January 18, 2010

  

Happy New Year from Your Marais ARB Committee,

 

Hope you all enjoyed the holidays and are making it through this cold weather.  I have a couple of items to highlight around the renovation process, exterior painting, and some ARB Committee housekeeping.

First, I want to thank Maurice Pearce and Anne Weiss for their long and conscientious service to the Marais ARB Committee.  Both have recently stepped down, opening up a couple of spots for other community members to help out.  If you are interested in being a part of the ARB Committee, please send an email to Jeannie and we will get you involved in the next meeting.

 

As a community we have spent the bulk of our Lawsuit Allocation fixing the issues and making significant enhancements to each of our units – 80% of the units have completed some sort of major work and as a whole spent $5,447,019 of the lawsuit monies, as of the end of the year.

 

A couple of reminders:

·        Exterior Painting Deadline is the end of this year (Dec 2010) – send in your paint color requests to Jeannie to get approval before allowing your contractor to start.  Of the 106 Units, 83 have already been repainted.  Remember, when the work is complete, send the invoice to Jeannie to get your units $5000 contribution from the Capital Reserves account.

·        From this point forward all ARB Requests expected to cost over $5000 or where structural changes are noted, an actual draftsmen/architectural drawing will be required.  This is to protect you and the community – some contractors are doing wall removals, deck, porch and room additions with nothing more than a sketch.

·        Please review the ARB Guidelines on our website at maraispoa.org or directly via this link: http://maraispoa.org/?page_id=12. If you are not online, you can request a copy from Jeannie.  Please visit maraispoa.org frequently where these guidelines, marais news items, and all ARB and board minutes are posted.

 

Remember, if you can spare some time and have an interest in keeping the Marais “look and feel”, please volunteer for the open spots on the ARB Committee by letting Jeannie know you are interested.  We meet once a month, usually in the late afternoon, and then periodically throughout the month depending on what ARB requests arise.  I encourage your participation.

 

 

Have a great year!

 

Eric Champ, ARB Chairman

Marais POA ARB Committee

 

GUIDELINES FOR MARAIS HOMEOWNERS

Download ARB Guidelines (.pdf format)
Download ARB Approval Request Form (.pdf format)

ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD (ARB)

GUIDELINES FOR MARAIS HOMEOWNERS

(Updated April 22, 2009)

The following ARB guidelines outline issues of common interest for Marais residents. We ask all homeowners (including those who rent their Marais property) to review and follow the guidelines. Please review the Covenants for more detailed information, as these guidelines are not all inclusive.

Use of Dwelling

· Each lot and dwelling is for residential purposes only. No trade or business of any kind may be carried on. All leases or rental agreements will be in writing and for no less than one year unless otherwise approved by the board of directors.

Exterior Appearance

· Owners may have hanging baskets on porches. Over-the-railing flower baskets, as well as container plantings, are permitted on the decks. Residents are responsible for care and watering of their baskets or window boxes. Baskets which have completed their growing cycle should be replaced or discarded.

· No clothing, towels, rugs or other similar items may be hung over balconies, decks, fences, shrubbery or railings. Patios, (the area under porches or sunrooms), porches and decks should be kept neat and orderly. Nothing may be stored in these outside areas.

· Cable dish installation must first be reviewed by the ARB.

· Portable basketball hoops are permitted in driveways only when being actively used. They must be stored at other times.

· Nothing may be attached to the exterior of the buildings in such a way that the Cem Plank (Hardi Plank) is penetrated. Storage sheds or rooms may not be attached to or be located outside the house.

· Fences are not permitted.

· Reflective materials may not be used on windows. Backing for curtains should be white or cream colored. Shutters, blinds, levelors, or vertical shades should be white, cream colored, or a natural wood color on the exterior side. Bamboo shades are permitted to be hung on screen porches as a sun shade. Any other shade or fabric must be approved by ARB.

· Artificial vegetation is not allowed. Exterior sculpture (including birth baths, bird houses, ornamental figures, plaques, stepping stones, and fountains) is subject to prior ARB approval. There should be no climbing vines/trees or shrubs attached to any wall of the home. This includes specimen plantings grown in containers. Permission will not be necessary for any type of shrub or plant that can be grown in a resident’s container. Residents are advised they are responsible for the care of the plant.

· Approval is not required to display the American flag.

· Jacuzzis are not permitted.

· Location of condensing units for AC may not be changed.

Reconstruction, Replacement, Additions and Painting

· All requests for structural changes to the residence will be like-for-like. For example, if your home has transoms over the door those transoms will need to be replaced during reconstruction. Any exceptions to like-for-like replacement, such as transoms over sliding glass doors onto a covered porch may be permitted with prior approval by the ARB.

· Any additions or patios must be within the original footprint of the home.

