Project Approved Signs for Approved Projects - A Good Idea for HOAs?
A homeowners association in Colorado Springs is installing "Project Approved" signs in the front yards of approved construction projects. The sign goes up as soon as the project starts, and is taken down upon completion. The idea is to reduce calls on whether a construction project is approved and reduce the problem of people constructing without approval. "If folks get used to seeing the signs, they’ll immediately know when they see illegal construction. No sign? No HOA approval." See http://www.gazette.com/news/hoa-61463-maybe-calls.html
What do you think? Good idea? Will this help your association crack down on unapproved installations?
Genesee Foundation does that already for Genesee Village... Doesn't really help with the homeowners doing things without approval but it surely makes inspections easier as you know who your ARC has signed off on or not....
As a director I am usually unaware of ARC apptovals until the monthly board packet. Using such signs might remind potential offenders to file an ARC. Additionally it might engage homeowners to help watch for unapproved projects.
We actually did this at an HOA as far back as 1982, and it worked great. It did, in fact, do everything you said. As soon as somebody did something without a sign, we'd get a call, and that enabled us to stop the unauthorized action before it got too far along.
Seems like a straightforward communication approach. Clever.
I think it's a reasonable tool for associations comprised of individual homes. My community involves many buildings with multi-family condominium units. We certainly don't want those signs sprouting up all over the hundreds of units in our community!