Voting Results
In November of 2006, we retained legal counsel regarding the voting process. Our lawyer stated that this kind of process was onerous since it required 2/3rds vote of every homeowner. (see lawyer’s opinion on modifying the covenants. He outlined various steps that we should follow. Our overall duty was to initiate communication with the community.
After employing traditional (open chats) and modern technological methods (internet discussion forum/polls) we constructed a List of Proposed Changes to the Declaration of Covenants based on wide community input.
The voting process began at our Community Meeting, April 4. At that time, we collected some votes from those who were confident in the issues and were prepared to vote. Others chose to take their ballots home for various reasons (confer with their spouse, familiarize themselves with the issues).
We kept careful records of who voted and who did not. From April 4 to May 6, the voting process continued. The board members shared responsibilities in going door-to-door to pass out ballots, returning to pick them up and offering explanations of the issues. Every house was visited multiple times and at various times of the day. All board members spent many hours explaining the ballots and getting to know everyone in the community. We believe that this laborious voting process was effective in gaining the most community input as possible. To the board members who volunteered their time to this task—THANK YOU!!!
Our current Covenants require that the votes be treated in the following way:
- 94 homes are eligible to vote. Of the 101 homes, four lots are undeveloped and three homes are not currently occupied.
- For any measure to pass, it needed to receive at least 63 votes (2/3rds) of the 94 eligible votes.
- 75 homes voted. That means each passing measure received at least 84% approval.
We now post the results! These results were verified by two members of the original board: Barry Pendley and Brad Gearhart. Every vote was important! Some measures passed/failed by less than 3% points. We recounted the close margin votes.
We know some have not voted. We provided every means possible. We believe that the responsibility to vote lies with the voter, not the board. We regret that we did not experience 100% participation, but are thrilled to have 80% participation.
Thankfully this laborious process does not need to be repeated. Among the many measures passed, the 20% quorum enjoyed strong approval. We hope that the minimal 20% benchmark does not reflect the most involvement we will have in future meetings/votes.
Now, the results … All modifications to the Declaration of Covenants passed except for the following:
- Shed: Allow for up to 200 sq ft (only 55%)
- Shed: Allow for plywood siding painted to match house (only 62%)
- Relax: the number of animals allowed from 2 to 3 (only 63%)
- Update: allow for retractable-style laundry drying equipment (only 65%)
Here are the detailed voting results.
What happens now?
- The Covenants are now our legal instrument. We are not required to have a lawyer inspect the documents, though we are doing so. As soon as he makes the necessary legalities, we will file these with Davison Township.
- Every house will receive a new copy of the Declaration of Covenants. The folder will stay with the home if and when you move.
- We will inform you when our proactive visual inspection takes place.
- What about the sheds? Read this.