Who to contact about a neighbor's design submission?

Who should I contact if I am concerned that my neighbor has some unsightly 'art work' on their deck? This may very well have been approved but it is quite an eye sore and I can't imagine this follows Broadlands design guidelines.

The design guidelines state that "art work may be required to be screened by natural vegetation and/or landscaping" but I am wondering if weeds and dried out plants count since you can see right through them. Are there any rules about leaving an abundance of dead plants/trees sit on your property?

 

Have you talked to your neighbor to let them know how you feel about their choice of art and or lanscaping, or lack there of it.

I for one would be pretty unhappy if my neighbor went straight to the HOA instead of telling me they had issues with my property. That is how little bickering wars start.

And as for the dead plants and trees, how bad is it really? In this, one of the dryest summers in recent memories I can see how some landscaping is not getting the water it needs. And as for watering it themselves...some people have serious issues with wasting water to make their lawns look pretty, especially while the "green spaces" that VM upkeeps still look browner than anyones yard that I have seen.

 

Well I have never met them before and would hate to introduce myself with a complaint. They do water their grass and other plants on their property (and those look fine), so I know that they aren't due to lack of attention. Some of the plants have been dead since the winter and I'm not sure that they will be coming back to life any time soon. I don't want to make a huge deal over it, just wanted to know if I could check and see if their design was approved- if so, great, nothing for me to worry about!

 

You can call Wes to see if what they have displayed required an application or not. If it is something that needs further review, you could talk to the Modifications Subcommittee members to find out what can (if anything) be done.

 

You could do what Donna said. But what if that turns into them getting a notice from the hoa even before you talked to them. And about not knowing them and not wanting to introduce yourself with a complaint, I understand that. But my feeling on it is 2 things. If you dont know them and dont have any plans to know them then would it matter what that thought about you introducing yourself with a complaint. If you dont know them and want to you could always go introduce yourself and say something along the lines of "We noticed you have "so and so" done on your deck. My spouse and I are thinking about doing something similar, did you need to get HOA approval for that. Was it hard to get the HOA approval for that...etc..etc...

But just my 2 cents.

 

I would also say that perhpas they have not had the moola to replace the dead plants.

 

Without knowing any specifics, artwork (whatever it may be) on a deck does not typically require HOA approval as almost all decks are located in the rear yard. As for landscapping, if it was required in the approval process, then it will have to be replaced if dead.

Also, "screening" does NOT imply complete obstruction. Screening is to soften the view/impact of a structure.

 

Hmmm, sounds like this is probrobly just a case of personal preference on apperance so we'll just deal with it. No big deal...

 

Welllll, in most cases it would be as such, but as I said, not seeing/knowing what the "art object" is makes it difficult to even guess.

If it is some monstrous, visually dominating piece then the Modification Sub-Committee could look into it.

 

Near where I used to live in Arlington there is a person who has a 40 foot wodden sculpture of a naked woman with her arms outstreched. It is a nice peice but a little odd to have in the front yard.

Its nothing like that is it?

 

Yikes- that sounds pretty bad. Not quite that unique, but along those same lines of lawn ornaments, fountains, etc. I just drove around front just to scope things out. I thought our view was rough... now I feel bad for whoever lives across from them!

 

If I remember right, anything in the way of 'lawn ornaments' or statues have to be approved by the Modifications Subcommittee.

I would contact the HOA office just to let them take a look to see if there is a violation.