| Article II — Membership | p.36 |
| Article III — Voting Rights ★ | p.36 |
| Article IV — Maintenance Assessments ★ | p.37 |
Section 16.
"Trail Facilities" shall mean and refer to the parking easement on Lot 19, the 10' Access Easement on Lot 20, and the 20' Ingress-Egress Easement on Lot 25 shown on the recorded plat of the Properties. For purposes of this Declaration, Trail Facilities does not include the Trail Easement.
Article II — Membership
Every person or entity who is a record owner of a fee or undivided fee interest in any Lot which is subject by this Declaration to assessment by the Association, including contract sellers, shall be a member of the Association. The foregoing is not intended to include persons or entities who hold an interest merely as security for the performance of an obligation. Membership shall be appurtenant to and may not be separated from ownership of any Lot which is subject to assessment by the Association. Ownership of such Lot shall be the sole qualification for membership, and an Owner shall have a membership for each Lot owned. A mortgagee in possession of a Lot shall be entitled to exercise the Owner's rights in the Association with regard thereto.
Article III — Voting Rights
The Association shall have two classes of voting membership:
Class A: Class A members shall be all those Owners as defined herein with the exception of the Declarants. The Class A members shall be entitled to one vote for each Lot in which they hold the interest required for membership by Article II. When more than one person holds such interest in any Lot, all such persons shall be members. The vote for such Lot shall be exercised as they among themselves may determine, but in no event shall more than one vote be cast with respect to any Lot.
Class B: The Class B member shall be the Declarant or Declarants. A Class B member shall be entitled to four (4) votes for each Lot in which it holds the interest required for membership by Article II; provided that the Class B membership shall cease and a Class A membership with one (1) vote for each lot in which it holds the interest required for membership shall
issue on the happening of either of the following events, whichever occurs earlier:
(a) The sale or transfer by a Declarant of the last lot owned by it to an Owner, or
(b) On December 31, 1998
Article IV — Maintenance Assessments
Section 1. Creation of the Lien and Personal Obligation of Assessments.
Each Owner of any Lot by acceptance of a deed therefor, whether or not it shall be so expressed in any such deed or other conveyance, is deemed to covenant and agree to pay to the Association:
(i) Annual assessments or charges, and
(ii) Special assessments for capital improvements, repairs and costs.
Such assessments shall be fixed, established and collected from time to time as hereinafter provided.
The annual and special assessments, together with late charges (including reasonable attorney's fees), interest thereon and costs of collection thereof, as hereinafter provided in Section 8 of this Article, shall be a charge on the land and shall be a continuing lien upon the Lot or Lots against which each such assessment is made. Each such assessment, including any charges under Section 8 of this Article shall be the personal obligation of the person(s) or entity who were the Owners of such Lot or Lots at the time when the assessment became due and payable.
Section 2. Purpose of Assessments.
The assessments levied by the Association shall be
(i) for the purposes of maintaining, painting, clearing, mowing, weed trimming and edging (the latter three items at least three times during the growing season), cleaning, repairing, reconstructing, replacing, replanting, landscaping and/or otherwise improving the Common Area, Trail Facilities, Association property, exterior perimeter fencing on Shelter Lane and entrance signs or otherwise providing
such services to the Members as may be determined by the Board of Directors (such as trash pick-up and removal, snow plowing, etc.) for the use, benefit, recreation, health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Properties;
(ii) for the purpose of providing, adding to and thereafter maintaining improvements on the Common Area, such as fences, picnic facilities, playground, recreational or exercise equipment, barbecues, fitness trails and/or tennis courts, PROVIDED, however, no permanent or temporary improvements, alterations or changes shall be made to Parcel A that would be inconsistent or inappropriate with its use as a cemetery;
(iii) for the purpose of meeting any of its financial obligations with respect to maintenance, upkeep, repair and improvement of Lake Facilities No. 1, Lake Facilities No. 2, or as an owner on a pipestem driveway;
(iv) for the non-exclusive enforcement of this Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, Restrictions and Reservations;
(v) for adequate control measures to prevent the erosion, overflow of storm water or drainage from the Common Area and/or Trail Facilities during the periods of site preparation, repair, development or construction, and thereafter;
(vi) for the establishment of capital reserves for future anticipated capital expenditures;
(vii) for the employment from time to time of independent or other contractors, servants, agents and laborers as the Association may deem necessary to the exercise of the powers, rights, authorities and privileges granted to it;
(viii) for the employment of legal counsel, accountants and other professionals as may be deemed advisable by the Association;
(ix) for obtaining property and liability insurance and other types of insurance as may be deemed advisable by the Association;
(x) for the purpose of entering into agreements with other adjacent community associations or property owners for joint use or sharing in facilities as may be deemed advisable by the Association; and
(xi) for the ordinary and usual business of a not-for-profit corporation and for such other purposes as are consistent with the powers, rights, authorities and privileges of the Association.
