The View Crew helped Division 8 homeowners restore protections the CRC removed
CRC Responsibility
The Covenant Review Committee (CRC) has the responsibility to approve or deny improvements, construction, and alterations in most Somerset divisions. While they have some discretion, their decisions must comply with the covenants for the appropriate division. Factors include view impact and harmony with surrounding properties.
View Guidelines
To promote consistency of CRC decisions, the View Guideline was created in 2008 with the help of the SCA’s attorney. It remained essentially unchanged until 2023. “The Spirit of the Guideline” was “to preserve the views of a house, the way they were, when the house was Built, “A key element was the “View Line”, a line that followed the ridgeline created by aligned roofs and determined when things “unnecessarily obstructed views’”.
Denied resident becomes CRC Chair and things happen
Prior to becoming the CRC Chair, a resident twice applied for and was denied a second story addition. Both denials referenced the view line. The second denial, in 2022, was a 2-page denial letter that the long standing CRC attorney helped draft which referenced the “effect of the proposed structure to uphill neighbor territorial views,” and the “lack of harmony with style and size of adjacent properties.” It also referenced the View Line.
In 2023, the Somerset Community Association (SCA) Board appointed that denied resident as the new Chair of the CRC.
That same year, the CRC’s long-standing attorney retired, and the Chair of the CRC recommended a new attorney. The CRC then unilaterally changed the View Guideline. They eliminated “The Spirit of the Guideline” and the concept of a View Line; asserting that view obstructions are permissible up to the red line and territorial views were not protected. The CRC then approved a second story addition in Division 8, which dwarfs houses on both sides and blocks portions of uphill neighbors’ views. The 52-page approval letter seemed to provide strained rebuttals to points in the denial letter the Chair received in 2022.
Neighbors Sue and lose
A group of Division 8 neighbors filed a lawsuit, but lost as the judge upheld the CRC’s decision, costing them over $100,000 in legal fees. The CRC claimed this set a precedence for future approvals but, in fact, it is likely to invite future lawsuits.
The View Crew helps people make positive things happen – Covenant Amendments
The Somerset View Crew knocked on every door in Division 8 and 94% of the people contacted signed a petition that condemned the CRC’s actions and requested simple and sensible Covenant amendments to restore protections. Guided by an attorney specializing in HOA’s, community associations and covenants, amendments were developed and approved by a majority of Division 8 property owners, and legally filed on Sept 10th, 2024.
The Division 8 amendments made 2 simple adjustments (that other divisions can adopt or build upon):
The maximum height of each residence shall not exceed the approved maximum height for the lot determined per covenant prior to original construction
Embedded the view line concept in the covenant
This ensures:
Current views are protected (if you buy or sell a view, it will endure)
The smooth ridgelines carefully created by the original developers are protected
The maximum height for any remodel is known in advance with certainty
Oversized houses and overgrowth of vegetation will not be permitted
The CRC can never again reverse the criteria for view protection
