October 31, 2003 Dear MorningView Resident, The August issue of the MorningView (MV) newsletter announced the implementation of new enforcement procedures for covenant violations. The MorningView community is very large and in order to protect homeowner investments, it is important that everyone adheres to community standards. Thanks to the majority of our neighbors and homeowners that consistently maintain their homes and property to high standards. Clearly, the new procedures will be transparent for you. Unfortunately, community standards are frequently violated. We need an effective method of addressing these violations to maintain and increase property values in MorningView. In response to concerned residents, guidance from similar communities and input from the MV Architectural Review Committee (ARC), the MV Board has developed Covenant Enforcement Procedures with a fine schedule for violations of community standards. The community standards are: 1) the Covenants & Bylaws (formal document governing the MV HOA that defines most of the community standards) and 2) the Modification (additional community standards originally defined by the developer as an addendum to the covenants). The MorningView Covenants & Bylaws allow for a fine schedule in order to assist with the correction of violations, which is standard practice in planned communities. The goal of the policy is to encourage residents to abide by community standards and correct violations quickly, so that MorningView ultimately enjoys appreciation in home values. Please review the enclosed Covenant Enforcement Procedures, as well as the FAQ s to familiarize yourself and answer questions you may have. The new procedures are effective 11/1/03. A copy of the Covenant/Bylaws and Modification was given to you at closing and is available for review at the Clubhouse or on the MorningView Web Site, along with Modifications Request forms. If you need an additional copy, please contact the property manager, Keri Abraham at kabraham@cmaatlanta.com or (404) 352-5470 x51. Thank you in advance for maintaining community standards and the value of homes in MorningView. The MorningView Board of Directors
Enforcement Procedures for Covenant/Bylaws and Modification Violations Version 1.0 Purpose The MorningView (MV) Board believes that homeowners in MV desire a high quality community that contributes to an increase in the value of their property over time. In this way, homeowners can maximize the enjoyment of their property to and in the future. Without strong, consistent enforcement of our Covenants/Bylaws, this appreciation cannot be accomplished. With this goal, the MV Board has enacted the following Fine Schedule (as allowed for in the HOA covenants). The items listed are directly referenced in the MV Covenants and the MV Modification. Effective Date: November 1, 2003 Pre-Fining Procedure The association and/or its management company will send a noncompliance letter to the homeowner identifying the violation, the recommended correction, and give a timeframe to correct the violation. If the violation is not corrected, or the violation occurs again, the association and/or its management company will send a second noncompliance letter, or proceed with the fine procedure outlined below. Fine Procedure (Per Covenants/Bylaws) The process of assessing a fine for a violation (or the right for the MV HOA to use Self-Help in resolving a situation) is outlined in the MV HOA Covenants/Bylaws. For your convenience; a summary of the documented processes follows below; please refer to the Covenants and Bylaws for a complete description. XII. Section 1. Enforcement a) Each owner and occupant shall comply strictly with the Bylaws, the rules and regulations, and with the covenants, conditions and restrictions set forth in the Declaration b) The Board of Directors may impose fines or other sanctions c) Failure to comply shall provide grounds for an action to recover sums due for damages or injunctive relief d) The Association shall recover all costs e) Recording the violation/issue and assigned fine is permissible in land records at the county XII. Section 2. Self-Help. a) The Association (or its agent) has the power to enter upon any Lot to abate or remove, using such force as may be reasonably necessary b) Unless an emergency situation exists, the Board shall give the violating Lot Owner ten (10) s written notice of its intent to exercise self-help c) All costs shall be assessed against the violating Lot Owner Bylaws. Section 21. Fining Procedures a) Written notice, describing violation, fine, and giving 15 s before fine takes effect. The schedule documented below lists some of the more frequent types of problems that occur. For some situations, a Fine per Occurrence would be charged; for others, a Fine per would be assessed. b) Violator has 10 s to request a hearing Maximum Assessment and Liens After $400 of fines and/or assessments has accumulated, a Lien will be placed on the Lot. Fines will continue to accumulate until the violation is corrected. Grace Periods In order for a resident to be eligible for the grace period, the resident must self-declare a known violation (including uncorrected violations received via the management company) in a letter. With the institution of this policy there will be a one-time grace period for residents to correct existing violations without fines being assessed. The grace period will be effective until January 15, 2004. The letter must be sent to the management company providing: 1) the resident/home
