And I would argue that the grass area is a part of the sidewalk or area serving
one or more units. If we interpret it any other way then people could literally
just come congregate in front of your front door with no issue. I doubt that
was the intent of the declarations's drafters.
Sent from my iPhone
On Jun 9, 2017, at 4:09 PM, Glenn Abajian <glenn.abajian@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I think this is where there may be some confusion. After reading the bylaws,
it doesn't state that the grass areas are common or limited common elements.
Per the bylaws:
The limited common elements include:
Any sidewalk or entry gate serving one or more but less than all Units
The sidewalk serving only one unit
The driveway providing entry to the garage of each unit
Any desk attach to and serving only one unit
any enclosed yard area as shown on the Survey or Floors plans
The portion of Common Elements on which there is located any portion of the
air conditioning or heating system exclusively serving a particular Unit or
Units
Any utility meter which serves only one unit
Each unit is assigned one mailbox or mail slot
The Common elements consist of all portions of the Condominium not located
within the boundaries of a Unit. The Common Elements include, without
limitation, certain utilities, fences, entry features, paving, walls,
retaining walls and exterior walls of the building, trash compactor, awnings,
landscape areas, mail area, fitness facility, swimming pool, clubhouse,
limited access fated entry system, and all personalty, furniture and fixtures
located on any common element, expect items located on any limited common
element.
I may be wrong in assuming "landscape areas" include the grass areas but
please correct me if I'm wrong.
Thank you,
Glenn Abajian
On Fri, Jun 9, 2017 at 3:31 PM, Tiffany Harlow <tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Actually, after a re-read of the declaration and bylaws, I believe that the
sections of grass directly in front of our doors and driveways are
considered "limited common elements" under our rules as opposed to general
"common elements" (such as the gym, pool, etc.) so in that case, the rules
actually state that use of those "limited" areas are reserved exclusively
for the owners of the unit to which the limited area is assigned.
This would mean that only homeowners who are assigned to those areas, i.e.
live on those "limited" elements, can allow their dogs to use them. Others
would be in violation. That would be my reading of the actual rules but we
can discuss that with CMA and get out some form of official interpretation
at a later date.
In the meantime, I will post that portion of the rules in the mailbox area
along with others I think should be considered as I mentioned in my earlier
email. Thanks.
Tiffany Harlow, Esq.
tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx
404-931-5567
On Fri, Jun 9, 2017 at 3:24 PM, Christian Pena <cpena711@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Certainly, as long as the pet owners continue (or start) picking up around
the front gate and or ends of the neighborhood there should not be a
problem.
On Fri, Jun 9, 2017 at 3:17 PM, Zane Strebor <planetzane@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Tiffany, that is a great idea. There are actually common areas that are
not in front of resident doors that can be utilized for pets to use. I
don't have any issue with that. Thanks.
On Fri, Jun 9, 2017 at 2:34 PM, Tiffany Harlow <tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
There are side grass areas within the gates you can use as opposed to
directly in front of someone's front door.
Sent from my iPhone
On Jun 9, 2017, at 2:32 PM, Christian Pena <cpena711@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I just got a dog last week (some of you have seen the little pup) and
have picked up after him obviously, since I know I'm not trying to be
one of those getting the stink eye. That's being said, I was told that
all outside areas are indeed communal, so a dog going to the bathroom on
it is not against the rules. Since I'm now part of the pet owners in the
neighborhood, I truly wish I had grass in front of my door ( I
definitely don't want to walk outside the gates on the midnight or 4am
walks), but please call out pet owners that you see not picking up
waste.
CMA should 100% place fines on irresponsible pet owners AND folks
throwing away furniture (I'm preaching I know), our more vocal residents
are doing all they can, but CMA should really get more strict to avoid
things escalating like this and having everyone all of a sudden be upset
and vocalizing concerns. Should have never reached this point (again, I
know I'm preaching).
On Jun 9, 2017, at 1:34 PM, Susan Stern <susan.k.stern@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Also, and correct me if I'm wrong, there is nothing about a dog
relieving itself on the grass that violates any rules. The violation
comes when the owners do not clean up after the pet. The grassy areas
are shared/communal space.
