Here is a copy of the initial violation notice sent by Superior Community Management as they not only incorrectly try to enforce the CC&Rs, they also do so subjectively and selectively without justification.
First and foremost is one of the hottest and most contentious issues since this Association was even established...the garbage and/or recycle bins.
Note this is the first line in this notification, and it reads as follows:
- Your garbage can and/or recycle bin is visible from the street after pick up-day. Both must be out of sight by the evening of pick-up day, and not placed curbside until the night before pick-up day.
- "...and not placed at the curb until the night before pick-up day."
Emphasis mine as that is INCORRECT!!! CC&R 3.11 specifically states in regards to the garbage and/or recycle bins, and I quote:
"Any such waste may be temporarily stored in a location visible from any Street within Oak Knoll for not more than twenty-four (24) hours provided it is stored in a suitable and sanitary container until such waste is picked up or removed."
Every homeowner has the RIGHT to place their garbage and/or recycle bins out 24 hours prior to pick up and NOT the night before (this exact language about only putting it out the night before is not found in the CC&Rs under section 3.11).
The third line states the following:
- "A vehicle was parked over the sidewalk, or in front of your driveway. Per city parking laws, vehicles cannot block the sidewalks."
The fourth line states the following:
- "A non-passenger vehicle was parked in your driveway (e.g., a boat, camper, trailer, commercial vehicle, motor home, etc.) and must be removed. Only passenger vehicles may be parked in the driveways. All other vehicles may be parked in your driveway for a total of 14 days in a calendar year."
After all, how is Angela or whomever on the board driving down your street to ever know exactly when that "non-passenger" vehicle was initially or last parked there?
Even the police have rules that they have to follow when being notified of say an abandoned vehicle, or a vehicle that is parked more than 3 days in one spot in a neighborhood. Police just don't take the word of the caller, they have to follow their agency's policy on establishing a timeline before posting any notification on the vehicle that it must be moved or it will be towed.
Same premise applies to the Homeowners Association; if they cannot firmly establish a base timeline of EVERY SINGLE DATE AND DURATION OF TIME that that "non-passenger" vehicle is in your driveway, again, they have NO basis to send this notice.
And yet I suspect given the crappy vague language of this notification, it is their way of doing a quick "drive by" and making their weak (unsubstantiated) observations to send these so-called courtesy notifications. Why?
Because the second time they happen to drive by and see the same alleged violation...they will CHARGE YOUR $35 for that letter based on the recent resolution that was passed, moving the cost burden of such mailings away from the $12,000+ a year we pay this mockery of a management company and pass it onto the homeowner!!! - AND THAT IS THE SCAM!!!!!
I will skip the other lines to this last line:
- "The grass in your back and/or side yard is in need of maintenance."
How about front yards or the planter strip? Why is this not on the notification?
Our HOA President Tony Roos' front yard, and especially his planter strip as of late, is BEYOND need of maintenance. The grass in the planter strip has been DEAD for weeks!!!! What is the management company doing about that?
We shall see, since I recently filed a complaint about it and his "non-passenger" vehicle being stored on his lot from "public view" of the homeowners who live in the alley behind his lot.
Feel free to comment.
OKHA WatchDog
I received a notice about maintaining by backyard and sideyard. I don't know which yard doesn't meet their standards, furthermore no one has ever communicated what the standards are for backyards.
ReplyDeleteI also have a work vehicle that apparently is a commercial vehicle although I don't need a commercial drivers license to drive it. After this notice I guess I can't keep it in my driveway anymore even though its on the side of my house. Perhaps its better if I move it out to the street. I need my work vehicle and can't pay my mortgage without it. There are a lot of work vehicles in this neighborhood. I don't see why this is a problem.
Any local, state or federal rule, regulation and/or law TRUMPS our CC&Rs, that is just a plain legal FACT!
DeleteA commercial vehicle defined by the Oregon DMV is as follows:
"A general definition for a commercial vehicle is a vehicle that is used to transport people or property for profit.
A commercial motor vehicle is defined by the Oregon Vehicle Code as a vehicle that will be operating at a gross vehicle weight rating or combination weight over 26,000 pounds. The definition also includes vehicles designed to transport 16 or more persons and vehicles designed to transport hazardous materials regardless of weight. This definition excludes fire trucks, emergency vehicles, motor homes and recreational vehicles operated solely for personal use."
The CC&R governing commercial vehicles is vague and antiquated and will not hold up in any court. My personal vehicle (2-door) weights a ton+, so this CC&R discriminates against truck owners vs. car owners.
As far as the yard goes, the issue that applies is that which is only seen from public (street) view from any angle. If your backyard is fenced in and obscured from the public view, the HOA has no say in what you do in the backyard. However, the City of Newberg could have Code Enforcement if you don't mow the lawn and it become a weed infested jungle back there, which may be a fire hazard and if called in, that could be enforced by the city (this is just an example).
Side yard if visible from the street, gray area...but without specific notation as to what is expected to stay within the parameters of the CC&Rs, the notice is without merit.
See Section 4.6.6 and Section 8 of the CC&Rs (you should have a copy given by your real estate agent who sold you the house) for starters.
We just got a notice in the mail today pertaining to the non passenger vehicle parked in our driveway. It was done on the 8th, which is the very day we got back from our vacation and any idiot driving by (reviewer included) could've seen us taking our belongings out of it. It was mailed on the 11th, the day we took it back to it's resting place when we aren't using it. Which of course, is well within the 14 days in a calendar year that we can have such vehicles parked at our houses. They need to change their policies and do a second review or even a third before they get all hot and bothered and start sending out their notices. Doing one review and calling that good is not acceptable.
ReplyDeleteCC&R 3.7 specifically states, and I quote, "No personal property such as a trailer, recreational vehicle, boat, camper unit or tent shall be placed, stored or parked on any Lot, or in any part of Oak Knoll for a period of time in excess of fourteen (14) days in any calendar year..."
DeleteThe notice you received, as another homeowner that I am aware of, also had only one specified date. The notice is invalid on its face given the fact that the CC&Rs gives the homeowner 14 calendar days...it doesn't say 14 days in a row, it says no "...in excess of fourteen (14) days in any calendar year."
Therefore, at any given time throughout the year you can have your "non passenger vehicle" (which, by the way is not mentioned in the CC&R quoted, it is a MADE UP PHRASE by the HOA Board and/or management company).
They have to be specific and document each and every day the "non-passenger vehicle" was on the Lot to account for being in "excess" of the 14 calendar days in any given year.