Can an HOA do this? (Asheville, Jefferson: house, buying, live)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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I live in a very small subdivision of about 50 homes outside of Raleigh near Fuquay-Varina. Just last night we all received a letter from our HOA saying that they were having speed bumps put in our neighborhood today.
Call the local fire department and see if the chief has a problem with them. Up in frozen-land our company would always object since these cause an undue hazard to emergency responders.
If the president of your HOA is incompetent then you and your small community needs to take the steps to have him/her removed. I would imagine many people feel the same way you do. You should call a community meeting of your own...pass out flyers, make phone calls, whatever you need to to get people to show up. Discuss the situation and any possible resolutions and then take action. You may need to band together and bring in a lawyer.
On a side note. Sometimes HOA's are great, and other times they can be a hassle. I would love nothing more than to have speed bumps put into my small neighborhood, but we do not have an HOA. And after having multiple traffic studies done the city still won't install them. It's never been a matter of volume in our neighborhood, it's just that the people who do cruise through our neighboorhood do so at about 35-40 MPH. In my Opinion, traffic studies are a waste of time and money, and rarely yield results.
My humble recommendation - listen to Mike, the realtor posted here. you need to first familiarize yourself with your bylaws, you should have recd them in the papers from the attny who closed on your home. the bylaws will have info on how many homeowners are needed for a quorum - the min # of ppl needed to vote in or change something. I saw a neighborhood removed a rogue president this way. Next, ask for the minutes of the board mtg that contains the info on this matter. make sure the correct ppl voted and it was 2nd, etc. Using these documents and bylaws, you may be able to reverse this without going to an attny. If not, he will need this info for the case. Good luck!
I may be wrong, but it seems to be that focusing on this as an HOA issue is misplaced. Speed bumps and traffic control are not something an HOA typically has any ability to address - they are government matters.
To the OP, does your neighborhood have private roads? Do you pay for the maintenance of these roads with your HOA dues? I only ask becuase I fidn it odd that that an HOA for a private entity would have the authority to have seed bumps put on a public road.
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 08-23-2009 at 02:08 PM..
Reason: Deleted quoted text and off-topic response.
It's fairly surprising because speed bumps are expensive and the town won't usually pay for them without MONTHS of data collection, signed petitions with agreement of a certain percentage of neighbors, traffic studies, the use of other traffic calming measures and the fact that the town charges the residents or the HOA a significant portion of the cost. My neighborhood TRIED to do it and we just gave up (now we just take turns throwing empty Budweiser cans at speeders from our front porches...seems to have the same effect!) Anyway, it's just a lengthy, time consuming, expensive endeavor.
I'm guessing your roads must be private and your HOA dues are paying for them, because if they are public, there's no way they could do it that quickly and without permission.
I would call your local fire department. I know a few people in my neighborhood wanted them but the town said no b/c of the fire department. It slows down the trucks and I swear I heard the trucks could also get damaged. Maybe things get knocked around - I can't remember exactly.
Instead of speed bumps, how about traffic circles? You have to slow down to get around them, there isn't wear and tear on the car, and if you plant the middles w/ flowers they are lovely.
Or you can ripe up part of the road and put in permeable pavers. These help with runoff so maybe there is some sort of grant or tax credit your HOA could get. And the pavers slow traffic since at "high" speeds your car vibrates more. The entrance of Marydell in Durham off of Garret Rd, has these pavers. It's a good way to get folks to slow down.
I know in Durham if a road has speed bumps the "slow plows" won't remove your snow. Snicker Snicker. Like this occurs often, but none the less might be a point to bring up.
You may want to call your local emergency services and let them in on what your HOA is planning. Most towns require approval from emergency services personnel before installing speed bumps, and most fire departments will require a traffic study to see if the speed bumps are truly necessary.
I know Apex required this and I had heard it was pretty common. Emergency services hate speed bumps.
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