FAQ - Restrictive Covenants and By-Laws Updates

For years, you and your fellow homeowners have been asking, “When are we going to update the covenants?” This has been one of the most consistent requests in nearly every neighborhood meeting, including meetings we held before it was even possible to change them!

We’ve taken your feedback from those meetings and turned it into a set of proposed updates that reflect exactly what homeowners have been asking for: improvements to both the Restrictive Covenants and the Homeowner’s Association Bylaws. The proposed updates have been professionally reviewed to ensure everything is clear, consistent, and in good shape for the long term.

In short, these updates:

• Make the rules easier to understand
• Strengthen accountability
• Support how people actually live today
• Help maintain our property values

They fix long-standing frustrations that homeowners have raised for years—from unclear procedures to outdated language—and replace them with straightforward, homeowner-driven expectations.

There are two different kinds of meetings that support the Belleau Woods HOA, hence the need for the two different definitions of “quorum”.

Article V — Board Meetings (Officers and Advisors)

• Includes board officers (President, Vice President, Treasurer, etc.) and board advisors
• Officers manage day-to-day operations of the HOA:
  • Addressing issues brought forth by members
  • Approving budget items (e.g., front entrance plumbing and electrical repairs)
  • Organizing events
• Attendance is typically just officers and advisors, so a quorum of 50% of officers plus one is needed to conduct business

Article VI — General Member Meetings

• The larger semi-annual group meetings for all members (held in April and October)
• Topics include events, administrative actions, financials, and future plans
• Historically, about 10% of members attend these meetings
• A 10% quorum means 10% of all organization members—essentially, everyone in attendance

Yes, that is correct.

• 2/3 (67%) is considered a supermajority in most legislative, corporate, and financial settings.
• Most commonly, HOAs require 67–75% of the eligible vote for major decisions.
• The intent of this change is to more efficiently address future changes requested by the membership.

See Q2 above for clarification on the two types of meetings and their different quorum requirements.

Other voting topics may include:

• New board selections
• Budget approvals
• Other matters requiring general membership approval

No.

• The 67% vote requirement (Section 24) only applies to future amendments of the Restrictive Covenants.
• The “one vote per lot” rule (Section 21) applies to cases where general membership voting is required.
• This is certainly not “every association decision”.

The spirit and intent of this section is to prevent retail-like thoroughfares where customers and suppliers regularly come and go to the residence. This would:

• Increase neighborhood traffic
• Create safety concerns
• Risk property damage

A home studio where sales and client interactions occur at other venues (not the residence) would not conflict with this intent.

No.

While this section may initially sound confusing, the intent has not changed from requiring 67% of the lot owners to vote to pass amendments to the covenants.

• The two initial portions in Section 24 identify how the votes can be cast (at a meeting or in writing).
• The final phrase, “the owners of the lots,” identifies who specifically needs to vote to approve this kind of change.
• The 10% quorum at such a meeting would need to be met to conduct business, but that 10% alone does not satisfy the voting requirement for covenant amendments.
• 67% of all lot owners must vote to approve covenant changes.