Read the document here : BVA Final Rules Committee Report to the BVA Board
Note, comments will be closed 1/15/23. Comments are now closed
20 thoughts on “Final Rules Committee Report – Dec 2022 – comments are now closed”
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These rules are fair and very well thought out. I would support their adoption as presented.
No comment. Rules as stated in the report make sense.
Bill Lehnert
Birches CC1
1) II 4. “Pool Area” should be defined. Dogs should not be allowed, either leashed or not, in the grassy area around the pool, between pool and tennis courts, and between pool and playgrounds. Little kids run around those areas and not all owners/guests are diligent in cleaning up after dogs and put the kids at risk.
2) II 9. Add to the guidelines that loud music not be played from decks, even during “non-quiet” times.
3) IV 2. Since BPS collects the garbage, and most condo associations have wood doors on their garbage areas which are neither bear proof nor are the garbage cans in them bear proof, it is not practical to require all outdoor storage be bear proof or in bear proof containers. I would also add that it is recommended that garbage not be put out until the morning of pickup (which infers that BPS not pick up garbage before 9am).
4) IV 4. Many condo associations have changed their outside lighting prior to these rules. It is not fair that those that expended funds now be made to redo lights if not compliant. This should be on a “going forward” basis only and all current lighting grandfathered.
Hello BVA board,
Thank you so much for all you do for our wonderful village and homes! I had one concern about the Rules specified:
Index/Section III, line-item number three (3) states: “Members who rent must provide emergency contact information to BPS as well as for a nearby party
for each term of occupancy. Members may designate a property manager or rental agency as an
emergency contact.”
For those BVA members who rent on weekends and holidays I am concerned this will require too much manual work to provide BPS the schedule of rentals when the emergency contact will likely be the same person throughout the course of the rental season. It may be more useful to collect a yearly emergency contact for each property that plans to rent regardless of of often or when they rent.
Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to the clarity of our BVA rental rules.
In Section III – Rental Standards & Rules it states “Members who rent must provide emergency contact information to BPS as well as for a nearby party FOR EACH TERM OF OCCUPANCY.” I agree on the concept of a registry of homeowners who rent and the need for BVA/BPS to have emergency contact information for the homeowner or property manager (whichever is appropriate based on the rental platform the homeowner uses). But the aspect of collecting it “for each term of occupancy” does not make sense to me. Why is this even needed and how would it be used? Individual rental occupants do not change the homeowner’s emergency contact. Collecting this information would be a difficult process, and it is not clear what the need is. Let’s start with the registry and get that important information set-up; that is the prime objective. If we find with experience in the future that somehow the schedule of occupancy is needed, then we can discuss what other specific details are needed and whether the effort to collect it is worthwhile.
In Section III. Rental Standards & Rules it states “Members who rent must provide emergency contact information to BPS AS WELL AS FOR A NEARBY PARTY for each term of occupancy.” What is meant by providing the contact information to “BPS as well as for a nearby party”???
Regarding Proposed Ruling 8: This should be clarified as to the meaning of “firearms” which (in my opinion) should include any type of “gun” which propels any substance other than water out of it. My purpose is to include pellet, B-B guns etc. in the rule.
Regarding Rules Committee Rule #8 – Discharge of firearms:
This needs to be clarified to define firearms to include items such as air guns and BB guns.
If the intent of the BVA is to amend the current Rules in our Declaration and By-laws with these new rules and standards with just a vote of the Trustees of the Board , I believe we will be in violation of our Decleration and By-laws.
In “Amendments to By-Laws requiring Approval by members”, it states amendment of these by-laws shall require approval by the members of the association as provided in Artical XIV. Artical XIV has two parts.
A ) Amendment of Bylaws by trustees, The board of Trustees of the association may , by majority of a quorum of Board members , propose amendments to these bylaws for consideration and adoption at any annual or special meeting of the association.
B) Ratification of Amended Bylaws by Members, states, The members may ratify , approve and adopt amendments to the bylaws by the Trustees by a vote of two thirds of the votes or a majority of the voting power of the members at a duly called Special or Annual meeting whichever is less.