We did talk at the last board meeting (3 of us non-board members
attended--it's a great chance to stay informed and share your
concerns!) about the issue of urine spots in the grass and how
unattractive it is. No immediate solutions were identified, but we
brainstormed several ideas. If anyone is on the listserv reading this
who has a dog, please consider taking them outside of the gates for
their potty breaks.
On Fri, Jun 9, 2017 at 12:57 PM, Tiffany Harlow
<tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Zane,
Of course there are many rules related to this, among other things.
Unfortunately, as you have seen this week, our neighbors have very
loose interpretations of what those rules are or have not taken time
to actually read them. Trust me, you are not alone in your sentiment.
In the next few weeks, I will be posting at the mailboxes, relevant
portions of our covenants that I believe residents need to be reminded
of and as Kyle has mentioned, the Board is going to try this year at
being more diligent in enforcing those rules. This may prove
uncomfortable for some, but we have to get some order around here
because many of the major issues we are now tackling, i.e. the rats,
are a direct result of having gotten lax over the years.
In the meantime, I wouldn't go so far as to suggest you engage with
neighbors that you see violating the rules (although I will give a
long stare sometimes to folks that I see at or near my patch and it
has worked, they move along quickly), but if you can let us on the
board know who to address, we will be happy to do so on your behalf.
Tiffany Harlow, Esq.
tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx
404-931-5567
On Fri, Jun 9, 2017 at 12:35 PM, Zane Strebor <planetzane@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Speaking of pets, I feel that it is unfair for those of us without
pets to be subjected to dogs pooping all over our patches of grass.
Are they any rules regarding pet owners being able to utilize the
yards of others for their pets? Even if they pick it up, the stench
and remnants remain and attract insects and rodents toward our
houses. I don't feel that is fair at all. Sometimes I can barely pull
out my garage because people are standing there with the dogs taking
a bathroom break on my patch of grass. Thanks.
On Fri, Jun 9, 2017 at 12:23 PM, Traci Houston
<dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Thank you!!!!
We appreciate all your dedication and efforts to help keep our
community clean.
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
On Fri, Jun 9, 2017 at 11:40 AM, Tiffany Harlow
<tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Yes, thank you Marny. And we should all thank Kyle as a neighbor
and board member for helping to clean up the trash all week and
disposing of this morning's rat. It takes a village.
Tiffany Harlow, Esq.
tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx
404-931-5567
On Fri, Jun 9, 2017 at 11:18 AM, Kyle Mann <kylemann1@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Thanks Marny,
CMA is supposed to be sending notices to everyone having those cans,
to remove them or be fined going forward.
From: highland-discuss-bounce@ freelists.org
[mailto:highland-discuss- bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Marny ;
Heit
Sent: Friday, June 09, 2017 10:44 AM
To: highland-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [highland-discuss] Re: RATS!
It's also probably a good time for those of you with those garbage
cans full of dog waste outside your doors to get rid of them unless
you want rats on your doorsteps.
Marny Heit
675 Ponce de Leon Ave., NE
Suite 8500
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
T: 404-313-4923
F: 404-393-7393
www.heitlaw.com
On Jun 9, 2017, at 10:31 AM, Tiffany Harlow
<tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The dumpster has been emptied this morning and the dead rat has been
disposed of. Neighbors, you will have to understand that in order
to alleviate this rat problem, we will temporarily see dead rats on
occasion and we cannot guarantee where they will be found. This is
unfortunately how extermination works. We have asked for your
patience and vigilance. Please continue to dispose of your trash
appropriately, hold your trash and do not dump if you see that the
dumpster is already full or overflowing and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do
not do this with your dog waste. We will never get over this hurdle
if we continue to just be careless.
<20170609_101622_resized1.jpg>
Tiffany Harlow, Esq.
tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx
404-931-5567
On Fri, Jun 9, 2017 at 9:53 AM, Ibironke Apata <iwapata@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Thanks for sharing the update on the rats. It is truly a crisis and
I'm surprised that we were not made aware formally. I got the flyer
about trash but not about the rats. On sunday night I easy horrified
to see 5 rats by the dumpster and 2 days later. I spotted 2 rats. I
believe the health department should be notified and all actions
being taken shared with us. The dumpster will continue to be a
source of breedinf. I wonder if we should all have trash cans we
bring out once or twice a week and eliminate the use of a dumpster.
