Homeowner Quick Guide

Homeowners Quick Guide

This document is intended to serve as a limited, informational guide and is provided to home owners as a source of simple reference. This document will be amended from time to time as service offerings change and does not in any way replace, alter, or amend any provision found in the Covenants of the HOA. Please see the Covenants of the HOA for complete details.

The Covenants of the Shepherd’s Grove Home Owners Association (HOA) is the master, authoritative document outlining the responsibilities of the HOA and of home owners. The complete covenants currently consist of two documents:

· Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions of Shepherds Grove, December 2008, Shepherds Grove Homeowners Association, Inc. Rules section.

· First Amendment to Amend and Restated Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions of Shepherds Grove, September 2012. Rules section.

You should have received a copy of the complete HOA Covenants during the closing purchase transaction of your home. If you did not receive a copy, it can be printed from this website found on the Rules section.

We encourage you to be active in the neighborhood and to help everyone maintain Shepherds Grove as a wonderful place to live.

Board of Directors

The HOA has a board of directors in place to oversee the day to day management of the HOA and to ensure the covenants of the HOA are followed. Board members are elected by the home owners to serve for a term of three (3) years with either one (1) or two (2) board members terms ending each year. Board members are elected at the HOA Annual Meeting held in the fall (typically October) and elected board member terms begin the following January. Each year, once the new board members are elected, the new board meets to elect HOA officers. In the event of a board member vacancy due to death, resignation, etc., the president may appoint a replacement board member, with the approval by a majority vote of the remaining board members, to serve out the remaining term of the departing board member.

All home owners are encouraged to actively participate in the HOA and are welcome to nominate, or be nominated, for open board member positions.

Dog Waste

The HOA covenants states pets shall be taken outdoors under leash or other restraint and constantly attended by the owner. In addition, picking up after your dog even if relieving on empty lots is required. This simple action on your part keeps our grounds neat for all residents.

Dues Payment

The monthly maintenance fee is due by the first (1st) day of each calendar month. Checks should be made payable to:

Shepherd’s Grove HOA,

P.O. Box 60

South Bend, IN 46624

Arrangements for quarterly or annual payments of the maintenance fee can be arranged by contacting the HOA Property Manager in the Contact Us section.

Fishing in the Ponds

We do allow fishing on our ponds for residents and their guests only. However, all fish caught are required to be released back into the pond. We have catfish, bass, blue gill, and some algae eating fish residing in our ponds. Fishing is limited to the large pond only. We ask that everyone take extreme care to not fall into the water as the sides of the pond are very steep.

Fishing and other activities near the ponds or in the common areas of Shepherd’s Grove are at your own risk.

Google Groups

The Shepherds Grove HOA maintains a Google Group email distribution list to simplify communication with home owners in Shepherds Grove. Google Groups allow groups like ours to send mass emails more easily and accurately by keeping a common email contact list.

What you need to know:

· When your name is added to our email group you will receive and email. You will have to accept this email, or you will not receive HOA emails. Be sure this is not in your “JUNK” email folder.

· You will receive information and general announcement emails from shepherdsgrovehoa@googlegroups.com rather than directly from the sender

· If you would like additional online functionality (viewing old messages online, options to change your email preferences, etc.), you may join the Shepherds Grove HOA Google Group online by going to groups.google.com and logging in with your Google Account; you can also create a free Google Account if you don’t already have a Google Account.

Lot and Unit Maintenance Guide

The HOA has produced a short lot and unit maintenance guide for ease of use and reference purposes. The guide does not alter or replace the Covenants of the HOA. Please see the HOA Lot and Unit Maintenance Guide section for specific information.

Members Directory

The HOA maintains a homeowner’s directory which contains the contact information for all home owners. The directory also identifies the current members of the Board of Directors of the Association. This directory should be viewed as confidential and not distributed to individuals other than current home owners of Shepherds Grove. This directory is distributed from time to time as updates occur.

Mowing and Trimming

1. Mowing and trimming will occur weekly during the peak growing season on a designated day, weather permitting

a. If the ground is unusually wet from recent rain or it is raining on the designated day, mowing will be delayed

b. Please turn off sprinkler systems and do not water your lawn at least 24-hours prior to scheduled mowing

c. During times of extreme dry weather, we may delay mowing in favor of a two-week schedule to not cause undue stress to lawns

2. Mowers no larger than a 30-inch cutting deck will be used on lots with existing homes; larger mowers will be used on common areas and empty lots.

