Procedural Format for New Applications to the Architectural Committee
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All interested parties are invited to participate in the presentation and discussions of a new application.
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The Planning Consultant is allowed twenty minutes to present Staff Report and Recommendations.
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The Applicant's Architect is allowed twenty minutes to present the Architectural Plan.
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The Applicant is allowed five minutes to present his/her views of the Architectural Plan.
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All other interested parties are allowed five minutes each to present his/her views of application and/or the Architectural Plan.
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Upon completion of the views of all interested parties, public comment is closed.
- The members of the AC will commence discussion of the worthiness of the application. After thorough discussion, the AC members will vote to accept and/or reject the application.
Note: Should the discussions continue beyond a reasonable period, the discussions can be tabled or postponed to be continued to the next meeting. Should this action occur, no additional public comment is allowed unless an AC member requests additional information from attending interested parties.
Preliminary Reviews
By KWPOA planning consultant, Arlene Dinges
The preliminary review was devised several years ago when the Architectural Committee was being deluged with full blown plans for remodels and tear-down rebuilds that were over-reaching in their scope, seriously impacting the neighbors. The scope of the plans and their complexity (landscaping, pools, colors, floor plans, site plans, elevations etc.) made it costly and time consuming for architects to easily make revisions and return to the Committee for a second, and sometimes, third or fourth meeting. Hence, the preliminary review allows a basic conceptual submission that can be easily revised, as necessary, until the AC can give some level of confidence to the applicant/architect that the plans being presented will most likely require only minor changes for AC approval. Full sets of drawings can then be prepared for the final application and review.
Over time the submittal requirements for a Preliminary Review have been fine tuned and adjusted. At first, we took whatever applicants gave us and said 'the more thorough the plans, the more thorough our comments'. Now we do not allow landscaping plans as part of a preliminary review, because we want to look at the architectural impact first, irrespective of landscaping. Initially we did not require neighbor notification until the final application. Now we require notification for the preliminary review application, because too many applicants were not talking to their neighbors soon enough. At first we didn't require story poles and netting. It soon became apparent that we need this tool. At first, applicants could come back time and again on the same $150 fee. Now we require reimbursement if staff remuneration exceeds the fee paid.
In terms of timing we try to provide quick helpful comments without a lot of red tape so applicants can get quickly to the 'full application' stage. This means not requiring publication in the newsletter—preliminary reviews go on the first available agenda as the last item. However, if received in time, we often will include them in the newsletter
Cost for a preliminary review has been based on an hour of my time and then some for office time. No written 'staff report' is prepared although I spend time preparing oral comments for the applicants, their architects, and the Committee. Each Committee member is expected to provide comments on any design features of concern—height, mass, location, windows, style, or other possible conflicts with architectural rules, CC&R protections, or neighborhood character. There is no 'approval' at the preliminary review level and there need not be consensus either. It is meant for feedback. To that end, any feedback provided by neighbors can also be helpful.
