All residents of Herons Glen live in a deed-restricted community. Upon purchase, all owners have signed documents agreeing to the rules put in place by the Herons Glen Homeowner’s Association (HOA). As a result, you may encounter standards for your home and property here that are not applicable in other communities.
The HGHOA has two committees charged with assuring that properties are kept to the HOA standards.
• The Architectural Review Committee (ARC) ensures that future construction, reconstruction, and improvements are similar to existing construction. This includes making sure the applications for these projects are in compliance with HGHOA Architectural Standards and related information.
• The Grounds Committee ensures that installation of or alteration to lawns, landscaping, exterior yard decorations, fountains and flagpoles are done according to HOA standards and procedures.
The ARC meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 9 a.m. The Grounds Committee meets on the second Thursday of each month at 1 p.m. These meetings are held in the HOA Conference Room. They are open to residents, and you are welcome to attend.
BEFORE YOU START WORK …
On the exterior of your house or property, you must determine if approval is required in advance from one of these committees. You can access the information online at the HG HOA website https://hggcc.com/Wordpress/index.php/policies-guides/ and scroll down to Architectural Standards or Grounds Standards – or you can contact the HOA Office at (239) 731- 0322 to get the appropriate information.
Noncompliance with the standards or initiation of a project before approval may result in possible fines and the removal of the project if considered necessary to comply with standards.
When you submit an application to the ARC or Grounds Committees, you are giving these committees permission to go onto your property without notice. If committee members need to inspect your property as part of their review of your project, they will attempt to let you know in advance and will ring your doorbell when they arrive, However, they will then go onto your property in order to keep your project application from being delayed.
WHEN YOUR WORK HAS BEEN COMPLETED …
Send an email to Joyce Gillespie, HOA Manager, at [email protected] or call the HOA Office to let them know the project is completed.
WHAT IF YOU RECEIVE A VIOLATION NOTICE FROM THE HOA OFFICE?
Do not ignore any emails or letters you receive. You should contact the HOA Office with your plan for addressing the violation and any information you have related to the items mentioned in the letter. The office will then relay this information to the appropriate committee member for further consideration.
The committee member will look at the property and if you have or have not responded to the notice(s), that will be addressed at the committee’s next meeting.
WHAT ARE THE TOP VIOLATIONS?
FOR ARC …
• Lampposts that need to be straightened, painted or repaired
• Houses, driveways, and roofs that need to be cleaned or painted
• Mailboxes and posts that need to be cleaned, painted, or repaired
• Decorations on outside walls are not allowed (except holidays)
• Address lights missing a number or needing repair (Special numbers are required and are available from the HOA Office.)
• Pool cages missing screens or need repair
• Begin work on a project without approval
FOR GROUNDS …
• Landscape beds: that lack plants and mulch, have weeds, and no defined edge
• Lawn: bare areas, brown lawn spots, and lawn weeds
• House numbers: obscured due to height of shrub/tree
• Trees: lack of maintenance and trimming; unapproved removal/replacement
• Shrubs: lack of maintenance, weed and vine removal; unapproved changes to landscape beds, including removal/replacement
• Landscape maintenance not done on all sides of home and property
• Yard waste and garbage: should not be placed at curbside until 6 p.m. the day before scheduled pickup.
The ARC Design and Development Guidelines and Community Wide Landscape Standards can be found on the HOA website https://hggcc.com/Wordpress/index.php/policies-guides/ and scroll down to Architectural Standards or Grounds Standards or you can request a copy from the HOA Office.
Flowchart documents have also been developed for these two HOA Committees to help residents navigate the approval processes, and these documents are located on the HOA website. The ARC document can be accessed at http://hggcc.com/hghoa/pdfs/arc_committee/arc_approval_process.pdf. The Grounds Committee document can be accessed at http://hggcc.com/hghoa/pdfs/grounds_committee/grounds_approval_process.pdf.
We all bought homes here because, at least to some extent, we like the way Herons Glen looks. If we all do our part, cooperating when needed with the ARC and Grounds Committees, we’ll keep Herons Glen an attractive place to live.
