Earlier this year your Board of Directors voted to retain legal counsel familiar with homeowner association law to advise us on the administration of association functions. After consulting with three firms we retained the firm of Rees Broome P.C. — with over 40 years’ experience representing HOA/POAs.
One of the first things the law firm did was review the association governance documents – Covenants and Bylaws, as well as other documents – Rules and Responsibilities, Construction Guidelines, and Treasurer’s Procedures and Compliance.
You probably remember we completed a governance document review in 2021-22 and updated them to comply with the then-current statute, Code of Virginia 55.1-1800 which governs homeowners’/property owners’ associations. Those revisions were approved at our June 2022 annual membership meeting. However, our counsel has recommended a few more changes that should be made to better align our documentation with standards common to other HOA/POAs as well as aligning with amendments to the statute.
There are four areas in the Covenants and two in the Bylaws recommended for revision:
- Covenants – Added to Part B Construction Guidelines section 6 – An item included in the Rules and Regulations document approved by the membership at the June 2023 annual meeting prohibiting parking on vacant lots without approval.
- Covenants – Added to Part B Construction Guidelines a new section 8 – References the requirements for Setback, Frontage, Yards and Height of Buildings from the applicable Northumberland County Zoning Ordinance and PBEPOA’s more stringent requirement.
- Covenants – Added to Part D Property Owners’ Association – Revisions to Section 1-3 – Clarifying the role of the Board of Directors in the administration of the Association and a statement reflecting the Association’s ability to levy fines as defined in the Code of Virginia Section 55.1-1800
- Covenants & Bylaws – Added to Covenants Part D Property Owners’ Association Section 4 and changes to the Bylaws Sections 4 and 5 on the use of electronic means to conduct Association business. Also added were statements concerning the posting of Association documentation on the PBEPOA website and an hourly rate for the production of Association documentation requested in written form.
- Bylaws: Change to Section 5.03 to bring it into sync with Section 5.02. Section 5.02 of the Bylaws establishes the number of Directors as five to nine. Section 5.03 stated that two Directors will be elected each year with three elected every third year. However, that formula does not accommodate more than seven Directors. For this reason, Section 5.03 was changed to require a minimum of two Directors to be elected each year, thus allowing for as many to be elected as are needed to fill vacancies.
The updated Covenants and Bylaws with revisions highlighted are available for your review at the link provided at the bottom of this post. Please note the documents to be reviewed are those that were updated in January 2024 and are NOT the 2021-22 updated documents now in effect and displayed on another section of the website.
Members of the Board of Directors will be at the Northumberland Public Library, 7204 Northumberland Hwy (Hwy 360), Heathsville, on Monday, March 11, 5:00 to 7:00 PM to meet with anyone interested in discussing the updated documents.
Revisions to our Covenants and Bylaws require an affirmative vote by two-thirds of the property owners who are eligible to vote. After the March 11 meeting, all property owners will receive an email containing instructions for online voting. Property owners vote BY LOT – owners of one lot have one vote; two lots, two votes; etc. Voting details will be provided later.
Direct any questions or comments to the POA email: potomacbaypoa at hotmail.com
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
PBE POA Board of Directors
Covenants JANUARY 2024 with Draft Amendments (1)
ByLaws JANUARY 2024 with Draft Amendments (1)
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