Michele Davis, continues to greet each new family that moves into our neighborhood. That greeting is accompanied by a basket of freshly-baked breads and pastries from Catherine and Michele's kitchens and an invitation to join our two neighborhood organizations, the Sherwood Forest Association and the Pinkerton Security Patrol Service. We have been particularly pleased this year by the large number of new residents who have enthusiastically joined both the association and the patrol. Much credit goes to Catherine and Michele.

?· At our May general membership meeting, Addelle Anderson, the program manager for Detroit 300, presented a Heritage Award to your association president in acknowledgement of the Sherwood Forest Association's more that 50 years of continuous service to our community. As part of the Detroit 300 celebration, a brick inscribed with the name of the Sherwood Forest Association was installed in the new walkway that goes along the Detroit River in front of Hart Plaza.
?· Under the leadership of Carl Hardin, the Tricentennial Fun Run/Walk Through The Forest was held in August. A display of pictures and artifacts of Sherwood Forest through the years was set up in Canterbury Park, where the run began and ended. Carl also organized the Halloween Party for neighborhood children, which was held on October 27 at All Saints Church. Eighty to ninety neighborhood children enjoyed that special seasonal event.

?· Bill Vance was joined by Emma Foster this year on the very important Property Maintenance Committee. Emma came to the committee with long experience as part of the Warrington group that has so diligently fought zoning and code violations on commercial properties adjacent to Warrington. (See the November 2000 special Warrington edition of the Tattler.) Bill and Emma have had their hands full this year dealing with a variety of property restrictions violations, most particularly dealing with the building of non-conforming fences, use of homes for commercial purposes, and illegal parking of commercial vehicles. (See article below.) These are difficult and ongoing problems that require the cooperation of ALL of our residents if they are to be solved. The board solicits your cooperation in the upcoming year.

?· We enjoyed cleared street in spite of a snowy 2000-2001 winter season thanks to the good work of board member Marcia Baum and the 24-7 Snow Removal Service.

?· Under the leadership of Walter Shapero, the neighborhood continues to encourage the Detroit City Council to pass an ordinance authorizing the creation of Special Assessment Districts (SADs). A modest tax assessment in SAD districts would be used to fund services like snow removal and security patrols. This year's successes included getting the Michigan Legislature to pass legislation authorizing SADs in communities of fewer than one million people. (The legislation originally was written for Detroit only and specified that it applied to cities of one million people or more. The new census results made this legislative change necessary.) Our goal is to get the Detroit City Council, which has moved very slowly on this issue, to pass an ordinance in 2002.

?· Thanks to the good work of Florence Gantz of the Landscaping Committee, Canterbury Park and our small "pocket" parks were maintained throughout the summer and fall months by a private lawn service. Long experience has taught us that city resources are not available for even basic lawn mowing in these areas. At Florence's urging several neighbors planted their own flowers in public areas of the neighborhood, making Sherwood Forest even more beautiful than it would be otherwise.

?· The association board as a whole must approve plans for new garages or new additions/ and or modifications to homes. We were asked to do that in three instances this year. All requests were granted, one after the homeowner made requested modifications to the plan.

?· Thanks to hard work by ALL of the members of the Board of Directors of the Sherwood Forest Association, we have managed to maintain another year of continuous security service. Our special thanks to two non-board members, Charlie Primas and Gordon Rodwan, who are, respectively, our liaison with the patrol drivers and our keeper of the financial and membership records for the patrol. We must work constantly to find enough paying members to sustain the service. We must work constantly with Pinkerton, our security provider, to assure that it is providing the service we need. A new Pinkerton manger for our area has encouraged us with his responsiveness. Most important, we have had a very safe year in Sherwood Forest, and we know that Pinkerton has played an important role in achieving that happy result.

The above list represents only some of the projects and issues your association has been involved in during the past year. Many challenges lie ahead in 2002. One board of fifteen volunteers can't begin to do all that we would like to do in our neighborhood. Non-board members also have important roles to play. If you would like to help on any of the above projects or committees, please call me at 863-0167. I urge your participation in the important work of your community.

Lois Primas
President, Sherwood Forest Association
ON FENCES

The article below was first printed in the March-April 1999 Tattler. We reprint it here because in 2001, probably more than in any previous year, Sherwood Forest has struggled with the issue of nonconforming fences. We undoubtedly will continue to struggle with the issue in 2002. We would like to hear from neighbors with ideas for solutions to this burgeoning problem:

FROM THE EDITOR CONCERNING FENCES:
A "COLLAPSING CODE OF VISUAL NIGHBORLINESS?"

The New York Times recently ran a front page article about fences. Fences? Front page? What makes fences so newsworthy, I wondered. As I began to read, I discovered that the theme of the article was the proliferation of nonconforming, and sometimes unsightly, fences in residential neighborhoods across the country. One expert called these fences a sign of "a collapsing code of visual neighborliness." A good phrase, but what does it mean? Apparently it means we have moved away from the era when neighbors knew and talked to one another, and "lawns were vast expanses of greenery with no fences, like one big back yard." Instead, we are putting up fences as a way of saying to our neighbors, "To hell with you" and "I don't care." According to the Times article, a basic tenet in America used to be that we all wanted to be good neighbors, but that is no longer true.