Section 3. Capital Contribution to Association.
Upon the first conveyance of a Lot by the Declarant or an Approved Builder to a non-declarant, each purchaser or new Owner shall be required to pay a membership fee to the Association in the amount of Two Hundred and No/100 Dollars ($200.00), at the time of the initial conveyance of such Lot. This fee shall be paid by the first purchaser of each Lot at the time of, and as an incident of, the closing of the Lot sale, but shall be in addition to the settlement or closing costs for the Lot purchase, and not a part thereof. This contribution to the Association shall be a one time charge applicable only to the first sale of a Lot by the Declarant or an Approved Builder to a non-declarant. At the time of each such sale by the Declarant or an Approved Builder to a non-declarant, Declarant or an Approved Builder, as the case may be, agrees to pay a one time capital contribution to the Association of $200.00 for that Lot.
Section 4. Annual Assessments.
There shall not be any annual assessments until the 1995 calendar year. Beginning in 1995, the maximum annual assessment, which may be established by the Board of Directors, shall be $240.00 per year for Class A members.
(a) From and after January 1, 1996, the maximum annual assessment may be increased by the Board of Directors effective January 1 of each year without a vote of the membership in
conformance with the increase, if any, of the Consumer Price Index (All Items Index) for the Washington, D.C., standard metropolitan area (published by the Department of Labor, Washington D.C.) or any successor Index thereto for the year ending the preceding July 1 or twenty percent (20%), whichever is greater; and,
(b) From and after January 1, 1996, the maximum annual assessment may be increased annually above that established by subparagraph (a), provided that any such change shall have the assent by a vote of more than two-thirds (⅔) of each class of members who are voting in person or by proxy, at a meeting duly called for this purpose; and,
After consideration of current maintenance costs and further needs of the Association, the Board of Directors may fix the annual assessment at an amount not in excess of the maximum.
The annual assessment for each Lot shall be established by the Board of Directors for each year at a duly called meeting of the Board of Directors by November 30th of each calendar year. Such assessment may be payable in periodic payments on such date or dates as may be established by the Board of Directors. Written notice of the annual assessment shall be sent to every Owner subject thereto. The Association shall, upon receipt of payment for the cost of preparation thereof, furnish an association disclosure packet pursuant to the Property Owners' Association Act, Section 55-508, et seq., of the 1950 Code of Virginia, as amended.
Section 5. Special Assessments for Capital Improvements.
In addition to the annual assessments authorized above, the Association may levy in any assessment year after the 1995 calendar year, special assessments applicable to that year only, for the purpose of defraying, in whole or in part, the cost of any construction or reconstruction, maintenance, improvement, painting, additional required structures, unexpected repair or replacement of the Common Area, Trail Facilities, or other property for which the Association is responsible, in whole or in part, including the necessary fixtures and personal property
related thereto, provided that any such special assessment shall have the assent of two-thirds (⅔) of the votes of the members who are voting in person or by proxy at a membership meeting duly called for this purpose, and provided further that no special assessments shall be levied before the 1996 calendar year. The approval of such special assessment by the membership shall be obtained at a meeting of the Association in accordance with Section 6 of this Article. Such special assessment may be payable in periodic payments on such date or dates as may be established by the Board of Directors.
Section 6. Notice and Quorum for any Action Authorized Under Sections 4 and 5.
Written notice of any meeting called for the purpose of taking any action authorized under Sections 4 or 5 of this Article shall be sent to all members not less than 10 days nor more than 50 days in advance of the meeting. At the first such meeting called, the presence of members or of proxies entitled to cast forty percent (40%) of all the votes of each class of membership shall constitute a quorum. If the required quorum is not present, another meeting may be called subject to the same notice requirement, and the required quorum at the subsequent meeting shall be one-half (½) of the required quorum at the preceding meeting. No such subsequent meeting shall be held more than 60 days following the preceding meeting.
Section 7. Rate of Assessment.
Both annual and special assessments may be fixed by the Board of Directors, in its discretion, at (i) a uniform or same rate for all Lots, or (ii) a two tier rate system distinguishing between those Lots with residential dwellings (Improved Lots) and those Lots not yet built upon (Vacant Lots), or (iii) a blended rate which reflects costs and expenses that all Owners should pay (including, but not limited to, liability and property insurance, Common Area maintenance, capital improvements, etc.), and costs and expenses that only some Owners residing on the Properties benefit from (including, but not limited to, trash pick-up and removal, snow plowing, etc.) or (iv) some policy determined by the Board of
