September 11, 2019
Dear Residents,
Happy (almost) Fall! The HOA board members wanted to send a letter out to everyone in our community with some updates and items we’ve been working on since the last HOA meeting on 8/10/19. After all, you are the association and we, as your representatives, want to share information about the ongoings with you! We hope this note finds you and your family well.
One of our main priorities is to establish and share a mission and vision statement for the HOA and it’s board members. This will allow us to represent the community with consistency and clarity and to define the purpose of WMHOA for all members of the Association. The Articles of Incorporation for Windsor Meadows Homeowners’ Association Inc. states:
“The corporation is incorporated under the Nonprofit Corporation Law of 1988 for the following purpose or purposes: to function as a homeowners’ association within the Windsor Meadows subdivision and to provide for the maintenance of stormwater facilities, and promote the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of said community by enforcing the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, Restrictions, and Easements, and do any and all activities authorized by the Nonprofit Corporation Law of 1988.”
Based on that, we have summarized the goals of the WMHOA into three statements that can viewed on the About page of this site.
Here is a short list of tasks we are currently working on:
- We recently met with a local real estate lawyer who specializes in all things HOA. We will be working with him and keeping him on retainer to ensure we have complete and sound documents in order to best govern our community and to ensure we are interpreting and enforcing said documents accurately, per PA Law.
That being said, here are some very important updates you should be aware of:
**UPDATE: HUGE thank you to Mindy Craver for locating a copy of the original WMHOA ByLaws! They can now be viewed in the Documents section of our site and are effective immediately! -Currently, the WMHOA ByLaws portion of our governing documents is missing or was never created, but is required. The ByLaws are the documents that establish the structure of day-to-day governance of your homeowners association. We believe this portion went “missing” or became incomplete during the land developer’s (Linkous Builders) bankruptcy, the discontinuation of Brentwood Builders, and the takeover of Charter Homes. However, we have in possession the Articles of Incorporation (the document that declares WMHOA a Domestic Nonprofit Corporation) and the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions and it’s two subsequent amendments (a legally binding document that is officially recorded and filed with the state of PA. CC&Rs cover the rights and obligations of the homeowners association to its members and vice versa.).
-Because WMHOA is an official Domestic Nonprofit Corporation, filed under the Commonwealth of PA and is documented as a Planned Community we are held (at minimum) to all Pennsylvania Uniform Planned Community Laws (also linked on our website), regardless of missing or undistributed documents. We are trying to locate copies of the original WMHOA Bylaws; if they cannot be found or were never created, we will be tasked with using the PA Uniform Planned Community laws to create a new ByLaws document. Now that the proper documentation has been located we are currently operating off of WMHOA Articles of Incorporation, WMHOA ByLaws, and WMHOA Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions, as well as, being held to all PA Uniform Planned Community Act laws.
What does this mean for you / us / the residents of Windsor Meadows?
-Section 5219 of the PA Uniform Planned Community Act, 68 Pa.C.S. 5219 requires a minimum of 67% affirmative votes of all lot owners (with 55 Lots owned that indicates 37 affirmative (in favor) votes needed) to adopt an amendment/change to the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions. That means the voted upon amendments, at the August 2019 Association meeting, to the CC&R’s document, do not stand. We understand this may be disheartening news but, we are in the process of learning how to appropriately adopt the changes that our Association voted to make. Until then, we are legally bound to operate off of the original CC&R document (and its two subsequent amendments) that are on file with the York County Recorder of Deeds Office. (You may also locate these documents on the documents page of this website.)
2. We have begun to plan and set a budget for the Windsor Meadows 2020 fiscal year. Please keep in mind, 2020 will only be the second year that we, as an Association, are responsible for paying taxes on our Association owned and maintained Stormwater Retention Pond, a potential increase in annual dues is possible. We are, however, looking for ways to cut costs for the WMHOA. One of the ways we hope to do this is by offering a paperless option for all HOA communication preferences. **Please see the the Discount on Dues post on this site to locate our form and for more information on going paperless.
3. Finally, we are currently accepting bids for the mowing and maintenance of the Stormwater Retention pond that the Association is responsible for maintaining in order to properly plan our 2020 WMHOA Budget. Please keep your eyes peeled for further information and opportunity to share input on this topic.
Some additional friendly reminders and requests.
