Enforcement of CC&R's

It's been a few weeks since I've posted and I've spent a good amount of time doing HOA research to become a better HOA President. Now that I am more familiar, and comfortable, with our governing documents, I'd like to get some opinions about enforcement. The largest concern, raised by a number of the home owners, is regarding trash cans. Our CC&R's state that no trash can is to be visible except on the days of trash collections. They are not to be in the front, side or backyards. However, since there was a lack of enforcement over this for the past 3 years, MANY homes are keeping their trash cans up against their garage door or on the side of the house. My plan is to address this in our next newsletter and then wait a few weeks. After that, I thought we would then send targeted letters to those homes who are not complying. Now...after that and we still find homes not following the rules, would it be unfair to assess fines? Our Bylaws allow for this but I'd like to hear from others as to what we should do if repeated attempts to get homes to comply eventually fail.

I have no problem amending things to conform to what the majority of the home owners want but so far, the vast majority of the emails I have received about the trash cans is that it makes the neighborhood look trashy so I suspect we will have to move forward with enforcement.

Look for the article in your CCR's that states something to the effect of, "just because one person does it, doesn't mean you can". It may be under "general provisions" in the enforcement section. I'm sure a lot of the arguments will be along the lines of, everyone is doing it, so can I,kind of mentality. Good luck, your HOA is already the better for having you as a clear headed president!

Gregg - Our community had the same problem however when it got really hot, the cans started smelling in our garages. What our community of 108 homes agreed to do was to put garbage cans in the middle along the side of the homes behind a white screen (panel)or a bush. Our developer agreed to this, because it was not a fence but a screen. It looks better than having a garbage can visible from the street. I suggest that if you decide to do this make sure you are specific as to the size and measurements and stick to it. There is always homeowners that push the rule and make it larger, almost to the size of a small building. This also should be brought to your community for approval maybe at your next annual meeting. Hope this helps. Nancy

Most cities should have the same regulations with trash cans. You can always cite the regulation from your city in the letter to homeowners.

Who wants to live in a community where every single regulation in the CC&Rs are enforced to a T? Are homeowners complaining to the board about other homeowners leaving out their bins? If it's not a big deal then why not let some homeowners leave it out for a bit longer? It comes down to having a balance. Most people who buy into an HOA community have no idea what is really involved, they don't realize all the regulations they need to adhere to when they first purchased. A community should be a community and not under some dictatorship.