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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. They have only had one meeting with us this year and this was never discussed. We also have no through traffic, only one outlet and only 3 small streets. This was never voted on by any one, but the 3 on the board. Yes we have a problem with about maybe 2 people who "forget" the speed limit but I think this is drastic and punishing everyone else. I am usually in and out of here 3-4 times a day (school and taking care of elderly in-laws down the street). I don't appreciate the extra wear and tear on my vehicle and I want to know who will be responsible!
I live in a similarly sized subdivision, and all of the "regulations" and such are in the covenants. There are procedures written in our covenants as to how changes can be made. I would read through your first, and talk to neighbors, get their feelings on it. Most importantly, you need to know how your neighborhood works from an HOA perspective. Wake County has all of the covenents on file, if you do not have a copy of yours. I would also suggest talking to the people on the board who made the decision and figure out how they made it and why.
If it comes down to it, I can recommend an attorney who specializes in HOA "stuff".
Read your bylaws and the board meeting minutes.
The bylaws will tell you what powers the board has, and reading the minutes will tell you if they acted within the powers granted by the bylaws.
It is advisable that residents attend the boring monthly board meetings to stay abreast of topics in discussion, particularly if there is concern about board actions.
I would be curious if they had a traffic study done to accurately assess the need.
I am the Treasuer of an HOA and yes they can do it. Typically they will seek input from residents but by electing them to thier positions you the residents gave them the power to do these types of things. Again they should have sought your input and seems kind of silly they did not but they do have the right to do it. I would go to the newt meeting which is open to residents and protest your displeasure.
Our By-Laws are of the bare minimum, just enough to support having an HOA. Lord knows they will never have another meeting before the end of the year and the Presidents phone number was changed.
Also, there have been no monthly meetings. Only one the whole year so far and they do not return phone calls. The man that does the lawn maintenence has come to me because they keep messing up his check and they don't return his calls either.
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.
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.
I agree with you totally. We have a very active HOA and I have had the pleasure of serving on it sicne we took over from the developer 3 years ago. We also have asked for traffic studies for speed bumps but our neighborhood has 700 houses so we need them.
Typically the by-laws only require an HOA to have one meeting a year offically which is the Annual Meeting. I agree though if you do not feel your Board is making the right decisions then I would get active in the neighborhood and arrange a meeting and "invite" your Board so they can hear the residents. Also, do you have a property management company? In addition to our HOA Board we contract with a Property Management Company to manage out HOA and neighborhood. If you do then call them and raise Kane. They will pass this onto the Board.
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