ARABELLA RESIDENTIAL ASSOCIATION
October 11, 2006
Dear Arabella Residential Neighbors:
As you know, we have been working on amending the By-laws and Covenants and Restrictions for Arabella Residential for the majority of this year. After many months and three drafts, we have finally completed the amendments and they are ready to be voted on and made official. We, the Board, have been working with our association attorney, John Holmes, on making the covenants as user-friendly and association-friendly as possible. We have enclosed a brief summary of the changes to help you pinpoint where the changes were made. We have also enclosed a copy of the final draft of the Covenants and Restrictions.
The Special Meeting of the Arabella Residential Homeowner’s Association will be held on Tuesday October 24, 2006 at 7:30 PM. The meeting will be held at the home of Allison and Chris Snyder, 621 Arabella St.
The purpose of this meeting is to discuss and vote on the proposed amendment to the Covenants for the subdivision. We will also discuss any updates concerning the neighborhood. This will include the Constance Street sidewalk, the dues for the 2007 fiscal year and nominations for the 2007 Board of Directors.
If you can not attend the special meeting, and are in favor of the proposed amendments, please contact Robert Phillips prior to the meeting so you can sign your name on the master copy of the Covenants. This will constitute your vote for the changes to take effect. We will need at least 2/3 of the neighborhood membership to vote in favor of these amendments to have them take effect.
We appreciate your time and cooperation in this matter and look forward to seeing you at the meeting.
Sincerely,
Arabella Residential Board of Directors
Robert Phillips
Ellen Brown
Allison Snyder
The final draft of the proposed amendments is enclosed. In order to make it easier to understand what changes were made, we have provided you with the following notes on the proposed changes.
Article I:
Eliminated 1.4, 1.12, 1.13, and 1.14. These articles pertained to the developmental stages of our neighborhood and no longer apply since all homes have been built.
Article III:
Eliminated part of 3.2, about “Class B Voting Rights”. We no longer have a Class B (developer), since all homes are now privately owned.
Article IV:
Eliminated part of 4.4 concerning Declarant obligation for association assessments. We no longer have a Declarant (developer), so this does not apply.
Eliminated part of 4.5b, concerning the “one time special assessment for the early development of property. This no longer applies.
Added to 4.7, changed the percent per annum from 12.5% to 18% per annum to delinquent account fees. This is a more standard percentage.
Added 4.10 “Pro-Rata Portion of Assessments”; this language was added to make it official that those owners with 1.5 lots, pay 1.5 the annual assessment.
Article 7.2
7.2(e) Changed tree requirement- original was “all lots must have (3) trees on their property, (1) of these trees must be installed between the street and sidewalk in front of the home.” New suggests that all homes must have (1) tree installed in front of home, between street and sidewalk, in accordance with the regulations of the City of New Orleans.
7.2(f) Changed “new chain link, hurricane, page fencing, prefab wood, prefab brick, or split rail fencing shall be allowed,” to “are not allowed”
Added “Front yard fencing is allowed on all Lots and all Lots must have approved fencing extending to the sideline of the Lot such that trespassers may not access the alleyway and Common Properties from the public streets.”
Article IX:
Added or moved articles 9.7, 9.8, 9.9, 9.10, 9.11, 9.12, 9.13, 9.14, 9.15, 9.16, 9.17, 9.18, 9.19, 9.20, 9.21. These all fall under General Restrictions.
These specifically state items that are allowed/not allowed in the subdivision. These have been added for the benefit of the homeowner’s association.
Article 9.22; added “Any non-conforming materials are subject to review by the ARC which, if approved by ARC, may be used.”
Article X:
10.3 Added language about violation fine procedures and added a maximum per day fine amount of $25.00. Also added a better explanation of Covenant Enforcement.
10.4 New- Added an initiation fee of 50% of the applicable Annual Assessment fee at the time of sale of any home in the subdivision.
10.5 Added section to explain Self-Help practices of the subdivision to correct any covenant violations.
We hope this is not too confusing. It is a lot of information to put into a “Cliffs Notes” format. If you have any questions or concerns, please bring them to the Association special meeting where we will vote on these amendments.