Hello Owners,

The Lake in the Woods Restrictive Covenants do not allow temporary or long-term storage of any vessels, including trailers, boats, recreational vans, trucks, commercial vehicles and others on owner lots or in the common areas. Enforcement of this prohibition has been a major problem for the Board due to the cost of volunteer time, letter writing, and resident push-back.

To address this, about eight years ago the Board of Directors established a parking area by our maintenance building for boats, trailers, and other vessels. The purpose was to provide residents a place to store various vessels not permitted in their yards/driveways and thereby reduce enforcement efforts. The Board does charge a relatively small fee (considerably less than commercial rates) for storage. Residents clearly appreciated the convenience of our storage area. There was a waiting list for most of 2021 and we had to add a number of spaces to satisfy the demand.

The small fees add up to about $6000.00 per year. This is a win for the Community, a win for residents who use it, and helps with common area maintenance expenses.

As it turns out, the restrictions on storage of various vessels on common property also apply to the HOA. Legally, we could claim that since this has been extant for more than five years we are “grandfathered in.” However, that is not a perfect defense because it could be challenged in court, an expensive venture, win or lose.

The Board believes it is in the best interest of the Community to modify our Restrictive Covenants to allow the HOA to continue providing storage and to continue to receive the income therefrom. That action is difficult because we need approval from $75% of owners.  We hope you will help us on this matter.

Sincerely,

Board of Directors

Lake in the Woods Owners Association, Inc.