Building Guidelines
CNA in 1999 deliberatively worked out a neighborhood vision that yielded consensus on the characteristics of our community that we hoped to retain and foster. The design standards described in this document outline those characteristics that relate to the physical development of the neighborhood. The accompanying Design Guidelines offer more practical examples and suggestions for applying the standards in the design of improvements and new construction.
Some elements discussed here have been codified in the Upper Boggy Creek Neighborhood Plan, but the Guidelines are mostly voluntary. CNA is a residents’ association rather than a homeowners’ association. We have no enforcement authority. CNA simply tries to discover (and rediscover) and promote consensual community interests. Whether you are an absentee owner, a resident owner, a tenant, or a local investor, we believe following the Guidelines will improve the value of your property and our quality of life. Developers, builders, and owners generally find that complying ends up serving their self-interest as well. Much of CNA’s actual “leverage” flows from good will.
Occasionally CNA’s approval may be critical. When a property owner petitions the Board of Adjustment for a variance, or otherwise seeks City approval, CNA may play a formal role. If so, CNA’s Planning & Zoning Committee will support a petition if the applicant agrees to meet our Design Guidelines, and if neighbors register no strong objection.
To help, we append to these Guidelines a “NEIGHBOR SURVEY” form. It can be used by project proposers to: (a) familiarize nearby owners and resident s of a project’s potential impacts; (b) discover concerns and problems; and (c) solicit neighbors’ ideas about the design. Or it can be used to document neighbors’ support or opposition as needed.
CNA’s first responsibility is to our membership. If a question does not involve the whole neighborhood, CNA’s practice is to weigh most heavily the views of nearby residents. Where tenants and owners differ, we try to reconcile cont ending positions according to our Guidelines: Design Guidelines-2005