Problem with ARC and Neighbor Shed: The attachment to this posting is for the ARC Application -- I will post the shed pictures under the next posting

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions anyone has to offer on this one.

My community is in an HOA. In order to have a shed, we are required to submit an application to the ARC (Architectural Review Committee). Our next door neighbor submitted such application back in Feb/March of this year. Part of the application required signatures from neighbors, we signed off on it. We knew where the shed was going to be placed, but did not realized, until too late, that the shed doors and angle of the shed would directly face our house and not theirs.

I have included the pictures for your review. The first picture show the shed in the middle; my house is the red brick; my neighbor's house (the shed owner) is the white house. The second picture shows what I see when I pull up my garage and from the street. Friends and other neighbors think that this shed belongs to me.

Please see the 2nd attachment. Please note the highlighted portions of the shed application to the ARC. I do not feel that this shed is "designed to respect the visual rights and aesthetic interests of [my] property....[in its placement] as it relates to...[my] home." (this is the language from the 1st highlighted portion of the attached shed application) . Additionally, this shed is not "minimally visible by [me]." (this is the language from the 2nd highlighted portion of the attached shed application).

I have asked my neighbor if they could turn the front of their shed to facing their house and not mine. I have told them that I respect the fact that they should be able to do what they want to with their property and that i do not have a problem with their shed being where it is, just with the fact that it is facing my house. They refused to turn it.

I have brought this matter up with the HOA/ARC, but they said that since the neighbor went through the application process and it was approved, there is nothing they can do about it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

to me, both attachments are the same. No pictures, just the permitting rules/text.

Here is the 2nd picture

Just so I understand, the problem here is two fold

1) that the shed faces your house. You see the front of the shed, and not the side.
2) People think the shed is yours

Is that correct? those are the two problems?

Diane,

I understand your concerns. However, the neighbor did go through the process and you were informed of the application prior to the ARC approval. The expect that your ARC approved the plan, partially, because there were no issues raised when it received the application. Therefore, I do not think that this is an Association issue but an issue between neighbors.

As you know, it can cost money to change something once it is already installed. A new application will need to be submitted and it's possible that a new county permit might be required.

I have the following suggestions:

1) Make an offer to your neighbor to pay for the costs to relocate/turn the shed.

2) Consider a landscape plan that might minimize the view of the shed.

Tim