Adam Sherwood
There are hundreds of homeowners associations in Carrboro with restrictive covenants that limit environmentally beneficial practices. Given the reality of global warming and resource depletion, it is critical that individual efforts to conserve energy and water aren’t prohibited in the future.
Recently, the state legislature passed a bill prohibiting homeowners associations from restricting solar panels. The Town of Carrboro went a step further and won the right to pass a town ordinance that would regulate future HOA covenants by preventing them from restricting environmentally sound behaviors. The board of alderman enlisted the help of a group of students at UNC in creating a resource for town citizens to learn more about their homeowners associations and their restrictions and in drafting a regulatory ordinance for future covenants.
As a member of that team, I can personally attest to the lack of accessibility and transparency of many HOA covenants. Many homebuyers are unfamiliar with the policies of their neighborhood HOA and learn too late that they are unable to plant a garden or install rain barrels. We have created a guide to homeowners associations aimed at increasing public understanding of their structure and language. The guide includes a breakdown of the 35 covenants that we were able to collect and analyze, with information about what restrictions are in place in each neighborhood.
In conjunction with this resource for HOA covenants already in place, we presented a recommendation to the board of alderman regarding an ordinance limiting future HOA covenants. Interestingly, some of the most commonly restricted practices were also some of the simplest and most effective – for example, clotheslines for drying clothes and rain barrels. These passive strategies for reducing fossil fuel usage and conserving water are unfortunately being painted as “unsightly†and thus detrimental to property values. Far from diminishing the aesthetics of a neighborhood, these practices are landmarks of environmental responsibility and symbolize the progressive and proactive spirit of the Carrboro community.
Stable property values and environmentally beneficial behaviors don’t have to be mutually exclusive. The growing momentum behind the local-food movement, the high social cost of fossil fuel dependence and the increasing awareness of the necessity to conserve precious natural resources like water are evidence of a larger public trend towards sustainability and efficiency. In the future it may be the presence, not the restriction, of solar panels, rain barrels, clotheslines and fertile garden plots that augment a property’s value.
The public guide we created to help demystify homeowners associations will be available online and includes tips regarding finding and better understanding your own HOA covenant. We encourage anyone interested in learning more about homeowners associations and environmental stewardship to have a look.
Adam Sherwood is a member of the UNC class of 2010.
It’s amazing how many buyers sign their contract saying that they have received and read their covenants, even if they haven’t.
I’m glad people are thinking about their use of resources. There is a problem with rain barrels that I haven’t seen mentioned much, and that I think is significant. Most people don’t understand that mosquitoes will breed in a very small amounts of water. There are going to be a lot of rain barrels that have a skim of water in the bottom either because they are no longer being actively used or because of the dry spells we have. That means a lot more mosquitoes, a lot more nuisance to neighbors trying to enjoy their gardens, and a lot more mosquito-born illnesses.
If the town is going to encourage and even push for more rain barrels and rain catchment basins, I think the proponents should make sure users understand what problems are likely and what to do about them. I’m a garden designer and I’ve seen how many of my clients want to do the right thing, get rain barrels, and then leave them unused but with enough water left in them for mosquitoes to breed. I remember those summer days of riding bikes behind the DDT truck! I hope we don’t get into such trouble with all these opportunities for mosquito larvae to thrive that we have to go back to such damaging control methods.
We have 2 rain barrels at our home and have found that placing gravel on top of the screening on the top of the rain barrel has eliminated any mosquito issues. The gravel provides a permeable barrier on top of the screen holes that allows the water in, but keeps the mosquitos away.
Of course we have mosquitos in our yard, and they hang around damp areas, but they aren’t any larger a problem at our rain barrels than anywhere else in the yard.