Gleneagle Civic Association > Documents > Architectural Control

It is the policy of the Gleneagle Civic Association (GCA), a Colorado nonprofit corporation, as successor in interest to the declarant with respect to the Declaration of Covenants, Restrictions, and Charges for Gleneagle subdivisions, to approve variances of these covenants in an equitable manner consistent with the best interests of all property owners and residents within the GCA community. This will be accomplished by the GCA Board of Directors following the guidance of Section 143 of the Declaration and supported by an Architectural Control Committee (ACC) made up of GCA members. The cornerstone of this policy is that it provides the opportunity for all residents or owners directly affected by a requested variance to make their views known to the Board in advance of its decision, should they choose to do so.

You can download the necessary form here.

Declaration Language

Section 143 of the Declaration, under the heading of Variances, states that “Declarant shall have authority to grant for a lot or building site a variance from the terms of one or more of the foregoing sections subject to terms and conditions fixed by Declarant as will not be contrary to the interests of the Owners and residents of the Subdivision where, owing to exceptional and extraordinary circumstances, literal enforcement of all of those Sections will result in unnecessary hardship.” The Declaration goes on to stipulate that following an application for a variance:

a) Declarant shall call a meeting of Owners of adjoining lots … to be held at Declarant’s principal office, notice of which meeting shall be given to the owners at least 20 days in advance, at which meeting all Owners shall have opportunity to appear and express their views. Whether or not anyone appears at the meeting … Declarant shall within one week after the meeting either grant or deny the variance.

b) A variance … shall run with the lot or building site …

c) If a variance is denied another application for a similar variance … may not be made for a period of one year.

d) A variance shall not be granted unless Declarant shall find that all of the following conditions exist:

i. the variance will not authorize the operation of a use other than private, single-family residential use;

ii. literal enforcement of the Sections above enumerated will result in unnecessary hardship;

iii. the variance will not substantially or permanently injure the use of other property in the Subdivision;

iv. the variance will not alter the essential character of the Subdivision;

v. the variance will not weaken the general purposes of these covenants;

vi. the variance will be in harmony with the spirit and purpose of these covenants;

vii. the circumstances leading the applicant to seek a variance are unique to the lot or building site or its owner and are not applicable generally to lots in the Subdivision or their owners.

Procedures

The Architectural Control Committee – The Architectural Control Committee (ACC) shall comprise a chairman and sufficient additional members necessary to conduct the business of the committee in an expeditious and effective manner. The committee will receive and examine each request for a variance from a GCA member, submitted in compliance with Section 140, and process the request as described below. The term “variance” is interpreted to mean any deviation from prescribed parameters for new residences spelled out in the Declaration or any significant alteration to an existing residence or its lot that is not expressly prohibited by the Declaration and that the Declarant is empowered to approve.

Standard Procedure – Upon receipt of a proper written request for a variance from a property owner, the chairman of the ACC shall send or cause to be sent letters to the owners of adjoining properties and, based on his/her judgment, to owners of other nearby properties who would likely be affected by the variance. The letters shall state that a variance to the covenants has been requested for an adjoining or nearby property, giving the address, that a copy of the request is enclosed, and that the GCA Board will consider the request at a regular monthly meeting, currently held on the second Thursday of the month, that will occur no less than 22 days following the posting of the letter. The letters will further state that, in accordance with Section 143, the recipient is entitled to appear at the meeting and express his/her views on the requested variance. At the meeting or within one week after the meeting, the Board shall make its decision, and the chairman of the ACC shall inform the requestor in writing of this decision.

Expedited Procedure – Upon receipt of a proper written request for a variance from a property owner, if the requestor indicates he/she wishes to expedite the processing of the request, the chairman of the ACC shall provide the requestor with an “expedited variance package.” This package shall consist of a list of the adjoining and other affected properties, based on the best judgment of the ACC chairman, and a form, with a copy of the request attached, to be read and signed by the owners of the properties on the list. This form shall state that the bearer, whose name and address are noted, has applied for a variance to the covenants for his property, that a description is attached, and that each affected property owner is entitled to attend a meeting of the GCA Board at which the variance will be discussed to take place no less than 20 days after notification. Additionally, form shall state that if an affected property owner has examined the request for a variance, has no objections to its approval, and is willing to forego his/her opportunity to appear before the Board, he/she may so indicate by signing the form. If all property owners on the list sign the form, the requestor will return it to the ACC chairman. The ACC chairman will present the matter to the Board for decision at its next meeting, which may occur less than 20 days after all affected residents have been notified. If the requestor desires, the ACC chairman may consider seeking a faster approval from the Board by invoking the Board’s e-mail approval process.

General Purpose Approvals – These procedures do not apply to requests governed by the general purpose approvals previously approved by the Board.

APPROVED BY A VOTE OF THE GCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS ON this 25^th day of September 2003