Bylaw updates and rule changes FAQ

The board will work to post some of the most frequently asked questions and reply to the most frequently responses in this FAQ.

Bylaws

Is there a copy of the original Bylaws?
Copies of the original bylaws are located here.

What is changing in the Bylaws?
A summary of the changes is available here.

Parking

Why doesn’t each unit receive two reserved spaces?
This is a common question that comes up over and over. The cluster has a total of 196 parking spaces. With 90 units that would leave us with 16 guest spaces. Having only 16 guest spaces for 90 units would insure that guest parking would be extremely limited. These extra spaces are also not evenly spread across the community but clustered in a few areas. While it’s true that some households have more than two cars there are households with only one car. By assigning two spaces per unit we wouldn’t efficiently use the spaces we have. The board also surveyed the homeowners several years ago and the result was that two reserved spaces weren’t desired by the majority of the homeowners.

Why are you proposing mandatory parking in reserved spaces?
While most households have two or more cars there are households that only have one. Many of these households choose to not use their reserved space on a regular basis. This is wasteful and prevents other residents and guests from using these unused spaces. The intent is to mandate that residents use their reserved spot. We’re not trying to stop residents from parking in an unreserved spot first so their reserved spot is available for their second vehicle. We’re also not asking residents to move their cars in the middle of the night. The intent is to create rules that allow us to park the maximum number of cars on the property each night.

Why are we considering issuing parking passes?
Due to the number of parking spaces available in the cluster there is no way to create a set of regulations that will prevent all parking issues. In writing these new regulations we are trying to address the worst of the problems. The parking passes are meant to serve two purposes. The first is to limit the total number of vehicles a unit can park on the property to three. We do have occasions where units are parking four or five cars at a time which this will prevent. The passes all will have a serial number that will be matched to a unit’s address. This will help the board members locate the owner of a vehicle that is causing a problem and have them correct it more quickly without the need to ticket and/or tow the vehicle. We really want to tow cars as a last resort. The visitor passes will also allow the Board to better prevent having people use the community parking spaces for long-term parking. Again we understand that this isn’t going to solve every problem but we hope this is a fair solution to prevent the worst offenses.

Can we mandate that visitors are not residents?
The board has no effective way to monitor if a vehicle belongs to a resident or a guest.

Will residents use visitor passes
The board is aware that residents will most likely use visitor passes to park a third vehicle. In many areas of the community residents park three vehicles without a problem. The visitor pass will insure that residents will not use parking for long-term parking where cars are left on the property for weeks at a time while the owners travel or commute to the airport.

Can you issues parking fines?
T
he Home Owners Association is not allowed by law or the deed of covenants to issue fines for parking violations.

Can we regulate parking on Autumn Ridge Circle between the traffic circle and Lake Newport?
This section of road is a public road and is not part of the Summit Chase Cluster. The board has contacted Fairfax County Police, Virginia Department of Transportation, and Fairfax County all of which have declined to add no parking signs on the street.

Is the board going to have a towing company patrol the parking lot at night towing cars?
The board has no plans to have a towing company patrol at night towing cars. As we do it now the board will try to correct issues by talking to residents and ticketing first to try to avoid towing. This is where the parking permits will help us identify the who a car belongs to. There is no one on the board that desires to have a towing company regularly remove cars from the property.