Undoubtedly, many Sherwood Forest residents would disagree with the basic premise of the article. It does not describe our neighborhood. We all know that fences can be good things. However, the article caught my eye because for the last several months, the Board of Directors of the Sherwood Forest Association has dealt with the fence problem at every monthly meeting. We get reports that neighbors are not getting along. One neighbor builds a fence. The fence does not conform to our property restrictions. Suddenly everyone on the block is unhappy about the nonconforming fence; and the fence, of course, has not solved the problem it was intended to solve.

What is the role of the Sherwood Forest Association in all of this? Should we involve the neighborhood in costly litigation in an effort to enforce our property restrictions? Should we try to mediate personal differences among neighbors? Is there such a thing as "live and let live" when it comes to fences? The Board of Directors is struggling with these questions, and we seek the input of all of our residents.

In the meantime, we are reprinting paragraph nine of the Sherwood Forest property restrictions pertaining to fences. If you have questions concerning interpretation of this restriction, call Bill Vance at 341-8213 or Emma Foster at 861-4642. If you are thinking about putting up a new fence, ask yourself if it is really necessary. If it is really necessary, make sure your fence complies with the restriction printed below:

No boundary lines between lots shall be designated except by hedges or woven wire fences of a uniform pattern with iron posts or any other type approved by the Association in accordance with the procedures referred to in Paragraph 6 of these Restrictions, and shall not extend above four (4) feet in height except that on boundary lines in immediate areas of swimming pools, such may extend to a height of six (6) feet, and no hedge higher than two (2) feet from the grade line, nor fence of any kind shall be allowed to extend beyond the building line. With respect to corner lots or other lots with respect to which there may be unusual or special circumstances, the nature, height, and location of fences and hedges may vary from the requirements, after application to, and approval in writing by the Association, which approval shall be given upon good cause shown and on such conditions as may be reasonable and consistent with the general intent of these Restrictions. On lots abutting on an alley, a tight board fence or a masonry wall of a uniform height of five (5) feet must be constructed on the rear lot line.

All residents are reminded that the Sherwood Forest Property Restrictions are reproduced in their entirety at the back of the booklet called About Sherwood Forest. Every resident has been given a copy of this booklet. If you need a copy of our restrictions, call Gail Rodwan at 342-5827.



Sherwood Forest Association Board of Directors

SEE PHOTO IN THE COMMUNITY PAGES SECTION

Back row from left: Catherine Mayberry, President Lois Primas, Michele Davis, Gail Rodwan, Linda Jones, Secretary Marcia Baum.
Middle row: Emma Foster, Florence Gantz, Treasurer Sue McMillan.
Front row: Bill Vance, Carl Hardin.
Missing from picture: Vice-President Robert Gold, Walter Shapero, Roosevelt Wise.


IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS . . .

ABOUT JOINING THE PATROL: Call Gordon Rodwan at 342-5827

ABOUT JOINING THE SHERWOOD FOREST ASSOCIATION: Call Sue McMillan at 862-6366.

ABOUT VOLUNTEERING FOR A NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECT: Call Lois Primas at 863-0167.

ABOUT PROPERTY RESTRICTIONS: Call Bill Vance at 341-8213 or Emma Foster at 861-4642.

ABOUT PLANTING A TREE: Call Florence Gantz at 861-1315

ABOUT PLACING AN ARTICLE IN THE TATTLER OR READING THE TATTLER ON LINE:
Call Gail Rodwan at 342-5827.

TO ACCESS OUR SHERWOOD FOREST WEB PAGE: www.neighborhoodlink.com/detroit/swoodforest.

Sherwood Forest Halloween Party


SEE PHOTO IN THE COMMUNITY PAGES SECTION


DO YOU GET CONFUSED ABOUT
BULK PICKUP DATES?

It was obvious that many of our residents were confused about bulk pickup in November. What seemed like at least ten million bags of leaves littered our streets and curbs through the entire month. Bulk pickup day is the third Tuesday of each month. If a holiday falls on the third Monday of the month, bulk pickup will be on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. Bulk items are to be placed at the curb no earlier than the night before the pickup date. You can always confirm the correct date by going to the Sherwood Forest web page at www.neighborhoodlink.com/detroit/swoodforest and clicking on the section called "Community Calendar."

This month's pickup will be on December 18. If you accumulate bulk items after that date in December, please keep them at the back of your property until the scheduled January pickup date. Looking out at a neighbor's garbage is unpleasant no matter what the season, but during a holiday time when many of us are opening our homes to friends and family, it is particularly disheartening to see neighbors placing trash at their curbs unnecessarily. Be a good neighbor and keep garbage out of sight!

A SEASONAL REMINDER ABOUT KEEPING VEHICLES OFF OUR STREETS AND
ABOUT RULES GOVERNING THE PARKING OF COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

This is a reminder to all residents NOT to leave cars parked on the street any longer than necessary and certainly not overnight. Our neighborhood is safer and more beautiful when its streets are not cluttered with vehicles.

Most residents are aware that it is a violation of city ordinances to leave a personal vehicle on the street for more than 48 hours without moving it or to leave a commercial vehicle on the street overnight. We are working with the Twelfth Precinct to have offending vehicles ticketed and towed, but obviously we would much prefer that residents voluntarily comply with parking ordinances.

You may report violations to Officer Clark at the Twelfth Precinct, Monday through Friday. The number for his direct line is 596-1225. If he is not there, leave a detailed message on his voice mail giving the exact location of the vehicle to be ticketed. We have found Officer Clark extremely responsive to citizen complaints about vehicle violations.

Last winter's extraordinary snow removal efforts could not have succeeded without the cooperation of our residents in getting cars off the streets before snow removal equipment entered the neighborhood.