A New Season by the Architectural Review Committee

We are fortunate to live in one of the more beautiful and spacious townhome communities in Northern Virginia. We have well-designed, efficient homes, spacious common areas, proximity to good schools, shopping and public transportation and a low crime rate. Compared to other townhome communities built in the 70s or even more recent communities, Leewood is far superior. The cost of our homes has skyrocketed because our neighborhood is in such a desirable location.

Leewood was built to resemble a Williamsburg type, colonial community. Over the years various board and committees (particularly ARC and Grounds and Maintenance) as well as every individual homeowner has worked to maintain this ambience, sometimes with greater success than others. We can all do our part to help the neighborhood retain its character and be well-maintained.

We now have a newly revitalized ARC. We all hate to receive a notice from the ARC about a problem with our home. Rather than viewing a notice as a burden, a few easy steps can make this an easy process and protect our homes from damage. Communicate with the ARC at PO Box 1421, Springfield, VA 22151 or by email at arc@leewood.us about the problem. Communication in writing avoids misunderstandings. If you don’t understand the item needing repair, obtain more information. Let the ARC know when repairs will be made or any extenuating circumstances delaying or preventing the repair. Good and prompt communication avoids escalation to the next level – enforcement.

Following are a few but not all of the common problems cited by the ARC:

• overgrown shrubs and bushes
• changes in exterior colors or facade without approval (more later)
• incorrect installation of fences (in 1999 we made it so that all new fencing and gates had to be double fenced or have the good side facing out)
• deteriorating or broken shutters
• peeling paint
• objects such as toys, ladders, trash bins, and buckets left in front or side yard of house for more than 24 hours or still there
• dumping in the common area

Our Covenants state that any changes to the exteriors of our homes from the original appearance require ARC approval. If you plan any exterior color changes to trim, gutters, doors, shutters; changes to style of door or storm door, windows or facade; installation of decorative ornaments; changes in walks or stoops; house numbers or plaque position or types; landscaping; sheds, please request advice from the ARC before making the change. Remember this list is not all inclusive so please consult your Standards.

Don’t wait for an ARC notice. Periodically inspect your own house and make repairs before damage is done and repairs are more costly. We each have a copy of the ARC standards and should consult them as we inspect our homes. If in doubt, ask the ARC before changes or repairs are made. Remember the most up to date manual is always on the website as are the change pages.

The Board and the ARC look forward to working with you to keep our neighborhood an excellent place to live and play.

ARC Committee

We are trying a grand experiment with ARC. We have volunteers for each of the geographic areas of Leewood and they will be responsible for their areas. They are like mayors of that area, in that although they have some independence in answering correspondence, etc. – they still must answer to the ARC committee as a whole and to the board. You are able to email your “mayor” through email addresses listed on the website or by regular mail. Make any correspondence ATTN: ARC and then you can further narrow it down by your geographic area. That is usually your street name, but Leestone Street is divided into two. We have Lower Leestone – that is the area as you come in off of Backlick Road before the jog (right hand turn) in the street. Leestone Street then continues up to the circle area as you turn left. That part of Leestone Street is called Upper Leestone.

Forms for ARC changes may be found at the back of your Standards manual, they were in your welcome packet, and are posted on the website. Also, the most up to date (and searchable) Standards manual is on the website plus change pages to bring your hard copy up to date.

New Contractor List/Consumer Affairs Rep

We now have an up to date contractor list! It is included in this newsletter. Thanks to Janet Rourke for going through the list finding the contractors that have moved, etc.

Lou Ann Munson has now taken over the maintenance of the list and is your new Consumer Affairs Representative. Remember to contact her and tell her who you have had work on your house and whether you liked their efforts. A simple email to consumer@leewood.us or snail mail to the association address, and then “ATTN: Consumer” will work. It is easiest if the information is in writing as it is so simple to make mistakes over the telephone. Be sure to include your name and number/email so that if there are any questions Lou Ann can contact you. If the contractor can do more than one thing, wallpapering and painting for example, include all their talents in your report.

Thank you, Lou Ann, for taking on this very important job that our residents find so useful. Thank you, Mary Ann, for doing it for so many years.

Keep Leewood Neat and Safe

Keeping your front and back lights on all night is one of the biggest deterrents to crime, particularly petty vandalism. It is an inexpensive way to protect your property and Leewood. The police have recommended that we take this measure, and the association asks you to do so.

Being alert to what is happening on your street or in the neighborhood and reporting suspicious incidents to the police might save you or your neighbor from injury or damage. If your lights are on, you might be able to see such activity even at night.

Small things such as picking up trash and debris we see on the streets goes a long way to keeping our neighborhood neat and presentable. If you walk the neighborhood have your own special clean up day – take a bag and clean up debris when you see it.

Remember, we do not have any staff whose responsibility is to pick up after us. That cigarette butt thrown on the street, the pop can disposed of on the grass, even trash that has blown around – all of these would be a permanent fixture of Leewood if we didn’t take care of them ourselves. Speaking of trash, do remember to put it out no sooner than dusk before trash day and by all means weight down any light trash so it doesn’t blow around the neighborhood.

New Board and Volunteer Opportunities

We have a new board as of the annual meeting. The contacts for them are at the end of this newsletter. Although 5 members were elected, one resigned before the first board meeting. (Thank you John Davenport, for filling in last year when the situation was getting desperate.) We now have an opening on the board again. So, if any of you “might be” interested, give one of the current board members a call. Past board members are usually happy to talk to you also. Come to a board meeting – see what it is all about – and volunteer!

Although our ARC committee is fully staffed, we do need a coordinator for it. Julie King, our president, is fulfilling that role now, but it would be better to keep the board separate from the ARC committee (independence when it comes to appeals, etc.)

