Pre-Deck requirements

I've been through the requirements of what the HOA modification committee needs as far as putting a deck on my house. Is there not a printable version of the form available? I don't want to mail a letter to someone requesting it...In this day and age, i can't imagine it's not available in PDF format.
How long does this process take? I know the subcommittee meets twice a month, and i want to get on their scheduled as soon as i can after i select the deck guy. Any help or suggestions from those who have been through the process are appreciated!

 

try here: http://www.broadlandshoa.org/info/designguides/designguides.htm

you can drop your completed application off at the nature center office

 

Things, in my experience, are approved very quickly by our HOA.

 

The next meeting is April 18th submission is required by noon on the 13th. If you want something later then that you can look in the newsletter for the dates. the blank forms are located at the bottom of the HOA design guidlines page. If you go to the main HOA page and click on HOA design guidlines on the right hand side it is at the bottom of that page but here is the link
http://www.broadlandshoa.org/info/designguides/designguides.htm

Staci

 

this is just my advice, but from the feedback that I have heard and gotten myself, the better organized and well laid out your plans are, the better off you will be with your application having no hiccups, such as photographs of the project area, samples of materials (and colors) - and I mean sample pictures of the products like Trex etc. Just go to the websites of the products you are using and get pictures of the products you are using. For a townhouse deck this is probably not necessary, but if you use an unusual design and material then it might be.

I think a copy of your Plat with a hand-drawn scale picture is a good idea and make sure to get colors included if you plan to stain (natural wood) or descriptions if you are going with Trex etc. And woopity, you are such an awesome contributor to the boards too, I would be happy to share any one of the many submissions I have done as an example...

Also, think about the county submission as well. If you do the application yourself, that could be a good savings. Ask the contractor if he does it and how much he charges for the permit. But you can do it for under $100, at least last time I did it last year at the courthouse in Leesburg.

 

Thanks!
i didn't scroll far enough down the page to see the applications! I will definitely be prepared with pictures and all that. i will be selecting a deck builder this weekend, so will be prepared on Monday to submit! Thanks much.

 

Can i pose another question to anyone who knows? Is there a county law that states how far the deck needs to be from the property line?
According to HOA regulations, with my style townhouse, i can have a 26 x 12 deck--the 12 being out from the house. However, looking down the row of houses that already have deck, they all seem to line up nicely at a point that is 10 feet from my house. some of them come out 12...some out 10, depending on how their house sits. Just curious if i'll be restricted by the property line behind me.

Curse you property line...and curse that blue tree i see over at glory days

 

If your neighbors decks were built by the builder they tend to be smaller then what the HOA allows. Also does the back of your townhouse line up with the back of the others. We live in a townhouse too and alot of times the builder stagers where the back ends to give each home more "privacy".
There is a county law that requires you to be so far from the property line but I do not remmeber what it is. Here is the zoning hotline they should be able to tell you exactly what those requirements are 703-777-0118.

Staci

 

As Staci says - there is a county requirement/law that controls how close you go to the property line. Call that number to confirm, or you can go to the courthouse and ask directly. I also took my plans there and had them "review" them first to make sure I got it right and they took a very careful look at how close I was to the property lines on all sides. I think the answer is different for townhouse vs SFH. Good luck.

 

FWIW ... you do need to have a copy of the lot plat with your application. If I remember right, just before I left the Committee was talking about not reviewing any application without a plat showing the location of the modification.

In the case of a townhouse this may seem like a weird request, but because each townhouse area is different, deck sizes are also different, as are other requirements.