Stormwater Drainage Areas: As stated in the CC&R’s it is the HOA boards responsibility to maintain, inspect, and provide upkeep and repairs for the stormwater drainage properties located throughout our neighborhood. Those areas include the stormwater retention pond behind Lots 20-25 (65, 75, 85, 95, 105, and 110 Ava Dr.) and the 30 ft. grass filter strip and rock infiltration drainage system behind Lots 35-54 (50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140 Centre Ct. and 70, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 180 Ava Dr.). We are asking for your assistance with these areas. If you notice potential damage or improper drainage (flooding/ponding) in any of these areas please notify the HOA by email. That means, a portion of our annual dues goes to mowing and maintaining the Retention Pond (Lot 56) and all other areas are to be maintained by the homeowner upon which these facilities are located. Additionally, according to WMHOA CC&R’s Article 3, Paragraph 1B “the Association shall maintain, repair, and replace as needed all stormwater facilities and infrastructure systems, including but not limited to a stormwater infiltration system, everywhere within Windsor Meadows with the exception of those facilities lying within the dedicated public right-of-way”(ie, we are responsible for all stormwater drainage areas within our neighborhood with exception to the drainage areas located on the public street).`
The dumping or release of any material, substance or refuse is PROHIBITED in the above described stormwater areas. Note 2 on the Windsor Meadows Revised Final Subdivision plan states that “the HOA is responsible for the operation, maintenance, repair, and reconstruction of the Storm Water Management infiltration trench on Lots 35-54. In the event that the HOA fails to maintain, repair or reconstruct said facilities after written notice to do so by the Township and said deficiency remains uncured for a period of 30 calendar days, then the Township, its agents or contractor, shall have the right to enter onto said facilities and perform the necessary maintenance, repairs, or reconstruction at the expenses of the HOA and all individual lot owners.” Note 17, on the same plan, states “that the owner (meaning anyone who owns a Lot encompassing any of these properties) shall not construct, plant, or maintain any structures, fences, trees, shrubbery, etc. within 15 feet from the centerline of the existing stormwater management infiltration trench.” Therefore, if any Lot is deemed to be out of compliance or found to have altered any of the stormwater drainage facilities, the HOA Board will be required to have the necessary repairs made and bill said Lot Owner appropriately.
Finally, Note 18 on the WM Final Subdivision Plan states in reference to “The maintenance of the retaining wall located on Lots 48-52 (110, 120, 130, 140, and 150 Ava Dr.) and any associated fencing or shrubbery shall be the responsibility of the individual homeowners.” Meaning, each individual lot is responsible for repairing and maintaining their portion of the retaining wall, as well as, the black chain link fence.
Finally, you may see one or more board members accessing these areas for inspection periodically. We will be certain to be mindful of each homeowners private property when doing so but are granted access per WMHOA CC&R Article 2, Item B, Subpart i. Please contact us if you have questions and look for more detailed info pertaining to this on our website.
2020 Dues: Please note, the WMHOA Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions document states that annual dues are due every year on January 1st. As a board, we have taken new year budgeting for families into consideration and would like to take a future vote to amend the CC&R’s to state dues be due on an alternative date of each year. Until that vote has passed, documents have been approved, amended and filed we cannot offer that date. We will notify you of the official 2020 amount due very soon but please be aware there will be a strict due date of January 1, 2020, per WMHOA CC&R’s. You may want to review the WMHOA CC&R policy Article 2, Item 4: Annual Assessment and Article 2 Item 10: Effect of Non-Payment of Assessment (located on our website) in order to become familiar with the penalties for late or unpaid assessments.
Windsor Township Policy Reminders:
Mowing and Grass Clippings: a reminder from Windsor Township, “Over the summer months the Township Office received numerous calls about property owners blowing grass clippings onto the street. The grass clippings are dangerous to motorists especially those riding motorcycles. They wash down the street and clog the storm drain. Please avoid blowing the grass clippings onto the street. Repeated offenses could result in a citation under the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code.”
In addition, large amounts of grass clippings could clog our neighborhood drainage systems which would incur the use of HOA funds to repair.
Township Pet Reminders: “The Township Office receives a lot of calls from residents complaining about pet owners who do not clean up after their pets as they are walking them and in their yards. Section 4 of the Windsor Township Dog Ordinance requires owners walking their dog to cleanup after them. It also requires pet owners to clean excreta from their yards so that no odor can be smelled by neighbors. The ordinance also addresses other dog related activities. A full copy of the Dog Ordinance can be viewed on their website(http://www.windsortwp.com). Scroll down to the bottom of the home page to “Ordinances” and then click on Dog Ordinance. The Township has a contract with Klugh Animal Control Services for dog related complaints such as dogs running at large, dog bites, barking dogs, etc. Klugh Animal Control Services can be reached at 717-916-1413.”
The WMHOA requests that pet owners be mindful of pets who may wander onto private property and yards that are not their own, cleaning up after pets, and aware of all other township and PA pet ownership laws.
We understand this has been a lot to take in but felt it pertinent to put all the information required to run and maintain our Association into your hands as soon as possible. As always, please feel free to reach out to us via email with any questions, comments, or concerns. And, thank you for being an integral part of our community!
Warmest Regards,
WMHOA Executive Board
PO Box 14
Red Lion, PA 17356
Windsor Meadows Homeowners' Association 