[WSBARP] HOA CC&R enforcement

[Scott Thomas]

HOA with dated covenants was written with restrictions on landscaping
height, and separate view encroachment restrictions.  The landscaping height
restrictions seem fairly straightforward - homeowner merely measures the
height of the vegetation from some fixed datum.  But the view encroachment
restriction has got me to wondering.  The covenants do not identify a
formula or means of determining whether or not a particular view has been
encroached upon.  So property owners and HOA are left to cobble together a
means of enforcing the covenant in those situations in which vegetation is
under the height limitation, but still grows to allegedly obstruct a view.
Determining whether a view has been obstructed, and by how much, can be an
interesting exercise - is it appropriate to "measure" the view from a
particular point of a deck or from a particular point looking out from a
picture window?  Or from a particular viewing height (the taller the
observer, the less obstructed the view)?

 

The HOA has asked me if it is appropriate to delegate the authority to make
these determinations to a committee, and let the committee develop its own
standards, an idea that seems likely to result in arbitrary decisions.  I am
not sure if the HOA is able to make arbitrary decisions without any
guiderails, but I see continued arguments between neighbors in the future.
How have others dealt with these kinds of issues?

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