Meeting – 11/17/13
A regular meeting of the Board was held on Sunday, November 17, 2013 at the office of Board President Bruce Wilson. Present in person and by teleconference were: President Bruce Wilson; Secretary Debbie Director; Treasurer Donnee Ramelli; ARC Head Paul Salditt; and staff member Phyllis Donovan. Property Manager Steve Houston was an invited guest. Vice President Mary Haverback was excused from attending the meeting.
The first order of business was the review and ratification of votes taken by email since the August 29, 2013 meeting. President Bruce Wilson reviewed the votes taken by email with the Board. A vote was taken to ratify the email votes and they were approved.
President Wilson discussed the submitted construction plans for a new home at 28 Harbor Road. ARC Head Paul Salditt confirmed that the plans meet the North Shores construction covenants as submitted. The approval was contingent upon (i) the property owners countersigning the approval letter containing special covenants given the FFA of the house as designed and (ii) the submission of a drainage plan. The Board voted and approved the plans with the recommended requirements.
Plans submitted for 45 Farview Road included the addition of a pool and deck with pile driving. This home is currently under construction. There were no negative comments from the neighbors, and the Board voted to approve the plans. A drainage plan must still be approved.
ARC Head, Paul Salditt asked the Board for permission to contact the architect currently working with the owners of 16 Ocean Drive, plans were recently submitted for construction of a new house. The Board approved his request.
19 Harbor Road recently submitted landscaping plans that included a fence and archway. Board discussion focused on the County’s 30-foot setback requirement and County-imposed limitations the height of the fence within that zone. Current Sussex County code requires fences forward of the setback to be 42 inches or less in height. In addition, North Shores Covenants requires written approval from the adjacent neighbors for fences forward of the established building line of adjacent homes. . ARC Head Paul Salditt, reminded the Board that the covenants require that all structures comply with both Sussex County rules and North Shores covenants. Property Manager Steve Houston cited the relevant section of the county code (115-185) for the Board, stating that fences higher than 42 inches that are forward of the 30 foot setback, require a variance from Sussex County.
After extensive discussion, and in the absence of evidence of either County zoning code compliance or the North Shores requirements for written neighbor consent, the Board voted not to approve the proposed plans. President Wilson will write to the homeowners explaining the reasons for denial and explaining a process for moving toward approval of a modified fence.
Construction fee changes, beginning January 1, 2014 were discussed as the next agenda item. Given the resources being used in the assessment of increasingly complex architectural and landscaping plans, The Board discussed the possibility of an increase to $750.00 from the current $500.00, for major renovations and new home plans submitted for review. Property Manager Steve Houston provided the Board with information about the fees charged in neighboring communities. He also noted that North Shores is zoned ES, environmentally sensitive, but is grandfathered into the AR-1 zoning, requiring drainage plans for construction applications. The Board members noted that over the past few years, construction applications have required more time for review and compliance by the Board and Property Manager, resulting in the need to raise the fees.
President Wilson will include in the winter newsletter a discussion alerting homeowners to the change adopted by the Board to require a $2500.00 refundable damage deposit for major renovation and new construction applications submitted in 2014. This deposit requirement is intended to provide some means to enforce construction rules (imposing fines for violations, and assessing those fines against the deposit) and to protect the community’s property byways and roads from damage during construction. The new deposit requirement will be posted on the North Shores website.
Construction application protocol will now include a letter of receipt to the property owners stating the date the application was considered complete. Secretary Director will work with Office Manager Dion Johnson to develop the letter. This will enable better tracking of construction applications during the 30 day response window set forth in the covenants.
Cardinal Lane drainage was discussed, as well as the suggestion of retaining a consulting firm to evaluate the current conditions of the North Shores drainage and swale system. President Wilson will respond to the request with a letter to the homeowner. Property Manager Steve Houston will develop a drainage plan for the north section of the community along Farview Road, to be implemented in the near future.
Secretary Director and Property Manager Steve Houston reported on the pool house and issues that have developed but should be covered by the general contractor’s one year warranty. Phillip Bradley the pool house general contractor will be informed of any issues that need to be covered by the one year warranty.
President Wilson reviewed a proposal from Tom Bason, the North Shores web site consultant. Language used for the inventory management system for beach equipment needs to be updated. Secretary Director has been working with Tom to develop a solution, and two alternatives were presented in the proposal. President Wilson and Secretary Director both recommended the more narrow solution that would update the inventory system language and have it rely on the office database that was updated last year. It was agreed that the broader proposal to update the entire website should be evaluated and considered in the future.
Treasurer Donnee Ramelli reported that the owners of the Rehoboth/Dewey Beach “Jolly Trolley” service had contacted him with the possibility of a shuttle service between downtown Rehoboth and North Shores on a trial basis for the summer of 2014. The Board discussed the preliminary proposal for a service that would operate primarily along Ocean Drive, as a pilot program, on Friday and Saturday evenings. The Board members were not in favor of a daytime service, as that might encourage public trespass on the North Shores beach. But for an evening service, the Board was favorably inclined to consider the possibility, and was inclined to respond favorably to the initial contact, confirming that the Board would be prepared to entertain a specific proposal. Treasurer Ramelli will continue to engage in discussion with the owners of the trolley.