information, 2) the known violation description and 3) the proposed date of correction. This letter must be received by the management company no later than November 30, 2003 with a proposed date of correction on or before January 15, 2004. Frequent Covenant and Modification Guideline Violations Below is a table identifying the more frequent violations in MV. This table does not include every violation. As provided above, owners and/or occupants will receive written notice of the specific violation(s) that has occurred or continues to occur, and what steps must be taken to correct the violation before a fine is assessed. Description Reference Notes Fine 1. Fences - VI. 18 Fences Fences must have ARC approval prior to installation. 2. Decks - VI. 3 Architectural Standards 3. Unapproved play sets and equipment (including basketball goals) - VI. 25 Gardens, Play Equipment and Pools 4. Vegetable Gardens VI. 25 Gardens, Play Equipment, Pools 5. Trash Cans and Woodpiles 6. Signs (On MorningView Property) VI.15 Garbage Cans, Woodpiles, etc VI.4 Signs Decks must have ARC approval prior to installation or change. Play equipment must have ARC approval prior to installation. Must be approved by ARC. Recommendations are: be in a stockade fenced area; no larger that a 10 foot by 10 foot garden area; height of plants not to exceed fence height in order to lessen the view of the garden from the road and neighboring homes. Should be concealed from street and neighboring property. Recommend that trash cans be placed at curb no earlier than the evening before pickup and removed from the curb the of pickup. Immediate Removal. No sign posting without ARC approval. Only Board and Committee signs are allowed in park/leisure area. No sign posting allowed in other common areas or on monuments. $25/ (for each sign) 7. Signs (On Resident s Property) - VI.4 Signs Only one For Sale sign per homeowner in front yard. Garage sale signs must have ARC approval, be ten feet back from curb and can only be in resident front yard. $25/ (for each sign) 8. Vehicles including motorized, towed and commercial vehicles VI.5 Vehicles - Cannot be parked on street. Safety concern for children. - Camper, towed and commercial vehicles cannot exceed 48 consecutive hour clause. - Motorized vehicles of any type are not permitted in pathways and unpaved common property 9. Pet Nuisance/debris VI.8 and VI.9 10. Lawn Furnishings VI.22 Must be approved by ARC. 11. Unapproved Modification 12. Other Covenant Violations not provided above VI.3 Architectural Standards VI.27 General House color changes need ARC approval prior to painting. No exterior construction, alteration, addition or erection of any nature whatsoever shall be commenced or placed upon any part of the Community except as provided in VI.3
13. Landscape Maintenance V.2 Exterior Maintenance, Unsightly or Unkempt Conditions 14. Dead Trees V.2 Exterior Maintenance, Unsightly or Unkempt Conditions 15. Unfinished Projects V.2 Exterior Maintenance, Unsightly or Unkempt Conditions 16. Unkempt Conditions V.2 House requires painting, repair work required, window grill missing, etc. Regular mowing of yards, weed removal, grass/edge trimming and shrub maintenance is required. 17. Other General 18. Satellite and TV Antennas VI. 11 Antennas No exterior antenna, receiving dish or similar apparatus of any kind for receiving or transmitting of radio or video signals shall be placed, allowed or maintained upon any portion of the Community, including any Lot, unless approved in accordance with the provisions of the covenants hereof; provided, however, no such approval shall be necessary to install: (a) antennas designed to receive direct broadcast satellite services, including direct-to-home satellite services, that are one meter or less in diameter; (b) antennas designed to receive video programming services via multi-point distribution services that are one meter or less in diameter or diagonal measurement; or (c) antennas that are designed and intended to receive television broadcast signals. Owners shall install any permitted antennae on the rear of the dwelling/hidden from street view unless an acceptable quality signal cannot otherwise be obtained. It is recommended that the color should blend in with background against which device is mounted. The HOA reserves the right to enact fines for placement of antennas designed to receive direct broadcast services (Direct TV and the Dish). Pursuant to the FCC, fines can be enacted as long as the restrictions put on the owner will be reasonable so as not to: 1) impair reception of an acceptable quality signal; 2) prevent or delay maintenance or use of the antenna; and/or 3) unreasonably increase the cost of maintaining or using an antenna.
