RESOLUTION NO. 2006 – 01
Architectural Committee
This Resolution sets out the purposes, authority, makeup and operating procedures of the Lake Limerick Country Club Architectural Committee.
- Purposes. The Architectural Committee has three primary purposes, all centered on service to the members of the Association:
• to review, and recommend to the Board, approval, disapproval or conditional disapproval of applications for permits for projects involving changes to the platted lots, common areas, and any other real property within the jurisdiction of the Association. Such projects include but are not limited to grading, tree cutting, and construction of residences, docks, fences, and so on;
• to review and investigate complaints of lot condition requirement violations, such as construction without a permit, storage of junk and garbage and the like, and recommend accordingly to the Board of Directors; and
• to identify circumstances that would benefit from a general rule, investigate these circumstances, and recommend such rules to the Board.
2. Authority. The Architectural Committee does not have the authority to act for the Board with respect to any final decisions; rather, it recommends to the Board based on its investigations, experience and deliberations. The Board may or may not accept such recommendations in whole or in part. The Architectural Committee does have the authority to make such investigations and recommendations to the Board. Because the Architecture Committee does not have the final authority to act; the recorded restrictive covenants provide that any application for approval that is submitted, and not acted on within 20 days, is automatically approved; and the Board meets only once per month on a regular basis; all applications to the Architectural Committee are automatically denied, pending consideration by the Board. Any member who believes that an emergency exists so that more immediate attention must be given to an application (not to include the mere failure to submit the application earlier so it could be considered in the regular course of events), must bring this concern to the Chair of the Architectural Committee, or if not available, to the President of the Board, as soon as possible.
3. Makeup. The Architectural Committee shall consist of one Chair, who is appointed, and serves at the pleasure of the Board; and additional members, who have petitioned the Architectural Committee for appointment to the Committee, have attended three meetings as a guest over a six month period and have subsequently been approved by the Architectural Committee. The Board or the Architectural Committee may also terminate the membership of any of the general members of the Architectural Committee, at its discretion. Only Association members in good standing may serve as Architectural Committee members, although any actions that may be taken by the Architectural Committee while a member who is not in good standing is serving on the committee are not subject to challenge for that reason.
4. Operating Procedures. The Architectural Committee shall operate pursuant to procedures that are fair and reasonable. It shall create and make a readily-accessible record of systems for its operation, which shall include processes, timelines, assignment of responsibilities, accountability and forms, as well as other procedures that are beneficial to the work of the committee.
These shall include systems for the processing of applications for permits, responses to complaints of property condition violations, recommendations to the Board for adoption of new rules, coordination with legal counsel and the conduct of meetings.
Robert’s Rules of Order, or other mechanical rules of procedure, shall not apply to any of the process and procedures of the committee; rather, the committee shall proceed in all ways reasonably and fairly, with concern not only for the rights of the general membership to enforcement of the applicable rules, but also for the rights of individual members to a process that affords them respect as members, gives them a reasonable chance to participate in the process, and fairly considers their positions.
The Committee meets monthly, generally the second Saturday of the month, at 9:00 a.m. at the Inn. Current meeting minutes can be found on the meeting Minutes page.
The following information may be helpful as you consider improvements on your property:
- Resolution No. 2006-09 - Violations
- Resolution No. 2006-10 - Drainage
- Resolution No. 2006-11 - Lot Violation - Successive Owner/Members
- Complaint Procedures
- Architectural Guidelines
- Lake Limerick Permit Application
- Winter Trailer Permit
- County information
Other questions you may have:
Q: Why do the new proposed covenants change the time for approval or denial
> of a project permit application from 20 days to a "reasonable time?"
>
> A. The first reason is that the changes that have to do with the
> Architectural Committee all move the responsibility for making final
> decisions from the Architectural Committee to the Board. The Architectural
> Committee currently meets on the second Saturday of each month; the Board
> meets on the third Saturday of each month. The original covenants only
> gave
> the Architectural Committee 20 days to make a decision; obviously, this
> caused problems when an application came in the week after the
> Architectural
> Committee's meeting, because it would not even meet to consider the
> application until after the 20 days had run. Many adjustments have had to
> be
> made to comply with this covenant.
>
> Now, considering the state law, and the new covenants, the 20-day time
> limit
> for decisions only gets more difficult to work with. If a permit
> application
> is submitted within two weeks after an Architectural Committee meeting,
> there is not enough time for the permit to be considered by the
> Architectural Committee, then forwarded to the Board for action.
>
> A "reasonable time" was chosen because this is the test that a court would
> use, in the absence of a set number of days. This would take into account
> the circumstances, including the needs of the individual member who is
> applying for a permit, and the needs of the Board to make sure the rights
> of
> all of the members are respected in the process. One other factor would
> be,
> when would the member be able to get the necessary permits from the
> County?
>
> This brings up an interesting point. What does the Architectural Committee
> (and Board) think about when it reviews an application? Generally, it is
> looking for only a few basic issues that are particular to Lake Limerick -
> is it a single family residence? do the setbacks meet the covenants? is it
> the proper size? and so on. Lake Limerick does not undertake an extensive
> plan review. It relies on the honesty of its members to make sure that
> they
> meet all of the Mason County (and State) building and planning rules that
> apply. If Mason County is satisfied, then, for the most part, so is Lake
> Limerick. This means that Lake Limerick does not have to increase members'
> assessments to pay for plan reviewers, building inspectors, and so on.
> Each
> Lake Limerick permit is conditioned on compliance with Mason County rules,
> and the Board relies on Mason County to do most of the work involved in
> permitting a project such as building a house. Lake Limerick primarily
> cares
> about its own rules that apply to Lake Limerick, and not to the County
> generally.
>
> This is another reason a "reasonable time" was used. From the time a
> member
> submits a completed building permit application to Mason County, if there
> are no problems, it will take about a month for a permit to be issued. A
> completed County application includes absolutely everything the County
> needs, including detailed building plans and drawings, and so on. This is
> much more than Lake Limerick requires. The member will need to get a
> County
> permit before beginning, anyway. So if the member applies for a Lake
> Limerick permit, a reasonable time under the circumstances would include
> the
> time needed for the member to gather the material he or she needs to also
> apply to the County, and the time the County would need to process its
> permit. Lake Limerick would not be holding the member up from proceeding
> until the member gets a County permit, anyway.
>
Other News and Information
In addition to the community rules, waterfront property owners; i.e., lake and/or stream frontage, must comply with the provisions of the Shoreline Management Act. Waterfront property owners, please remember to contact Mason County before removing trees.
Mason County is responsible for our roads and culverts, please contact them with any questions.
Note: The county requires a permit for repairs and/or replacement of your docks.
Lake Limerick requires permits for temporary structures such as the common metal and canvas carports.