This community usef to be so clean! Is there a meeting about this
coming up?
On Jun 9, 2017 9:44 AM, "William Hauser" <wm.hauser@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Dead rat in roadway in front of bldg 200
On Jun 8, 2017 8:31 AM, "Christian Pena" <cpena711@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Thanks Isom, that's great information. I do also agree that in
Dennis' absence someone at CMA should help so the board, who all
have day jobs, don't have to handle this.
Please keep talking to your neighbors and bringing it up in case
they are not on the chain. Mention this chain to see if they are on
it, if not, offer to take their email down and reach out here to add
them in. Mention the trash as food source and how we are trying to
get this fixed. OVER COMMUNICATE! Let's finally all get on the same
page and get this over with. Not only is it gross (and I'm scared of
rats honestly) but the property values will lower while out HOA's
will go up, nobody wins.
Best,
Christian
On Jun 8, 2017, at 8:13 AM, Wenona Belton <wcbelton@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
If Dennis is unavailable, who at CMA should be handling? Is a major
rat infestation not considered a crisis that the property management
company should address?
W. Belton
On Jun 8, 2017, at 2:04 AM, isom hawes <isom25@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hello everyone, I'd like to chime in, in hopes of helping out with
some of the concerns regarding the rodent issue. Back in the early
2000's, I use to work for Orkin and coincidentally I had a few
customers in this same complex. If I were to assume that
extermination methods have not changed, there are only a couple ways
to get rid of the rats. You either poison them or you set out old
school rat traps. Both methods are effective but depending on the
circumstance, one method will work better than the other. In
dealing with large numbers, as we are now, poison is really the only
way to suppress the population.
Poison, however, will really only be effective if there are no other
food sources for the rats. They will almost always choose the food
in the trash over the poison if they have access to it. Because of
this, extermination of the rats will have to be a joint effort
between us and Orkin. Orkin can lay out poison from now until next
year but the problem won't start to improve until we stop allowing
the rodents easy access to our trash.
As I understand it, the reason the compactor was removed was to have
it cleaned and to have the space around the compactor cleaned since
over time trash had begun to build up on the grounds around the
compactor. This trash had become a continuous source of food for
the rats making the problem worse. I noticed a couple of days ago
that there was a drain hole at the base of the temporary dumpster
and rats were going in and out of the hole.... again having easy
access to the trash. I'm sure this easy access was impeding the
efforts of Orkin. Today I went and bought some steel wool and
plugged the hole. I was taught when I worked at Orkin that rats
tend not to chew through it because it cuts their gums. You may
want to give it a try at your homes if you find small entry points
that need to be closed off to prevent the rats from invading.
As for the length of time it will take to fix this problem, there is
no way to really know. It all depends on how good of a job we do of
making sure the rodents can't get to our trash. If we can keep them
out of our trash, they will then start to get desperate for food,
eat the poison and the problem will improve sooner rather than
later.
From: highland-discuss-bounce@ freelists.org
<highland-discuss-bounce@ freelists.org> on behalf of Traci Houston
<dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, June 7, 2017 11:31 PM
To: planetzane@xxxxxxxxx; highland-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [highland-discuss] Re: RATS!
Where is the back turn?
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
On Wed, Jun 7, 2017 at 11:27 PM, Zane Strebor
<planetzane@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I wonder about the health department as well because I just looked
out my window and saw one run out a drain pipe up near the back
turn. They are everywhere!
On Wed, Jun 7, 2017 at 11:20 PM, Wenona Belton <wcbelton@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
I am interested in the answers to the questions posed by Ms. Houston
and wonder if perhaps the health department should be notified?
Thank you,
W. Belton
On Jun 7, 2017, at 10:24 PM, Traci Houston (Redacted sender
"tracihouston" for DMARC) <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
While circulars were posted to everyone's door I'm not sure all the
residents truly recognize the severity of this rat infestation. I
sure didnt! This is what should be communicated. If residents knew
they were at risk with their health, informed that the rat
infestation could potentially grow where rodents could enter our
homes, and that our property values could be negatively impacted -
maybe people would listen. This is very serious! I absolutely do not
take this problem lightly. In fact, Im scared to even go to the
dumpster now.
