10 points to Good Standing

Dear Windy Hill Forest Owners and Tenants:

Property values are increasing steadily in Smyrna and the volunteer Board of Directors have been working to assure that Windy Hill Forest is a safe, attractive, well-cared for place to live.  The Board has developed the following 10 point summary to describe "Good Standing" for purposes of complying with HOA covenants and policies.

Thank you for your attention to these items.

  

1.  Dues – Each owner is expected to pay current year dues - and if in arrears on prior years be on a written payment plan for back dues.  Please email windyhillforest@gmail.com for a sample payment plan  (tinyurl.com/whf-paymentplan)

Generally, dues are $500 per year with a $400 discount down to $100 provided a home is in Good Standing.

2.  Driving Speed – Safety is a priority, especially since our children, our pets and our residents must use the street as their sidewalk.  This makes driving speed and parking a safety concern.  With regard to speed, owners, tenants, residents and guests are expected to drive on our street with caution and at a speed no faster than 15mph.  

3.  Parking – Please do not park in front of driveways or otherwise on the street, and please inform neighbors and email the HOA in advance of party events. Consider getting permission to put your own car at a neighbor's, and use your driveway for guests.

4.  Curb Appeal – The front of homes are expected to be free of clutter and kept clean; the green roll aways for garbage are to be pulled behind shrubbery or otherwise put out of sight, and no window air conditioners are to be present.  

 

5.  Lawns - Homes are expected to cut lawns regularly. (At least once every two weeks during growing season and as needed after September.)  Homes should cultivate green grass lawns with proper seeding, watering and fertilizing with crabgrass control.  The smaller front lawns can consider mulch alternatives provided the mulch is refreshed as needed and is maintained for weed control.

6.  Good Repair - Each home is expected to be free of rust, cracked, peeling or fading paint, free of mold, broken siding or rodent openings; each is to have properly installed and functioning gutters, roofs, HVAC, plumbing and electric systems; each home is to have clear windows without broken seals; each is to have termite control and fences at homes are to be free of broken sections.


7.  Maintain Contact – Each owner is expected to keep the HOA informed of the owner’s current contact information and to promptly update the HOA on changes thereto.  Messages can be emailed to windyhillforest@gmail.com or sent by text to 404-955-8101.

8.  Tenants - Landlords are expected to identify tenants and to issue a letter addressed to the their tenants and to  the HOA confirming that tenants are to comply with the HOA’s covenants and policies.  Please email windyhillforest@gmail.com for a sample form of the letter (tinyurl.com/whf-landlord1).
Note:  AirBNB type rentals are NOT allowed without HOA prior approval, ask to see the HOA special policy on short term rentals (tinyurl.com/whf-airbnb).




9.  Back Yard Access - Each property shall cooperate in allowing neighbors to have full access to their own back doors.








10. Nuisance/Pets. – Please see the HOA Nuisance Policy at tinyurl.com/whf-nuisance.  Also on pets, every resident and guest is expected to clean up after pets, and prevent ongoing barking and whining.

Minutes of 2015 Annual Meeting, Higher fees

The minutes of the annual meeting are in italics below.  Due to a new Smyrna citation pending against the HOA for detention pond maintenance, fee structures were increased.  There were also invitations for other persons to come forward to serve on the board, but the invitations were not accepted.  For homes that timely pay and remain in good standing on HOA covenants and policies, the fee will go up to $100 in 2016, but will remain at $50 for 2015.  Persons failing to timely pay, and persons who lose good standing status during the year will owe $250 for the year. A formal dues notice with a firm due date will be mailed in the coming weeks.

The 2015 annual meeting was held March 14,  2015 at 2pm at the Monterrey Restaurant, 1368 Atlanta Rd, Marietta, GA.  This meeting was held as part of written notice mailed on March 4, 2015 to all 89 homes in HOA  and the required quorum of 9 homes was exceeded.  Notice was also published at the HOA entrance and on the windyhillforest.com website.

It was moved, seconded and almost unanimously resolved (there was one nay vote):

I. that the minutes of the March 8, 2014 annual meeting be approved.

II. that the following persons be elected by the membership to serve as the HOA Board of Directors:

Sandy Vazquez                       Karen Wilcox              Mary Groves                            

Mark Groves                           Alisha Davis

III.  There was discussion on how the covenants commenced in 1985 with an annual lawn/HOA maintenance fee of $216 which was subject to a 5% increase on the prior year amount.  After calculating the annual increases, the amount for 2015 is $933.  It was resolved that the HOA’s gross annual fee of $933 would be discounted by $683 for the lawn care component such that the annual fee was $250, provided the homeowner arranges regular lawn care. 

