Waters Edge Homeowners Association

Compliance with Restriction Agreement

Compliance with Restriction Agreement

Construction Approval Process

Prior to construction of any structure, site preparation, elevation or grading change, three (3) copies of plans, including a list of exterior material, must be submitted to the Architectural Committee of the Waters Edge Homeowners Association. Three (3) copies of plans for a septic system are required for construction of any dwelling.

The decision of the Architectural Committee will be communicated in writing within fifteen (15) business days.

If approval is not granted, the reason(s) for rejection will be noted. The property owner may modify the plans accordingly and resubmit three (3) modified copies of plans, including a list of exterior materials, for approval.

If approval is not granted, the property owner may request, in writing, a hearing by the Board of Directors and present evidence to dispute the decision of the Architectural Committee. This hearing will be scheduled within ten (10) business days of receipt of the written request.

No approval will be granted to any property owner who is in arrears for any annual assessment, special assessments, additional fees, interest or penalties, until such time as all past due accounts have been paid in full.

Construction may begin only after receipt of written notice of approval.

After approved construction has begun, any changes to the approved plans must be submitted to the Architectural Committee in the same manner as the original plans. Implementation of any changes may only be made upon receipt of written approval of such plans.

Construction must not be abandoned once started. For the purposes of this policy, construction of a dwelling shall be completed within one (1) year from the date of approval by the Architectural Committee.

Architectural Committee Review Guidelines

As stated in the Restrictive Agreement,

“The refusal of the architectural review committee to approve such plans or specifications may be based on any ground, including purely aesthetic and environmental considerations, that in the sole and uncontrolled discretion of the architectural review committee shall seem sufficient, …”

It is not the intention of the Architectural Committee or the Board of Directors to be arbitrary in its evaluation of individual requests for approval. The wording of the Restrictive Agreement is, however, non-specific as to the criteria for approval.

In an effort to clarify the criteria for approval, some of the factors that will be considered during the Architectural Committee’s deliberations are noted. This is not, by any means, to be considered an all-inclusive list.
• Type of structure
• Method of construction
• Septic System design
• Conformity to surrounding properties with respect to external materials used, quality of materials, exterior color
• General external appearance
• Size of dwelling and placement of dwelling on lot
• Conformity to setback requirements
• Landscaping

Current Compliance Issues

Prior Boards of Directors, including last year’s Board, have identified property owners who do not currently comply with the Restrictive Agreement. It is not the intention of this Board of Directors to apply the remedies described in this policy statement to those previously identified non-compliance issues. We do encourage those property owners to make the recommended modifications so that those issues may be closed.

However, it is the intention of this Board of Directors to uniformly and fairly apply this policy in all cases in the future. Should any of the property owners mentioned in the previous paragraph wish to make any change to a non-compliant structure, other than those recommended to come into compliance, then this policy will be applied in total to that structure and the proposed change must render the structure compliant with the Restrictive Agreement.

This policy is in no way to be interpreted as a “grandfather clause”.


Corrections on Non-Compliant Properties

Upon identification of a non-compliant property, written notice of the nature of the non-compliance and the required corrective action will be delivered to the property owner via certified mail.

The property owner will be given five (5) business days to correct the non-compliance or to request a hearing before the Board of Directors and the Architectural Committee.

If a hearing is requested it will be held within ten (10) business days of that request, at which time the property own may present evidence as to why he/she believes that he/she is in compliance.

If, after due consideration, the Board of Director, with the advice of the Architectural Committee, find that the property owner is not in compliance, a fine of up to $150.00 per day will be levied, commencing on the day following the hearing and continuing thereafter, each day, until the non-compliant condition is corrected.

If no hearing is requested and the required corrective action is not implemented, a fine of up to $150.00 per day will be levied, commencing on the day notice was delivered to the property owner or the postmark date of the notice if delivery is refused.

In all cases, the fine will continue until the required corrective action is taken.

These fines will be assessments secured by liens under N.C.G.S. 47F-3-116.