3. Line trimming around obstacles will occur with each mowing service

4. Blowing of grass clippings and debris from paved surfaces will occur with each mowing.

Home owners are asked to not approach the mowing teams and ask them to do anything different or additional in your yard. The lawn company is working under contract from the HOA and cannot honor custom requests for service changes from particular home owners.

Home owners wishing to hire the HOA lawn contractor for personal yard work should contact our Property Manager to obtain the lawn contractors contact information so the home owner can hire and pay the lawn contractor individually.

Lawn Fertilization Schedule

Each year the HOA has a lawn treatment contractor apply lawn treatment to each lot with residential homes. The treatments generally include 4 fertilization/weed treatments, 1 bug treatment, and if needed, 1 grub treatment. These treatments will be applied to lawns throughout the spring, summer, and fall months.

Parking Guidelines

1. Garages are to be used for the purposes of parking or storage of two (2) automobiles.

2. Garages may be used for the storage of personal possession and other household items if additional space exists after vehicles are parked in the garage.

3. Garages are NOT to be used solely for the storage of personal possessions and other household items exclusively.

4. Garages may NOT be used for any type of commercial vehicles repair facility or other similar type of business operation.

5. Garages in Shepherd’s Grove may NOT be used for temporary or permanent residential or recreational areas exclusively.

6. Garages must be able to accommodate 2 cars at all time.

7. Homeowners are encouraged to have their guests park in the Homeowners driveway while visiting whenever possible.

8. Homeowner’s guests and visitors may temporarily park on the street for a period not to exceed 12-hours when necessary. This exception to street parking will not include any vehicles parked on the street on a frequent basis.

9. No vehicles may be parked on any portion of the grass, yard, or other non-paved area within Shepherd’s Grove.

10. No vehicles may be parked on any street or cul-de-sac except on a temporary or nonrecurring basis.

11. No vehicles may be parked that would block or interfere with the use of driveways, sidewalks, access and/or use of any mailbox, or would block or restrict vehicular traffic.

12. Trailers, RV’s, boats, or any type of recreational vehicle may only park for a 24-hour period unless otherwise approved, in advance, by the Board.

Shelter House

The shelter house located in the common area of Shepherd’s Grove is open for the use of all residents. Residents are welcome to use the shelter house, gazebo, and surrounding grounds at their leisure whenever this common area has not been reserved.

While our shelter house is not heavily used, we do ask residents planning an event in the shelter house to reserve it so that we do not end up with space being double booked. Our common area is a great location for a summer gathering and we encourage residents to consider this space for your events.

To ensure the ongoing beauty of the neighborhood, we ask all residents using the shelter house to clean up after themselves and remove all trash and related items once finished. Additionally, the shelter house does not have electric or water connections so please plan accordingly.

Reservations

The Social Committee maintains a calendar of Shelter House Reservations. To request to use the Shelter House, contact the Social Committee Chairperson. Events should be no larger than the space can comfortably handle and should be attended only by residents of Shepherd’s Grove and their guests. Again, all residents are free to use and enjoy our Shelter House and common areas anytime they have not been reserved for an event by another resident.

Snow Removal

The HOA contracts with a snow removal company to clear snow from our driveways, sidewalks, and the area around mailboxes. The current contract provides for snow removal any time we receive two (2) or more inches of snow during a single snowfall.

An ice melt product designed to limit damage to concrete surfaces may be used by the HOA's snow removal contractor however no ice melt product is completely safe. Damage to concrete and other surfaces may occur due to the age and condition of the concrete, number and intensity of the freeze/thaw cycles, overall moisture levels, concrete sealants, the ice melt product used, and many other factors. The HOA contracts for snow removal service but is not responsible for damage to concrete and other surfaces.

The HOA will make reasonable efforts to honor home owner’s requests to not dispense ice melt products on their property, however exclusion from ice melt dispensing cannot be guaranteed. Additionally, the City of Greenwood plows snow and dispenses salt, sand or other ice melt products on our main roadways based on the snow removal and road maintenance policies of the city. The HOA has no control over when the city plows or over the type of salt or ice melt products used by the city. The HOA is not responsible for damage to driveways or other surfaces caused by city plows or the ice melt product dispensed by the city.

Wild Life

The beautiful grounds of Shepherds Grove are natural homes to many different wildlife species. We ask that neighbors not feed, or otherwise work to attract geese, ducks, or other large wildlife. This puts other animals and pets’ lives in danger. Beware, there can be coyotes and hawks that can easily pick up small animals. Always keep an eye on your small animals.

We all want to enjoy the natural beauty of Shepherds Grove without stepping in or smelling excessive animal droppings. Please be respectful of our neighborhood’s outdoor beauty and help up us keep it and clean and a wonderful place to live.