Dear Fellow Neighbors,
We wanted to bring you up to date on our latest
Board initiative; that of reviewing our HOA bylaws and CC&Rs to insure that
they are current, relevant, and still accurately reflect the needs of our
community. When the Blue Angel Lake neighborhood was formed 20 years ago (Oct.
30, 1996), our Articles of Incorporation stated that "This Association is
organized to create an entity to provide for the maintenance and architectural
control of the properties and the residential lots within these properties and
to promote the health, safety and welfare of the residents within the
subdivision".
Getting all to agree and comply with those specified
controls of course is the challenge herein, because we can all have slightly
different interpretations of the rules, or in fact may not be at all aware of
them. In that regard, each of us on the Board has committed to reading through
our HOA bylaws and CC&Rs again thoroughly in order to have a better
understanding of what our guiding principles are and to see what has changed in
twenty years in order to perhaps facilitate any amendments. This is not
strictly a Board function, but one which should involve every home owner, as
ultimately amending any bylaws and CC&Rs will require a majority approval.
Therefore we invite you to read your copy of the bylaws and CC&Rs and
contact any member of the Board on issues that you feel needs to be reviewed.
Jackie Callahan can e-mail you a copy of the bylaws and CC&Rs if you are
unable to locate yours.
Fortunately, forward thinkers on previous Boards
in Blue Angel Lake recognized that the time would come when our bylaws would
need to undergo just such a procedure, and therefore funds have been sitting in
escrow for about 5 years for that very purpose. This is an appropriate time to
address this. We encourage you to become familiar with the bylaws and CC&Rs
and be prepared to meet as a community at a future date to discuss any proposed
amendments that may come up for a vote at our annual meeting in December. In
the mean time you should be aware of some of the most often overlooked or
unknown of the CC&Rs which we have listed below.
1. Article V, Section 1 of our Declaration
(CC&Rs) states that no one may erect any building, wall, fence, mailbox,
shed, pier or any addition to their house without having approval from the
Architectural Committee, currently headed by Mr. Curt Jones.
2. Article VII, Section 5 states that we all must
maintain the exterior of our properties in a neat and sanitary condition.
3. Article VII, Section 6 limits the number of
pets one may have per household.
4. Article VII, Section 14 states that no
trailers, boats, campers or RVs are allowed on the street or on the lot, except
in a closed garage.
5. Article VII, Section 15 reminds us that state
and federal agencies have jurisdiction over common areas of our community,
specifically the 20' buffer surrounding our lake. This area must be maintained
in a natural and unaltered state, and the Association has the obligation to the
Florida Department of Environmental Control and the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers to protect this.
6. Article VII, Section 10 restricts watercraft
in our lake to non-powered vehicles not over 14' in length.
Our governing documents have served us well over
these 20 years and helped us maintain the integrity of our neighborhood.
However, as noted above, the opportunity is before us to review them as a
community to consider any revisions.
Blue Angel Lake has many retirees within our
community, and a number of others with one eye towards that goal. The happiest
retirees, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, are those
who pursue a purposeful life, who volunteer their time, contribute to their
communities, and who foster and maintain a deep connection to family, friends
and the community they reside in. People simply need to be valued and needed.
It's time to focus on our communal kinship and
direct some of our energies toward more positive ventures. To that end, this
Board wishes to recognize those who have already been involved in enhancing our
neighborhood. Thanks go to Lora Jones and the sign committee that she has
recently organized to look at new signage for our front entrance. Thanks also to Michael Clarke who took it
upon himself to brace up the privacy fence along Gulf Beach Highway once the
pressure washing was completed. Thanks as well to Eric Carlson who was seen pressure
washing the blackened curbing at the culvert along Westgate Circle, hundreds of
yards from his own home. Many good things are happening right here in our
neighborhood and committees such as the Landscape Committee, the Lake
Committee, the Architectural Review Committee, the Neighborhood Watch Committee
and other volunteers who do the little things, often which go unrecognized,
show great promise of what our neighborhood can become.
Board of Directors
Blue Angel Lake HOA
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