If you haven't recently attended one of the meetings of the Seabridge board, it's something I would recommend everyone do. It gives you a deeper understanding of the challenges we face as a community, and it lets you see what a group of dedicated volunteers tries to do to meet those challenges. I don't always agree with those decisions, but when things work ideally, it's really pretty cool to see community-in-action.
Last night afforded us a great example. We had a homeowner who wanted to challenge an ARC ruling. Normally these hearings are private, but she wanted it to be public. She stated her concerns with what information was provided on the violation, how there was a long history with the structure in question, and the emotional connection she had to it.
The board, and in particular the president, was very good about giving the homeowner an opportunity to speak. They were also good about representing the interests of our association as a whole and in recognizing there are tough decisions to be made in balancing out the need to maintain standards with the desire to get along as neighbors. Bob Gallucci from the ARC was exceptional in explaining the committee's reasoning in denying the ARC request after the changes had been made without approval. In the end, the best part was that there was a dialogue between the three parties, with the ARC offering to help the homeowner make modifications that were acceptable to the committee. The homeowner appeared happy for the assistance with labor and decisions, and the board doesn't need to compromise on our community standards. We don't often get to see such a process, and I appreciate the fact that all involved participated in a non-confrontational way - I think everyone is set to come out of this a winner.
There was more news coming out of the meeting, but for that you'll need to go to the homeowner-only section. I'll post a link to that article here once it's written!
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