J. APPEALS
FCHOA Purchaser's Handbook - Revision Date: 2021-01-10
1. In accordance with the Amended & Restated Declaration of Protective Covenants (Article VI, Section 6.9 Appeals), any Applicant shall have the right to appeal to the FCHOA Board of Directors any decision of the ARC. Such appeal must be in writing, within thirty days of the decision, and addressed to the FCHOA Board of Directors, c/o Ford’s Colony Community Services, 100 Manchester Drive, Williamsburg, Virginia, 23188. The Applicant can expect a response within thirty days of postmark for a scheduled hearing date for a regular meeting of the Board. Applicants shall not start construction of any improvements while an appeal is pending or being considered unless otherwise specifically approved by the ARC. Starting or continuing construction, while an appeal is in process, unless specifically approved by the ARC, constitutes acceptance of the plans as approved by the ARC and voids the appeal application without notice.
2. It is not appropriate to appeal to the FCHOA Board of Directors comments made by the ARC during the preliminary approval process. Preliminary review comments by the ARC are meant to be helpful and instructive for the Applicant in submitting an application for construction. Only final decisions of the ARC in the application process are subject to appeal to the FCHOA Board of Directors.
3. While the Bylaws allow any decision of the ARC to be appealed to the FCHOA Board of Directors, the Board has indicated it will generally not overturn decisions of the ARC on issues and policies that are clearly provided for in this Purchaser’s Handbook, or consider appeals that are made after a violation has already occurred in construction, either through commission of details not previously approved by the ARC, or omission of details approved or required by the ARC during the approval process, or the failure to complete the improvements within twelve months or as otherwise approved by the ARC, or hardships to the Property Owner, including financial, caused by the general contractor. The policies stated in this Purchaser’s Handbook have been through several revision processes since its original publication in 1986, involving numerous property owners, general contractors, retained professionals and the Environmental Control Committee (ECC), which was the predecessor to the ARC before the ARC was established on April 1, 2013. Appeals to the FCHOA Board of Directors should be made before violations occur and should address interpretations within the architectural styles described in the Purchaser’s Handbook or new design issues which are not currently addressed in the Handbook. The FCHOA Board of Directors may simply deny any appeal if the policy or reason for a decision, in the opinion of the Board, is clearly stated in this Handbook or if the reason for making an appeal is in response to an observed unapproved change or other non-conformance to approved plans.