IV.  It was further resolved that an additional "good standing" discount would apply contingent upon two things: timely payment and remaining in good standing for the entire year with respect to HOA covenants and policies; it was resolved that the good standing discount would result in a net fee of $50 for 2015 and $100 for subsequent years.  Items that will void good standing status include, but are not limited to the following:  failure to establish & maintain a payment plan with the HOA on delinquent dues, failure to provide contact information (including email & cell phone), failure to keep property tidy, presentable and in good repair, and failure to cooperate with HOA parking policy; notice and opportunity to cure such failures will be posted on the door of the home and the full $250 fee will be due from homes remaining out of compliance. 

Various discussion of subdivision matters occurred but no other resolutions were adopted.

2015 ANNUAL MEETING

2015 Annual Meeting for Windy Hill Forest HOA
NEW MEETING PLACE: Monterrey Restaurant

 NOTICE:Annual Meeting is 2:00pm on Sat., Mar. 14, 2015 , Monterrey Restaurant,1368 Atlanta Road, Marietta, ph: 678-996-2898.  It's north of us on Atlanta Road, just south of the Chevron Station on Austell & Atlanta Roads.  The restaurant is on the north end of its shopping center, and we are meeting in the north section of the restaurant.  Please consider becoming a Monterrey patron.

To:  Owners of the following homes on Springleaf Circle:1400-1474 (even nos.), 1401-1465  (odd nos.) & 1471-1505 (odd nos.)  If you are a tenant, please pass this along to your landlord.

Thank you for your support over the last year.  It is time for this year’s annual meeting.  We will elect directors, discuss parking, fee policy, repair policy, detention pond issues and continue to seek to amend the covenants so they are updated with the new Georgia Property Owners Association Act. 

WINDY HILL FOREST HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION INC.   ("WHF") 
www.windyhillforest.com email: windyhillforest@gmail.com


Click on these images to enlarge the map:

GOOD NEWS on Overflow Parking**

 ** THIS PARKING IS NOT AVAILABLE DURING the 9 to 5 BUSINESS HOURS

So many homes have put in extra effort to keep their cars off the street, and we are most grateful. For homes that need to park more cars than they can fit in their driveway, we have obtained permission to park from C-COMM 911 across the street from us at 2600 Mathews Street (for evenings, weekends and holidays).  It is essential that you place a card with your name and phone number in the dashboard.  Keeping the road open for service and emergency vehicles is important for all concerned.  Your cooperation in this matter is appreciated.

HOA Dues for 2014

WINDY HILL FOREST HOMEOWNER’S ASSOCIATION
DUES NOTICE FOR 2014

Payment Due Date: Due No Later Than June 30, 2014


2014 Assessment: Fifty Dollars ($50.00) if paid before June.
Resident owners get a discount if they pay on time. Landlords get a discount if they supply payment and contact info for themselves and their tenants by June 30, 2014.  

2014 Assessments Paid Late: One Hundred Dollars - $100.00!
Actually, the official assessment is $100 but the board is motivating timely payment by granting a discount for fees paid by June 30, 2014.

Make Check Payable to:
Windy Hill Forest Homeowners Association, Inc.

Mail Check to:

Windy Hill Forest
PO Box 1704
Smyrna, GA 30081

Hand Deliver Check to:

Slot in Top Left box in USPS Mailbox near 1406 Springleaf

Paypal.com:

You send the fee via paypal.com to windyhillforest@gmail.com

**In 1985 the Windy Hill Forest Homeowner’s Association recorded a declaration of covenants affecting its townhomes and their owners. It made the Association responsible for maintenance of common grounds and the lawns of each homeowner. That declaration included the right to assess $216 for lawn maintenance for 1985, and the right to annual increases of 5% of the prior year amount. The WHFHA Board of Directors has calculated an ongoing annual increase of 5% of the prior year amount from 1985 forward, and for 2014 the maximum that could be assessed is $889.

The Association’s policy is to entrust proper lawn maintenance to the Association members (which is consistent with Article IX of the WHFHA Bylaws - a copy is attached and is available at www.windyhillforest.com by clicking the “WHFHA documents” link). Instead of assessing $889 for lawn maintenance, the Association is assessing $100 per townhome for the entire 2014 year, and giving early payers a discount down to $50 per townhome. Resident Owners that get their payment in by May 31 can claim the discount. Landlords need to pay and to supply current contact info on themselves and their tenants by June 30. Otherwise the full $100 is due.

By paying the 2014 Assessment, owners are consenting to the Article IX bylaws, including the duty to take proper care of their lawns. If you are an owner that neglects lawncare or insists on having the Association care for your lawn or is otherwise in serious violation of HOA policy, then please pay $889 to WHFHA right away, so lawn-care arrangements can be made.