So, it appears our Declaration requires a majority vote to amend the current rules which are part of our bylaws,’ which would mean that the Board of Trustees will need to propose these new rules and standards to the association membership at a Annual or Special meeting in order to Ratify the new rules.
Anouther comment under Rule 1 Water leaking/ infiltration for thoese homeowners that have gas or oil fireed boilers you do not want to turn off your water in the winter. If the boiler has a leak and calls for more water and “it is shut off ” the boiler will shut down and cause a freeze up. It happened at Sugar Creek a few years ago and the damage to the boiler and all the pipes in the condo was extensive and Costly. If you have electric heat then you can turn the water off.
The live Tree Cutting Standard states, Except as may be necessary for clearing an area for buildings, structures and driveways, ” NO STONE WALLS” or live trees greater than four inches is diameter at a height of three feet from the natural ground level , shall be cut destroyed or removed and no change shall be made in the natural character of Bromley Village without prior written approval of the Architectural Panel. I don’t think “Stone walls” belongs in the tree cutting standard.
Lastly it should be noted that these Rules and Standards apply to the Bromley Village Association Common Areas across the Village and provide standards guidance for the natural character of Bromlay Village . They “do not ” usurp the Declaration and ByLaws of the 18 COA’s which have rules associated with their individual Associations.
“In Conclusion”, you indicate that the Board of Trustees from time to time may update/ edit the Rules and standards. The current BVA Declaration / By-laws has a one page set of rules.If these are to be amended or discarded and replaced with the Proposed new Rules, Artical XIV “Amendments of the By-laws says that The Board of Trustees of the association by quorum of the members, Propose amendments to the By-laws for consideration and adoption at any annual or special meeting of the Association. Ratification of the Amended By-Laws proposed by the Trustees is required by a two-thirds vote of the members of the Association. I believe the Board will have to get the Membership to vote on these changes or the exsisting ones will pervail.
BVA Rules 1 Water leaking indicates ” or Turn off the water to the unit as a option. If you have a oil/gas fired boiler that is not a good idea. Potential Freeze up of the Boiler and Unit.
Live Tree Cutting first paragraph indicate NO STONE Walls or live trees greater then four inchs may be cut, STONE WALLS ???
IT should be noted that These Rules apply to the BVA Common Areas, Standards apply to the expected behaviors and general aesthetics of the Village. They do not usurp any Rules in the 18 COA’s individual Declaration and By-Laws.
BVA Rules 1 Water leaking indicates “or Turn Off the water to the unit” as an option. If you have a oil or gas fired boiler that is not a good idea. Potential freeze up of the boiler if it callas for water and it is turned off.
Live Tree Cutting first Paragraph indicate NO STONE walls or live trees greater than four inches may be cut. “STONE WALLS ” ?????
It should be noted that These rules apply to the BVA Common Areas, Standards apply to the expected behaviors and general aesthetics of the village. They do not usurp any rules in the 18 COA’s individual Declaration and By- Laws.
Simple answer to Raymond Ziegler
Because we want to know who is occupying our building
David Munro
Bennington House
Thank you to the Rules Commitee for job well done. I would ask that consideration be given to make an addition to Bromley Village Rules #6 -Parking.
The driveway, parking lot and associated spaces in each BVA condominium area (COA) and private home are for the sole use of the resident owners, invited guests and registered renters of that COA or private home. Vehicle parking or idling for the purpose of drop off or pickup up, to/from the mountain is not permitted in these private areas and should be confined to Bromley community roads/parking areas.
John Kayola/Dorset House
I apologize for all the inputs that are about the same. Each time a tried to post I got a response Saying “your comment is awaiting Moderation “. When I checked afterword there was nothing posted so I assumed my word content was too high. So I tried two more times cutting down the wording. My first post on 12 /19 covers all my concerns.
Thank you all for your work on this and your work on the BVA board in general. The only comment I have is regarding lighting.
Exterior motion lights are easily triggered by wind and if snow it piled up around the light it can also trigger the light. This can cause the exterior light to go on an off all night. Is there a way that we could stipulate that after a certain hour at night, or when the unit is vacant that exterior motion sensitive lights are shut off at the interior switch?