· Shutters and door replacements must follow the like-to-like rule.

· Door styles which were used on the original home must stay the same in style during replacement. We suggest, if you are going to replace your front door, that you consider one of the newer fiberglass doors. Their resistance to solar heat as well as their ability to withstand warping and water intrusion makes them a good replacement value.

· Storm doors are permitted. They must be full, plain, tempered glass with the trim in a color to match the existing front door, whenever possible. No etching, beveling or art glass is permitted. A tinted glass storm door which allows extra light into a home while maintaining a degree of privacy for the homeowner, will be permitted. The Property Manager may be contacted for a photo of acceptable front doors as well as storm doors.

· Operational storm shutters with the usual S hook are approved for use by all Drayton models at the present time. Residents who have these operational shutters are reminded that they must return their shutters to their usual position as soon as the threat of storm has passed.

· Material used in roofing must be replaced like-for-like. The color must remain the same.

· Screened or enclosed porches are permitted. Positioning of screening material must conform to the standard majority of the current Marais community. Paver stones below decks are approved upon submission of color sample. The use of tabby as a paving material is allowed. Wood chips, rocks, mulch, etc. are not permitted.

· Exterior replacement windows must follow the original design of the house.

· Window grids may be eliminated at the homeowner’s discretion.

· Colors used on the exterior painting of houses may not be changed by individual homeowners. Residents are advised to contact the Property Manager for the correct brand name and color number for the body of the house as well as the trim. Trim color may be either cream color or white but all of the trim on the house must be the same color. Any questions regarding what constitutes an area of trim should be referred to the ARB.

· The color choices available for the doors and shutters are Historic Charleston Green, white, cream, natural wood finish, or black. Please note that Historic Charleston Green shades to the black side of the green palette, which is the color Marais ARB approves.. Hardware for the door should be in keeping with a simple design for handle and faceplate. Residents have the choice of their hardware finish.

Signs

· No signs should be displayed outside of a house or visible through a window. A sign advertising an “Open House” may be displayed during the event.

Pets

· Owners are responsible for their pets. Each dwelling is to house no more than two domestic animals. When outside all pets must be leashed. Pet waste stations are located throughout the community. Waste should be discarded at the resident’s home.

Motor Vehicles, Trailers, Boats, Etc.

· Each home owner is responsible for parking of these items off the street. There is short term parking near the pool. Owners should insure their guests and renters are aware of this restriction.

Trash Pickup

· Our pick-up day for garbage is currently Wednesday. Cardboard boxes should be broken down and placed next to the container. Garbage should be not placed on the curb before late Tuesday afternoon. Garbage cans should not be visible at any other time. Our recycle day is currently every other Tuesday so recycle bin’s visibility should be limited as well. Asking a neighbor to help store your trash or recycle bins is a good option when you are unable to do so yourself.

Grills

· Open flame grills (charcoal or gas grills) are not allowed on decks or porches. Under International Fire Code (2003 Edition) 307.5 Mt Pleasant fire ordinance stipulates electric grills are the only grills permitted on decks or porches. Grills not in use should be stored inside the basement or garage area. Electric grills may be stored on the deck or porch.

Firearms and Fireworks

· No firearms or fireworks of any variety should be discharged on Marais property. Firearms include guns, rifles, BB guns, or pellet guns.

ENFORCEMENT

The ARB will conduct periodic assessments on conditions within the community and notify owners who appear to have violated the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions for Marais. Owners who receive an ARB violation notice are encouraged to respond if they believe their notice is in error. Their response should note the paragraph in the Declarations that they believe counters the violation. The ARB will review the rebuttal and notify the owners of their decision.

In the event that an owner remains in violation of a cited occurrence thirty (30) days after receipt of a notice or thirty (30) days after the receipt of a rebuttal decision, the ARB in conjunction with the Board of Directors will consider monetary fines of $25.00 day until the violation is corrected.

These guidelines are not all inclusive and may be augmented. We urge everyone to look over their property with these guidelines in mind to help ensure compliance. This should give Marais a look that we will be proud to call home.

REQUEST FOR ARB REVIEW

Request for review to change or add to the exterior look of a home should be made in writing to the Marais ARB through Jeannie Champlin, Property Manager. The ARB request form must be completed and is attached at the top of this section. This required approval by the ARB extends to any interior features or aesthetic elements which may be viewed from outside a dwelling.

Your request should be as explicit as possible. For example, if you want a patio on your property, sketch out the area to be covered with respect to your home and indicate construction material and colors you want to use. If you wish to convert a deck to a screened porch, or a deck or porch into a sunroom, you would need to be more specific. An engineer’s drawing would be best. We want to remind you that you may need a Mt. Pleasant building permit for significant construction.

In order to be responsive to residents the following procedures will be implemented: