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Dear Neighbors, A few years back the board was informed our By-Laws and Declaration were not in order. It appears over the years a newer version By-Laws was improperly filed with the county, as well as changes to the Declaration were made without keeping proper records of these changes. Building of homes in the neighborhood began in the 1970’s. A lot has changed since then. State laws have been updated regarding Community Association regulations and technology has changed ways to assist communities better document and regulate their own associations. To remedy these issues the board started reviewing the original By-Laws and Declarations, and has sent out to surveys asking residents to get a consensus of desired updates. We have been working with our lawyers to incorporate residents wishes and properly update both documents for a while. The board (current and past members) has spent a lot of time getting these documents to a point where we feel the updated documents will benefit Bay Hills as a community moving forward. A notice from Victory Management about the proposed updates to these documents has just been sent out prior to receiving this notice from us. There will be a time period for Bay Hills residents to review the documents, a Q&A meeting, and after the vote we can finally record our By-Laws and Declaration properly. Changes you’ll note are: 1. Fiscal year will begin January 1st . This will be in line with businesses working on a quarterly basis. A grace period for dues will go through April 1st with late fees imposed 15 days later. There are state rules we must follow on fees and dues. These are noted in the document. This will also assist our community to properly gage due payments and update our accounting in a timely manner. 2. Technology changes have occurred. Though not really needed to be indicated, we have put in the documents that meetings can be held through video conference and other means that may arise over time. This will help with any future issues where board members can’t meet in person and prevent continually postponing a monthly meeting. Virtual meetings are common today and help board members who travel or have family obligations preventing them from attending meetings in person. 3. Enactment of Community Association Architectural regulation updates. This follows norms in community associations, and has guidance from the state and allows changes/updates without going back for a total change to the By-Laws. Adding architectural regulation updates follow community association norms and was noted in the recent survey. This was one area where a majority of residents approved adding this to our By-Laws. Also with modern document filing, we’ll have these updates stored electronically for all residents to review more easily. 4. Our current By-Laws and Declaration do not state any means for the Community Association enforce rules and regulations. As an example, if someone let their grass grow 20 inches and we have a rule stating grass needs to kept a certain length, there wasn’t a way for the HOA to deal with this. Adding fines for failing to follow community association regulations was noted in the recent survey and this was one area where a majority of residents approved adding this to our By-Laws. 5. Reserve Study – After a catastrophe in Florida where a condominium building collapsed many states have imposed requirements for community associations to conduct reserve studies and properly fund a reserve. In Maryland this law, also known as Bill 107 or the “capital reserve fund,” law was passed in 2022. This needs to be added and agreed on. These are the main points of the updated documents. Feel free to review the documents and if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me or other board member at any time. Such changes to home owner association By-Laws and Declarations takes a majority of the community to approve, so it is imperative you participate in these updates. My hope is that any question submitted prior to the designated community meeting will be addressed with Q&A feedback to the neighborhood prior to the meeting so we can conclude these updates in one try. I appreciate your patience during this time and hope we can update the By-Laws and Declaration in one review. Edward Dawson President, Bay Hills Community Association
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