Enforcement Procedures for Covenant/Bylaw and Modification Violations FAQ s (Frequently Asked Questions) 1. How were the items on the fine schedule determined? The MV Board, along with input from the ARC and other similar communities, listed the more frequent Covenant and Modification violations. 2. Why are we initiating a fine schedule? In order to enforce the Covenants/Bylaws and Modification consistently and fairly throughout the neighborhood, we must have a documented process. The objective is to ensure that the MV neighborhood maintains a consistent high level of quality. 3. If the merger is complete, why are there still MVI and MVII documents? The MVI and the MVII covenants survive the merger. These documents are almost identical. Individuals that own property originally located within MVI will continue to be bound by all the covenants and restrictions provided in the Declaration for MorningView I. Individuals that own property originally located within MVII will continue to be bound by the covenants and restrictions provided in the Declaration for MorningView II. 4. How do I get a copy of the Covenants and Standards? A copy of the MV Covenants should have provided to you at closing. The MV Covenants is a legal document that is filed with Gwinnett County. The MV Standards (Revised 10/09/00 5:50pm) is a section in the MV Phone Directory, which was written by the Developer and previous management company to better define some of the expectations and processes of MorningView. You can review a copy of the documents in the clubhouse or on the MorningView Web Site. If you need a copy of these documents, a copy can be requested through Community Management Associates (Our Management Company) at kabraham@cma-atlanta.com or 404-352-5470 ext. 51. 5. How were the MV Covenants developed? The MV Covenants were written by the original MV Developers (Liberty Mutual Insurance and Johnson Neel Associates). As each homeowner purchased in MV, the closing papers inform the buyer that MV is a Covenanted Community and the resident is responsible for knowing and abiding by the covenants. This means that we all agreed individually to abide by the community standards. 6. Can the MV Covenants or Modification be revised? Yes, but changes to the Covenants require approval by the homeowners. The Bylaws allow the Board of directors (and previously the developer) to better define the Covenants, by establishing specific Standards. These standards are the Modification. If a homeowner or group of homeowner s wishes to recommend a revision to the Covenants, a written request should be sent to the Board (via the management company) stating the proposed wording of the covenant change along with the reason(s) why the modification should be made.
Any proposed changes in the Covenants can be presented to residents at the annual homeowners meeting. As part of the package announcing the Annual Meeting to each homeowner, the proposal along with a Ballot would be included. The resident would have the option of mailing the ballot or attending the Annual Meeting and placing a vote at that time. The solicitation for votes would cease 45 s after the Annual Meeting. The required number of votes varies based on the type of change but for most modifications an affirmative vote from 2/3rds of the residents is required for a proposal to pass. Changes to the Modification can be made by the ARC with board approval or the Board in order to further clarify the community standards. 7. Are there items on the fine schedule that are also Gwinnett County Ordinances? Some of the Covenants do parallel those defined by county ordinance. Gwinnett County may also set some standards that more restrictive than those outlined in our covenants which would obviously apply to the neighborhood. In these cases, it is likely the Standards for the community would be modified to reflect this change. 8. Why do the fine schedule and covenants differ on satellite dish usage? The FCC has established specific regulations regarding satellite dish usage. The FCC regulations have precedent over the MV covenants. 9. I have completed a modification for which a Modification Request was never submitted. What should I do? The resident should complete a Modification Request form by November 30, 2003 and submit to the management company. Clearly state when the work was completed. The ARC will review your correspondence within 60 s and reply via the management company. If the modification request is rejected by the ARC then the resident has 60 s to correct the violation prior to fines being incurred. 10. I am aware that my property currently has one or more violations, what do I do? Realizing that time is needed to receive bids, secure contractors, etc; the MV Board has provided for a specific time (grace) period to correct the violation. The following steps are to be followed: Resident is required to send a letter to the management company providing: 1) the resident/home information, 2) the known violation description and 3) the proposed date of correction. This letter must be received by the management company by November 30, 2003 with a proposed date of correction on or before January 15, 2004. If you have completed a modification without a request, refer to question #9. 11. I bought a resale home and think that there may be one or more violations, what do I do? The resident would follow the same steps as outlined in question #10. 12. What happens if a resident s fine is not paid? After $400 of unpaid fines has accumulated for a residence, the MV attorney will be requested to place a lien on the property. Fines will continue to accrue until the violation has been corrected. 13. What do I do if I see that my neighbor has a violation? It is the management company s responsibility to receive violation complaints, verify the violation and write a letter to the homeowner if in fact there is a violation.