Finally, we need a newsletter editor. This post has been essentially empty for several years now. It is really does not need to be a difficult job, especially as we do have volunteers now to copy and distribute the newsletter. Although much of our news is on the website, we need a paper newsletter to reach any of you without a computer, or those that just plain forget we have a website.

Website

The website continues to expand in girth and usefulness. From the practical, i.e. change pages to the manuals so you can keep up to date, to community news such as our successful clean up day – it is all there. As Spring is here you probably will be checking out our home repair section. In it we have articles, links to articles and help on other websites, and templates of house parts. Some of the links to sites are fascinating – and yes, as of this date, they all work.

Talking about house parts, we now have pictures up on our site so that you can determine the difference between fascia boards and rake boards. Didn’t you always want to be able to do that? Also useful at this time of the year are the ARC change forms which are on the website. No trouble, just go to the Architectural section and print them out.

Remember that the website is your source for the most up to date information. If the board changes, those changes are posted immediately; when the contractor list is updated, the newest version is immediately accessible through the website. With our printer friendly icon, most pages can now be printed out without seeing the navigation buttons or banner (this is an ongoing conversion effort).

Last but not least is our message board. With it we can communicate to those who register when items go up on the site, and we can discuss amongst ourselves matters of interest. All are encouraged to join and participate!

Painting Your House: What the Architectural Standards Say

This is an excerpt from an article written by Kerry Dumbaugh in 3/11/98. It is as informative today as it was then, though you might want to substitute “standards” for “new standards” since 7 years have passed.

Since spring is upon us, let's take a minute to talk about what the new standards say about the most common spring and summer project: painting.

To find out what the new standards say about painting the exterior of your house, turn to section 4.5, Exterior Colors, beginning on page 21 of the new standards. This section answers five basic questions, listed below. The quotations are taken directly from the new standards.

1. When do I have to paint? If the paint on your house is "crazed, chipped, peeling, or noticeably faded or discolored, " you must repaint. You can expect a quality exterior paint job to last three to four years.
   
2. What parts of the house must I paint? Those areas of your house that qualify for being painted "include pre-finished or painted siding, trim, doors, windows, shutters, etc."-- that is, almost everything that is not brickwork, including aluminum siding and down spouts.
   
3. What color can I paint my house? You must paint your house with a color listed in the McCormick Colonial Exterior Paint colors guide. (A copy of this color-sample guide is available from the Chair of the ARC Committee.) You may use a different brand of paint from McCormick, such as Duron, but you must still match the color exactly to one of the McCormick Colonial colors. All trim, including window trim and eaves, must be painted in the same color. Those of you whose houses have shutters must paint them in a color different from the trim color.
   
4. I love the color of my next-door neighbor's housed can I paint mine the same color? "No two adjacent dwellings may have painted areas with the same shutter colors, nor may more than two dwellings in a connected row have painted areas of the same colors." In other words, No. Only one other house in your row can be painted in the same color or color combination as your house.
   
5. Do I have to ask approval to paint my house? You have to ask the ARC for approval in writing if you want to paint your house in a different color from the color it is now. An application for requesting approval for an exterior color change can be found on the last page of the new standards - simply make a copy of this form, fill it out, and submit it to the ARC for approval. (You must submit a color sample of the paint with this form.) You do not have to ask approval if you want to repaint your house in exactly the same color it is now.(2005 Note: Forms are now on the website also)

Grounds and Maintenance

On April 23 our Grounds and Maintenance committee sponsored a Leewood clean up day. Even though the weather seemed a bit dreary at first, they forged ahead and seeded bare spots, picked up debris, filled places with soil, and then all gathered together to mulch the path through the woods on our southern boundary. At noon all the workers took a break and had refreshments. A barbeque had originally been planned but the weather was so iffy it was cancelled.

This was one of the best organized and most productive clean up days in Leewood’s history. Thanks to the committee for organizing it and all the wonderful people who turned out with their rakes, energy, etc. to help. A picture story of this is on the website if you would like to know more.

There is more planting planned for our common areas – so be alert to all the activities going on around you! For example, when weather permits, flowers will be planted at our entrance sign. Please make it your new nervous habit to deadhead those flowers and water them if it gets dry. We would also appreciate your help in keeping the newly planted grass seed and the seedlings (when they appear) moist and the new trees watered.

Remember: Warm weather is upon us. When it gets hot, plastic bags/trash containers sitting on our turf encourages those unsightly brown spots. Try stacking your trash neatly in the gutter pan.

Our Grounds and Maintenance committee is now one of our largest and most vital – they will be working to keep Leewood’s common area assets in pristine shape. Please do what you can to aid them in this venture.

Insurance Matters

Remember that the association insurance does not cover your home; you need your own homeowners insurance to cover that, liability issues, personal property, and so forth. If you are renting, you will need renter’s insurance to protect your own personal property. Given the high cost of legal action many of us have found an umbrella policy is a good thing to have in addition to our standard homeowner’s insurance.

Now the fun part -- have you inventoried your home for insurance purposes? If you want to put a claim in for losses, it helps considerably if you have a good home inventory. With digital cameras getting less and less expensive, it is even more possible to do this.

If you go to www.iii.org the insurance institute has a free download which will help you do your home inventory and keep it up to date. There is a box on the left hand side with the label of Individuals over it. The information in that box changes with time (or by clicking on the arrows). One of the pieces of information is about “free home inventory software” – click on that to download your software and start your inventory.

Rumor confirmed: Current plan is to have the property next to us on Backlick developed as two houses/acre. That probably means 4 houses.

Board meetings are the second Tuesday of every month. They are held at the Phillip’s School at 8pm, and are open to everyone. Next meeting is on May 10, 2005.

(The Contractor list was included here)

Web Editing Notes: Clearly this was edited. In general, you can tell where, and the content was not affected.