Content Area of Guidelines for Living: Laws through Noise.

by Chrissy Jackson

If you missed the previous article in this series on the Guidelines for Living for your manufactured home cland lease community, please click here.

Laws. Does the Community Manager want to have the right to terminate a residency based on violation of state or local laws which constitute a threat to the health, safety, and welfare of other Residents? If so, then the Guidelines should include a statement that requires the Resident to abide by all state and local laws and ordinances. 
 

Landscaping. Some Residents take advantage of landscaping to improve the appearance of their homesite and the Community in general. Others do only the minimal amount required. Does the Community Manager want to encourage landscaping? Anywhere on the homesite? Is any type of trees, shrubs, or flowers acceptable? Should all plantings which are over 12” in depth be approved in writing by the Community Manager prior to the work being done? Who will be responsible for calling for underground locates? If there are plantings, who owns them at the time the Resident leaves? If the Resident takes them, should the Resident then be responsible for filling in the holes left behind? What about height of shrubbery along the home or at a street corner? Will the proposed plantings impair the visibility of other Residents who are walking or driving? This is also an area where the Community Manager may want to work with the Crime Prevention Department or Bureau of the local law enforcement agency to encourage Residents to plant with Crime Prevention Environmental Designs CPTED) being taken into consideration. Especially if the Community has a Neighborhood Watch or Crime Watch Program, this design program works hand-in-hand with crime prevention. Landscaping should also include the area of fencing. Does the Community permit any fencing? If so, what type of construction? Where on the homesite? Is it to be installed with posts underground in concrete for stability, or on top of the ground for easy removal? If the fence surrounds the yard, and Management needs access for an emergency, who will be financially responsible for the replacement and/or repair of the fence? Is there a maximum height requirement? What about decorative fences? Who will be permitted to install a fence – the homeowner or will a contractor be required? Who determines the property line of a homesite? Will the fence be installed on the property line, or set back a certain distance? Who will be responsible for trimming around the bottom of the fence? If the fence is set inside the property line, who will be responsible for mowing outside the fence? Are there planter boxes required as an entry amenity? If so, what is required to be in them? Shrubs which are relatively easy to care for, or flowers which take more time and care? Sometimes having planter boxes which are full of weeds look worse than having homes with no planter boxes. 
 

Laundry Facilities. Does the Community have any laundry facilities? Are they for the use of Residents only, or is it a public facility? Are there specific, posted hours of operation? This is another area where a separate set of User Guidelines might be a good idea – and then to post them in the Laundry. Does the Community want to have any responsibility for damaged or lost items? For malfunctioning equipment? For lost money? It might also be a good idea to post a notice that the facility may be closed at any time due to operational difficulties (which can include vandalism, out-of-order machines, or no one available to keep it clean and empty the money). 

Lease. The Guidelines should address the lease or lease offering if the Community has a lease or offers one. Adherence to the Guidelines should be incorporated into the lease as a requirement of continued residency. 

Motorcycles. Will the Community Manager permit motorcycles to be ridden within the Community? Or only for ingress and egress? Is there a special parking area? Will Residents be permitted to park motorcycles in their sheds? Or to start them between the homes where the reverberations may echo? Will guests have any different restrictions as to the use of motorcycles than Residents do? 

 

Noise. Does the municipality or state where the Community is located have a noise ordinance of some type which prohibits loud or disturbing noises between certain hours? If so, that will help in this area. Otherwise, probably the best a Community Manager can hope for is to prohibit Residents from disturbing other Residents at any time with vehicles, music, loud voices, or any type of reproduced mechanical sound. Sometimes the best way to enforce noise control is to share with a new neighbor moving in that the Resident behind them works third shift, or that they have a small baby, if they do.  # #