20.70.160 OA-01 – Owner association standards.
This owner association standards (OA) section applies to the following types of development:
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A. Applicability. The following regulations apply to any development with common area, private streets, shared parking, amenity centers, shared or private utilities, community retention pond, and the like.
B. Legal Mechanism for Long-Term Maintenance.
1. Perpetuity. An owners association shall be created in perpetuity in order to make decisions about and to maintain all common property or facilities.
2. Organization Options. An owners association may be a legally incorporated entity or other legal mechanism which provides shared ownership or shared responsibility in common property or facilities. A board of directors or other means for representation in decision making shall be established.
3. Recording of Legal Mechanism. The legal mechanism binding all property owners or vested parties shall be recorded with the County Recorder as being assigned to each applicable property.
4. Declaration of Covenants. Covenants may be utilized to further restrict improvements and uses in the development. The declaration of covenants shall be recorded in the office of the County Recorder following final approval of the development and prior to selling a lot, parcel or condominium unit. A cross reference to the recorded declaration of covenants instrument shall be recorded on the deed for every lot, parcel, condominium unit, or other applicable division of ownership within the development.
5. Commitments or Conditions of Approval. Any covenant language that resulted as a developer commitment or condition of approval by the County shall be included in the covenants or other legal document, and shall be clearly denoted as nonamendable by the owners association.
6. Association Fee. An association fee or other financial mechanism shall be included in the legal mechanism and be equal to the financial needs of the owners association to maintain common property or facilities, and to accumulate a reserve account for long-term large expenditures, emergencies, and contingencies.
C. Contractual Obligation. The developer shall not enter into any contractual relationship on behalf of the owners association prior to transitioning control to local lot or unit owners that exceeds a period of one (1) year. Once the owners association is under the lot or unit owners’ control, the renewal of such a contract shall be at the discretion of the owners association.
D. Required Language. The following language is required in the legal mechanism when applicable:
1. Street Lighting. When street lighting is voluntarily installed or required to be installed, the County shall not now or in the future be obligated to accept the lights as public property, nor shall the County bear any financial responsibility for operation or maintenance.
2. Snow Removal. When private streets are installed, the County shall not now or in the future be obligated to provide snow removal service on streets within the development. If snow removal is desired, the owners association shall use its own resources to maintain streets free from snow.
3. Private Streets. When private streets are voluntarily installed or required to be installed, the County shall not now or in the future be obligated to accept the private streets as public property, nor shall the County bear any financial responsibility for maintenance or replacement.
4. Private Sidewalks. When sidewalks are voluntarily installed or required to be installed outside of a right-of-way, the County shall not now or in the future be obligated to accept the sidewalks as public property, nor shall the County bear any financial responsibility for maintenance or replacement.
5. Landscaping. When landscaping is voluntarily installed or required to be installed in common area, easements, or right-of-way, the owners association shall be responsible for maintaining the plant material in healthy condition, removing dead or diseased vegetation, and/or replacing landscaping, as necessary.
6. Vegetation in Right-of-Way. Once right-of-way is platted, the County gains ownership of the area within the right-of-way and retains the right to reasonably trim or remove any tree or shrub impeding vehicular or pedestrian flow, or that is diseased, or that is necessary in order to perform public improvements within the right-of-way, regardless if the owners association is assigned financial, maintenance, or replacement responsibility.
E. Enforcement. Failure of the owners association to maintain an effective legal mechanism for maintaining common property or facilities shall be subject to Chapter 20.100 JCC, Enforcement. [Ord. 12-27-11 § 7.16.]