On Thursday, Danielson Grove will hold a community meeting to elect two board members, consider an increase in dues to fund the capital reserve, and discuss how well our rules work.
If you can't make the meeting for some reason, you can have someone else vote on your behalf using the proxy form that Julie sent with her email announcing the meeting.
We'd love to hear your voice on the topic of rules. Are we happy with the rules we have? Do we need more of them? Less maybe? What's the best way for us to respond when someone doesn't follow the rules?
Collectively, we are all in charge. As a community, it is up to us to decide what rules we want to live by, what we expect of our neighbors and what they should expect of us. I am not aware of any emergencies in this area, but I do hear enough quiet debate to know that, even after nearly 10 years, we can do better.
Here are a few scenarios with some options. Don't read too much into them. They don't represent any particular current or past situation, just examples that I hope each of us can relate to. There are no right answers.
Park in Your Garage
Justin works the late shift. He arrives home to find that there isn't a scrap of parking available. Katy's car is already in their garage, even though it isn't convenient with the kids. He recognizes several of his neighbors' cars and suspects that some of them don't have a car in their garage. Mary's and Allen's cars, for example, are both on the street. Mary has trouble walking, and Allen's slowing down these days too, so he can understand why they don't always use their garage, but it still seems a little unfair. The next morning, he finds a ticket on his car for improper parking. He knows it's his fault, but calls Nick, who is on the board, and tells him that the board has to do something to enforce the rules. Nicks heard it all before and knows it's a problem. What should Nick do?
- Have the car towed the next time he sees one parked outside the garage in violation of therules
- Post notices on everyone's front door reminding them of the rules
- Leave a notice on the cars parked against the rules telling them to mend their ways
- Nothing. The streets are public property and he can't tell people not to park there
No Smoking on the Commons
Ten o'clock on a warm summer night, Bill is relaxing on his back porch smoking a rare and newly legalized joint and sipping scotch. "Life doesn't get any better than this," he thinks to himself. Two doors downwind, Allen is just dozing off comfortably in bed. The smoke from Bill's cigar has dissipated, but it's still strong enough to give him an instant headache. It's too hot to close his window. Allen likes Bill, and it's only been three times that this has happened so far, but Allen finds himself deeply irritated every time it does. Doesn't Bill know it's against the rules? What should Allen do next?
- Call the fire department
- Do nothing and just show a little more tolerance
- Call Nick and ask them to talk to Bill
- Talk to Bill directly and tell him to knock it off
Private Property
It's dinner time and Lisa settles down on her front porch to read a book with a glass of wine and a bowl of popcorn. Four high-school kids walk past chatting loudly. One of them is pushing a stroller with twins and another has two dogs on a leash. She doesn't recognize them, but it feels like they are walking right through her private yard. At least the one with a skateboard is carrying it under his arm. One of them smiles at her and calls out, "Such beautiful houses! What is this place?" and then snaps a picture of Lisa's neighbor's house with his cell phone. What should Lisa do?
- Have another glass of wine
- Stretch caution tape across all the entrances to Danielson Grove and hang no-trespassing signs from it
- Call the police
- Call Nick and tell him to call the police
No Dogs Off-Leash
Mary pulls her red wagon stacked with dishes and blankets that she won't need again until the fall. She swaps her load for the grill and a big can of propane and heads back to the house. Her sister will be here soon and she's way behind with dinner. Sparky looks at her with sad eyes - he needs to go for a walk, but she doesn't have time, so she opens the door to let him out by himself. Ten minutes later, she looks out to see Sparky doing his business right next to the water fountain in Bill's yard. She turns to see Bill just rounding the corner from the garages. "Well," she thinks, "Bill doesn't follow any of the rules anyway, so he doesn't have the right to complain about my dog." What should Mary do next?
- Get back to cooking and pretend she didn't see anything
- Call Sparky, "Bad dog! How did you get out again?"
- Point out Bill's messy porch, noisy fountain and smelly weed, and hope he doesn't notice the dog
- Complain to Nick about how irresponsible other dog owners in the neighborhood are
Ok, ok… That was starting to be too much fun, so I guess I should stop now before I get in trouble.
For my part, I often hear suggestions that the board needs to "enforce" the rules, but I don't really know what that means. Should we write the offender a letter when someone complains, or maybe even before someone complains? Follow it up with another letter, this time in a bigger font? Should the board be authorized to levy fines, as happens in other communities like ours? Should we ask people to try to work it out directly with each other when there is trouble, or should we expect adherence to the rules, even when nobody complains?
Anyway, I'm hoping to hear your thoughts Thursday.
At your service,
Peter