Within HOA communities, mention the words “governing documents” or “rules and regulations” and most people would run for the hills. Did you know that in Indiana, it’s illegal to drive a horse above 10 MPH, while in Colorado it’s illegal to keep a couch on your porch and in California it’s illegal to whistle for a lost canary before 7 a.m.? The Gateway Greens governing documents developed nearly 30 years ago didn’t have that degree of absurdity within them, but they did not reflect current times and needed to be updated.
The GGCA Board of Directors recognized that things needed to change but also knew that they needed to understand what issues the majority of homeowners wanted to address. For example, what do they want their community to look like, how safe do they want their community to be, and what elements are most important to maintain and improve property values?
Two Town Hall meetings and a series of communications highlighting the proposed changes were implemented over the course of several months so that the voices of the homeowners could be heard. A big “thank you” to those who engaged and provided feedback over the last few months! After multiple iterations, the new Governing Documents were passed with a significant majority of homeowner participation.
With the passage of the new Covenants, the Board will begin to address a variety of changes to improve homeowner satisfaction, including simplifying the Design Review Manual and moderating some of the Fining Policies.
