ARC Mission Statement
The Architectural Review Committee is established by the “Declaration of Protective Covenants, Conditions, Restrictions and Easements” (CC&Rs)“ as registered by the Declarant (Grand Oaks developer), and which is legally attached to the sale of each home within Grand Oaks. As outlined in the CC&Rs, it is our mission:
1. To promote long term sustainable property values and curb appeal to all Grand Oaks homeowners.
2. To encourage neighborhood community and harmony by involving our neighbors in projects that affect them.
3 To educate homeowners about the Architectural Review Guidelines and CC&Rs that affect our community and encourage them to use the application process for all required changes to property.
4. To create a smooth and efficient submission and approval process for the application to the ARC.
5. To be consistent and fair in all judgment calls, and to include suggested alternatives when applications fall outside the guidelines.
AVOID A $250 FINE
Please gain approval BEFORE starting your project
The CC&Rs require that all Owners in Grand Oaks gain approval before commencing any Improvement to the exterior of their home, this includes exterior paint, fences, additions, sheds and even landscaping which may impact the Owner’s neighbor (e.g. view through tree growth, etc). For a complete overview, please see the documents linked at right.
The ARC is placed in a difficult position when an Owner starts a project before they submit and gain approval from the ARC (as required by the CC&Rs).
The CC&Rs do address this circumstance by providing the Association the power to remove or otherwise remedy any non-approved Improvement at the Owners expense. This is not a preferred course of action as it can make the relationship with the Owner confrontational; being forced to consider this option when asked to approve a project after the fact weighs heavily on the ARC and the Board.
The preferred direction is to assure that all Owners have submitted and received approval prior to commencing work to avoid this otherwise difficult situation.
The Board adopted a resolution in 2012 to address this. The Financial Penalties Resolution Addendum:
- Commencing Improvements without ARC Approval assesses a $250 fine against any Owner who starts a project without approval. It is automatically applied by Willamette Community Management and can only be reversed upon a successful appeal to the Board of Directors.