Thank you for your consideration.
Pat
Good morning. just checking to see if the comments i sent earlier this week were received. I don’t see them listed and was wondering if I failed to forward the properly?
Hey Dick – Moriarty here – I have to approve the comments and I was delayed in doing so, Sorry about that.
Yes John – I have to review the comments and I was a bit delayed. Thanks for you comments.
I would agree with with John Kayola’s parking suggestion to rule #6:
“Thank you to the Rules Commitee for job well done. I would ask that consideration be given to make an addition to Bromley Village Rules #6 -Parking.
The driveway, parking lot and associated spaces in each BVA condominium area (COA) and private home are for the sole use of the resident owners, invited guests and registered renters of that COA or private home. Vehicle parking or idling for the purpose of drop off or pickup up, to/from the mountain is not permitted in these private areas and should be confined to Bromley community roads/parking areas.”
All rules in the BVA Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions should be listed verbatim in any rules document. These rules may only be changed/altered with 67% of existing members’ approval.
Renters should only be granted access to the BVA common areas with 67% approval of existing members. The term “Guest” is frequently used but not defined. It should be defined and distinguished from a “renter” (i.e., the owner is present versus absent). Guest access to common areas should be considered with limitations and not guaranteed as guest access should always respect an owner’s right to use the common areas. (For example, in years past, a limited supply of guest passes was made available to owners for their guest use of the pool, which effectively ensured owner accessibility).
The CC&R must be adhered to with regard to rentals. Per the existing BVA CC&R:
If a Unit is made available for rental, the Owner of the Unit must post a copy of the Association’s Rules inside the Unit. A rental agency responsible for rentals must agree to comply with the Rules and shall be responsible for informing each renter thereof and correcting a breach of a Rule by Persons renting through its agency. If an agency or Unit Owner does not take corrective action against a renter that it, he or she has contracted with or refuses to cooperate with the Association in the enforcement of its Declaration, Bylaws and Rules, the Association may require the Owner to cease using the services of that rental agency and, if the Owner does not so cease, the Owner may be subject to fines.
Rental agencies such as VACASA and AIRBnB do not know our rules and have consistently failed to comply with them and should not be allowed to be used. The BVA board or an assigned committee should compile a list of approved rental agencies that can clearly demonstrate an ability to comply with the BVA CC&R as well as individual HOA rules and can also demonstrate an ability to properly oversee rentals through their agencies. Similarly, a list of agencies not allowed to be used should also be compiled. These lists need to be regular reviewed and updated. The goal should be to grow the list of approved agencies.
There are plenty of existing rules. The issue over the last several years has been the lack of any enforcement, in particular with regard to rentals. An enforcement committee should be put together. The following from the CC&R should put all of this in perspective:
The Bromley Village Association, Inc., a Vermont non-profit corporation, was established for the purpose, among others, to own, manage, operate, repair and maintain the Common Areas and Facilities at Bromley Village; provide services for the benefit of its members; ensure that the appearance of improvements to be constructed at Bromley Village are compatible with the design of other improvements and in compliance with the Original Declarant’s master plan for Bromley Village and to enforce the provisions of the Original Declaration, as duly amended, including this Amended and Restated Declaration of Protective Covenants of Bromley Village.
There are a couple of Vermont laws that are worth highlighting that pertain to some of the comments and proposed rules:
Vermont has a vehicle idling law. I don’t think it is necessary to narrow it to drop-offs/pickups.
In the state of Vermont, composting is mandatory, meaning that all food scraps and organic waste must be placed in a compost bin instead of being thrown in the trash. Not throwing food scraps in the garbage should eliminate the need to bear-proof outside trash as there should be nothing in the trash to attract bears. Under this law, those that rent their units also have certain obligations to meet if they want to rent:
a. Subscribe to a food scrap pick-up service
b. Ensure the renters bring food scraps to a drop-off,
c. Set up a backyard compost system (for those in homes) or solar digesters for renters, or
d. Require renters to make an independent plan to manage their food scraps
separate from the trash and confirm that this happens.