Failing to pay has consequences. Members, please understand that the Association is no longer dormant. It is in good standing with the Georgia Secretary of State, it has had annual membership meetings at which a board of directors and officers were elected, and it has every right to make this assessment. A member that is delinquent in paying is subject to interest, late fees and attorney fees – those fees can add up to many hundreds of dollars and end up being filed as a lien on the member’s home. Further, the Association reserves the right to contact a delinquent member’s mortgage company to give them a chance to cure the delinquency before a lien is filed. Also, under the bylaws, a delinquent member delegates his voting rights to the Association. We look forward to your support and cooperation.

[Excerpts from bylaws & covenants follow - to enlarge, click on image and wait for downloading to complete.]

Parking Issues

There have been plenty of justified complaints about the selfish and dangerous parking practices of a few owners and a few tenant occupied homes.  And many of these people take great offense to a note being placed on their car to remind them of the need to confine parking to the driveway and keep the road clear.

The HOA Covenants are very clear about parking -- every home has a right to park 2 vehicles on their own driveway and every home is entitled to full ingress and egress to their own driveway without interference from others.  The Covenants also give the HOA board discretion to set out rules and regulations to clarify and enforce covenant provisions.  This is a two car community, if a resident was expecting capacity for more, they have picked the wrong living situation.  They need buy or rent a free-standing house with a big driveway and garage

As an accommodation, the HOA has been allowing for three cars to be parked if all three can be squeezed into the lot and off the road.  The HOA board reserves the right to reconsider this arrangement.

For those who fail to cooperate with the parking policy, the HOA has various options:

i)     Leave a note on the vehicle to request compliance with the policy

ii)    Ask the police to ticket cars that park in front of their own driveways or in front of mail boxes

iii)   Go to small claims court to break the lease for failure to conform to the parking policy, and charge the landlord for the court costs/legal fees and to empower the HOA to tow violating vehicles

iv)   Go to superior court to for an injunction against the violator, charge the owner for court costs/legal fees and get an order to authorizing the HOA to tow violating vehicles.

v)    Revoke the violator townhome's ability to care for their lawn and impose the full $889 assessment along with having the HOA arrange for lawncare.  The full lawncare assessment goes up 5% every year.

vi)    Declare homes with more than 2 vehicles to park "high risk" and demand that they provide 1 million dollars liability insurance to the HOA (in accordance with the HOA's insurance powers under the Covenants).

We really prefer that the parking policy just be honored:

The HOA policy is that residents are not to use street parking, so that is available for service vehicles and for short term, infrequent guests if absolutely necessary  -- the HOA expects members to move their own cars to other allowed places (such as a friend's driveway spot or the street parking next to Cayce Foods) so there is room for their guest's car.  It is also policy that vacant homes are deemed to imply consent to parking in their driveways, provided contact info is in the parked car's dash and no sign is present saying "no parking" or "no trespassing."  (And please don't hog the whole driveway by carelessly parking one car.)   Also, if the residents can fit 3 cars into their driveway without being on the road, for now the HOA board is not considering that arrangement a violation .

Please do not park your vehicles in front of your driveway or on Springleaf Circle. It obstructs the access others have to enter and exit their own driveways.  It also adds to congestion on the road and creates more hazards for drivers and pedestrians.

Our HOA has the been very fortunate to have a member of the Smyrna Police Department as a resident.  The department prefers that officers bring their vehicles home with them, and the Windy Hill Forest Board of Directors prefers that police presence be very prominent so as to deter theft, vandalism and other crimes.  The presence of a squad car on the curb or in front of the officer's driveway is exempted from the HOA parking policy.  No others should assume they are exempt also.

Article II, Section 4 of the recorded HOA Covenants make it clear that each home is to park within the confines of their driveway and that this is a 2 car per home community.  

2014 Annual Meeting

REPEAT MEETING PLACE: Brawner Hall! 

WINDY HILL FOREST HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION INC.   ("WHFHA") 
www.windyhillforest.com email: windyhillforest@gmail.com

 NOTICE:Annual Meeting is 1:30pm on Sat., Mar. 8, 2014 in the Conference Room at  Brawner Hall, 3180 Atlanta Rd.  It's the large white building in the first floor conference room.

To:  Owners of the following homes on Springleaf Circle:1400-1474 (even nos.), 1401-1465  (odd nos.) & 1471-1505 (odd nos.)  If you are a tenant, please pass this along to your landlord.

Thank you for your support over the last year.  It is time for this year’s annual meeting.  We will elect directors, discuss parking, fee policy, repair policy and continue to seek to amend the covenants so they are updated with the new Georgia Property Owners Association Act. 

Click on these images to enlarge the map: