As you may have observed at most of this year’s board meetings, a considerable amount of attention has been given to drainage concerns in Summerfield. In addition to working with neighboring businesses and subdivisions to resolve littered and overgrown vegetation in our swales, the BOD has also mapped all our drains/catch basins and assigned caretakers to ensure they are free from debris so that flood water can leave our streets and yards as quickly as possible.
The previous administration “voted and approved…a prohibition on the expansion of driveways” with exceptions for handicap accessible vehicles and indicated driveway expansions using pervious materials would be considered on a case by case basis.
The majority of the current board, considering advice from local paving experts, believes that limiting potential driveway expansions to pervious materials is a mistake, since pervious materials do not stay pervious for long as dirt and grime quickly fill the voids, which also becomes unsightly.
In addition, we heard numerous homeowner complaints that rejection of proposed projects involving impervious surfaces seemed too arbitrary, with no clear standard for how a project might or might not be approved. It was with this in mind that the BOD unanimously approved the implementation of a uniform standard that would apply to all homeowners equally. That standard, often referred to as the “5% rule,” grants each homeowner 5% of their total property’s square footage for impervious surface projects such as swimming pools, driveways, patios and concrete slabs for sheds, etc.
Hearing more recent concerns from a homeowner that this rule is too restrictive, the BOD will be reviewing the current policy and welcomes additional feedback from homeowners. As it has been implied that no homeowners would be allowed to install a swimming pool under the current policy, the BOD wishes to clarify that this is not the case. Only six homeowners have exceeded their 5% allotment for impervious surface projects and not all properties within Summerfield are too small to add a pool with their 5% allotment. It should also be noted that NO homeowner projects involving impervious surfaces have been completed this year and no requests to install in-ground swimming pools have yet been received.
The board welcomes and takes into consideration our community’s input on how to best implement policies and protections at minimal expense and with minimal intrusion into the lives of our members.