INTRODUCTION
Covenants and residential standards were instituted in the early stages of development of the Lochmere community and every property owner is required to adhere to the stipulations and guidelines contained in the documents. The primary purpose of the covenants and residential standards was to maintain and enhance the appearance of Lochmere by assuring that any newly added appurtenances, as well as basic changes to the property, were evaluated and approved consistent with the overall intent of the covenants. Every homeowner is to be provided with a copy of the covenants and standards by their attorney at the closing of their home.
The formality of the covenants and standards often makes them difficult to read and understand. None of us has the time nor desire to labor over legal wording, so the primary purposes of this document are:
1) Provide, in summary form, a net of the most frequently encountered appurtenances, with a summary of the directions that we, the management of the association, are taking in regard to each, particularly where the covenants leave degrees of freedom for the evaluation of a homeowner's request. It is to be hoped that, this summary will help in the interpretation and understanding of the reasons for the existence of specific things covered in the covenants.
2) Provide guidelines for the homeowner as to what things must be covered in the documented request for approval and explain the rationale for the need for the detailed data.
3) Provide a summary of the process and timing for the evaluation of homeowner requests
Obviously, this document is intended as an aid in the understanding of the fundamentals contained in the covenants and residential standards and in no way supplants the formal documents; it is those that must be adhered to and represent the final word.