As a homeowner and resident I would like to know what is the overall
detailed action plan to address this issue?
I know that the extermination process started today but what's
involved? What specifically is the exterminator doing? Who is the
exterminator? Are they coming daily? Weekly? How long will the
process last? Does the exterminator have an aggressive plan of
attack? When do they anticipate we will be rid of these rats? Is
this easy to do? Or is this a long term project? What role do all
residents have (other than proper disposal of trash) during this
process? Do we need to schedule any extermination to our individual
homes and who pays for it? Who do we contact for questions or if we
see a rat in our homes?
My next question is what specifically is being done about the
dumpster? I assume the trash compactor doesnt work at all? If not,
what is the plan to have a working dumpster or are we going to have
more frequent trash pick-up? When will any action be taken? Whats
the timeline?
What responsibility does the HOA mgmt company have in this entire
process - if any at all?
Lastly I think it would be extremely helpful to over-communicate
during this crisis - yes, crisis. If we dont communicate the
seriousness of this issue people will not be aware of this grave
problem. If I wasnt part of this group thread I wouldnt be aware of
anything. If we dont arrest the problem now we could be at serious
risk for other problems none of us want diwn the road.
There should be communications that are posted/emailed/mailed/text
to all residents that a) outline the problem we currently have and
how it occurred b) communicate the actions that have been taken and
next steps and c) how we can collectively prevent this from
happening in the future. Along with these communication channels we
need some type of signage - even if temporary - around all common
areas reminding everyone about the trash guidelines.
I have not seen this type of detailed communication just yet. Is
there a plan for one? I am more than willing to assist with writing
the communication and distributing to my fellow neighbors.
Can someone answer these questions?
Thank You
Traci
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
On Wed, Jun 7, 2017 at 6:38 PM, Tiffany Harlow
<tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Yeah the person who left the trash needs to come back and get it. We
are all adults here. Members of the board, friends of the board and
random other community members should not have to do this every
time. It's getting ridiculous.
And for the record, if you know you live next door to a neighbor who
is not on this list or who doesn't get the info, each one teach one,
pass the info along.
Word of mouth is not a new concept.
Sent from my iPhone
On Jun 7, 2017, at 6:36 PM, Zane Strebor <planetzane@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Just drove out the gate and there were 2 huge rats feeding off that
bag of trash on the ground. Someone really needs to move that bag of
trash.
On Jun 7, 2017, at 5:44 PM, Jodie Victor <jodievictor@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
I've been gone since the Sunday morning, but have read all the
emails from another state. I just left the neighborhood after being
home for about 15 minutes. Sitting by the compactor is a bag of
trash. As I waited for the gate to open, a rat exited the bag of
trash. It is apparently not clear to all residents of what is
currently going on in our community. Why is that so?
I am a renter, but I am curious why a private company is being used
for trash?
Get Outlook for Android
From: highland-discuss-bounce@ freelists.org
<highland-discuss-bounce@ freelists.org> on behalf of Joseph Curtis
<josephcurtis07@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, June 7, 2017 4:27:07 PM
To: Highland
Subject: [highland-discuss] RATS!
There is a dead half eaten rat in the back of the pool deck! Behind
the trash can. And many many live rats around the trash dumpster. We
need to put the plug back in the dumpster because the rats are using
it as a door into the dumpster. buffet time!
Joseph Curtis
Sent from my mobile phone.
--
Zane
Publisher
Strebor Books/ATRIA Books/Simon and Schuster
Office 202-618-BOOK
"Subjecting yourself to the perception others have of you will keep
you ordinary."
<20170609_101622_resized1.jpg>
--
Zane
Publisher
Strebor Books/ATRIA Books/Simon and Schuster
Office 202-618-BOOK
"Subjecting yourself to the perception others have of you will keep
you ordinary."
--
Susan K. Shwartz, Ph.D.
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Shepherd Pathways
--
Zane
Publisher
Strebor Books/ATRIA Books/Simon and Schuster
Office 202-618-BOOK
"Subjecting yourself to the perception others have of you will keep you
ordinary."
