HOA Restrictive Covenants & Homeowner Design Guidelines

As HOA Homeowners we all have obligations to the community to maintain high standards for the proper maintenance and appearance of our properties. The Covenants Committee is charged with the responsibility to visit properties in our HOA Community to ensure that property maintenance and appearance standards are being maintained. We will conduct scheduled drive-by inspections to perform these duties, and should we observe property conditions that are not meeting Community standards, we will contact you to work together to remedy the conditions.

Several conditions to pay particular attention include:

1. Moss/algae/mildew on siding, chimneys, etc., especially in areas that do not receive direct sunlight.

2. Trash cans left outside/visible from the street on days when garbage collection is not performed.

3. Fallen limbs or trees in the yard (it is the Homeowner's responsibility to collect and remove the refuse from the property).

4. Unauthorized structures (either temporary or permanent, that have not been approved by the HOA CC). 5. Deck or backyard furniture in the front yards.

6. Lawn and landscaping not being maintained per standards (including re-seeding areas where grass has died out, cleaning up ditches and embankments along the HOA roads, maintaining plantings and landscaping areas, etc.).

7. Exterior home and building maintenance (whether paint, siding, brick, stucco, window sills and trim, etc.).

8. Trailers improperly stored or parked on properties.

Each Homeowner should have received two essential documents when you moved here that guide our conduct as Members of the HOA and Property Owners: 1) a copy of the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions for Heron Bend Homeowners Association (Revised 2005) and 2) a copy of Exhibit "C," Homeowner Design Guidelines, Heron Bend Homeowners Association, A Handbook for Heron Bend Homeowners, Prepared March 5, 1996 (Revised January 11, 2005). These documents can be found under the Resource Center page (click on link at left, or here: https://sites.google.com/site/heronbendhomeownersassociation/resource-center).

Please take time to re-familiarize yourselves with the contents of these vital governing documents. When each of us "bought in" to the HOA we legally committed ourselves to upholding and abiding by these procedures. We have all seen neighborhoods where such agreements do not exist or they are not properly enforced. Generally, such neighborhoods steadily decline in value compared to neighborhoods that faithfully uphold their covenants and design guidelines. We ask that each of us make a dedicated effort to abide by these foundational documents and protect what is surely one of the largest single investments we all have made in our lives: our homes.

Should you receive a notice from the Covenants Committee that you are at variance with these standards, then please do not take it personally, refer to the covenants and guidelines, mitigate the discrepancy, and by all means contact us to discuss it if you have any questions. Our contact information can be found on the website page for "Directory for HOA Board of Directors, Committee Chairs."