Last Friday (7/29/2022) I went to the clubhouse to check to see if it was accessible as I had been hearing from my neighbors over the last month that they were not able to gain access to the shared amenity either. This does not include the fitness room, that is still accessible. I wanted to meet up with some neighbors to conduct a discussion about help topics for BBCW as I’ve been hard at work to grow the program in our community. While I don’t mind hosting meetings at my house, it’s not ideal as seating is limited and the goal is to get as many Bridgeberry residents onboard as possible to make the program a success. We all contribute to the costs for this facility through our ongoing HOA fees as well as the one time capital contribution we made when we purchased our Bridgeberry property. There was no announcement or email that went out to inform of the revoked access or reason for it, nor an opportunity for homeowners to be heard on the change of policy/access to the clubhouse (§ 47F-3-107.1). This decision by the Board, and the capricious nature in which it was carried out, seems to go against the Planned Communities Act, and there did not seem to be any due process or effort to identify and fine the people responsible for the reported damage.
I emailed Elite Management to inquire as to the reason for the denied access and was told this (at the time of this writing):
Good Morning,
Clubhouse access was restricted for only rentals per the board’s decision. I will bring this to the board to see about opening it back up, at least for various periods. We have reported a good bit of damage by leaving it open, but will revisit this. The gym should always be open.
Regards,
Nick Ruden
Community Manager
Elite Management Professionals, AAMC
4112 Blue Ridge Road Suite 100
Raleigh NC 27612
Phone – 919-233-7660 x 218
Fax – 919-233-7661
I fully support fining others who are causing damage to the facility, and there are cameras all over the place. It is not right or fair to revoke access for those who are following the rules and taking care of the place, as they should, we all pay for this. They have records of people who enter, by time and date. They also have video footage from all of the cameras on the site – so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find the bad actors, and revoke their access. This “total ban” stinks of laziness on the Board’s part. Many neighbors agree that this total ban is unwarranted, and that Management should be doing what is needed to identify the people who aren’t following the rules, or are causing damage to the place and revoke only their access, instead of punishing the whole of Bridgeberry owners. There are those of us who would like to be able to use the facility for legitimate and neighborly purposes which shouldn’t require a rental contract, but rather the names and addresses of designated responsible parties only. Such examples of neighborly and legitimate purposes include but are not limited to:
- Playing cards
- BBCW meetings
- A place to read a book, or study away from home
- Neighborly socials (one or more persons in such a social group could/should agree to hold responsibility by written document on file with EM) and ensure all parties clean up before leaving
This document was posted just 2 days prior to the day I checked access to the clubhouse. If these were meeting minutes from April, and that’s when a policy was changed, then they are seriously riding the edge of the law as provided by § 47F-3-107.1 of the Planned Communities Act by not exercising due process & communicating such change in a timely manner. This is very sloppy and they should be called out for it.
As a Bridgeberry homeowner, and joint contributor to this amenity, I am asking EM and the HOA Board to reconsider its decision on the total ban and to actually perform the discovery using its surveillance and access control system to actually identify who is responsible for the reported damage, and to appropriately levy fines against such parties, instead of punishing the entire community. That would be the right thing to do.
I would encourage future potential buyers of any new Bridgeberry homes to press Taylor Morrison, their sales associates, and the HOA/Elite Management about this issue. It isn’t right.
John I/we completely agree. I’ll have to reread the bylaws but I am surprised the board can make decisions with out communicating the item for consideration and before entertaining votes/by in from the HOA members. If that is not the case and the board can do as they please then we should seek to replace the board with community members.
Otherwise yes the clubhouse should be available to the community for shared use and those who are responsible should be fined.
Gil I took a quick look at the bylaws today after it was brought up that such changes did not seem to be provided for in the bylaws. There is however, a section in the Planned Communities Act in NC, which seems to provide for some due process that should be carried out on suspension of privileges and/or fines. I updated the article with links to that section. bylaws or not, the association and Board are required to adhere to the PCA.
Community volunteers to man a table during open hours? Just to be extra eyes. Greet people?
More like a designated host.
The fact that the clubhouse was denied access to the residents without a proper explanation is an example of poor performance of our HOA. If there are cameras installed on the property, the damage should have been investigated and addressed to the residents involved with the issue. Why the rest of the residents have to pain the price for the people who do not know how to respect our property. We were informed that there was a broken window in the clubhouse. How irresponsible you have to be to treat a property of others like it does not mean anything. HOA meeting is a must to discuss this type of issues. No one should tolerate these type of behavior.