Gated Communities

Does anyone know if the covenants must specifically address the concerns of gates in a gated community. It has been suggested to the board of trustees that unless the indentures mention the gates, it is not really a gated community. I would appreciate any thoughts regarding the use of gates in your communities.

MaureenM1,
Your response sounds like I wrote it. We had the same problem beginning in 2005. We have just this year taken over the HOA and the gate just became operational. Some people living here don't want the gate operational at all,for others it was the reason they bought here. The school bus is a whole other issue. Our developer went bankrupt with 14 lots yet to build. The cost of the gate was already paid out to the gate company, but it took 5 years for the installation. Now it is a fight over the operation of the gate....

Sharon,

I have good experience in gated communities and am not in favor of them in many ways. Unless the entire perimeter of the community is secure, the gates will only prevent the good guys or members from accessing the community. Walls, tall bushes, trees, fences are a deterant for anyone who really wishes to get into the developement but those are not foolproof either.

Roads are another major issue. IF you are gated, in most instances, your public roads are now considered private and will not be repaired or replaced by the city , county or State. It becomes the burdeon of the association to care for them. Sheriff and police departments will not monitor them for speeders and enforcement unless specifically contracted to do so, which is an extra expense for the community.

Gates are expensive to repair and mark my word, you WILL be replacing and repairing them often. I guess that there is not a gate made that can withstand a push, shove or bump by an impatient driver. We had solid iron swing arms and several times a year some doofus tried to push them to make them go faster or a tailgater would try to enter on the forward cars opening. Every time they were repaired, it was several hundred dollars with 1 year totalling over 4 thousand dollars just for the welder, new metal and repainting.

There is electricity and you will need a call box system for non members. More electricity and a dedicated phone line as well. So add it up and see if you think that you will be safer?