Community Village design regulations are a set of rules specific to a development designated as a Community Village which would be in addition to the zoning regulations applicable to a typical, specific development.

An additional governing entity that has the power to impose further rules and restrictions is a development’s Homeowners Association (HOA). However, while an HOA can create regulations which are stricter than that of town regulations, an HOA cannot generate rules that are less strict than the town’s, or which contradict a municipal regulation.

With that said, the council decided at their meeting to find a means of allowing sheds in a Community Village, as a resulting from a request presented by Steve Smith, representing Meade’s Crossing, who was seeking a means that would allow sheds to be constructed on single-family home-properties within the development.

The Village Community design, as having been created by the to City Council, does not allow sheds. Smith noted that, while the HOA provides for lawn care for the townhomes present, it does not provide the same for the single-family home, resulting in those in single-family homes having to store their lawn care and other outdoor accessories out-of-doors.

"As a result," he stated, "what we’re finding is, if you look at somebody’s backyard, they may have a pile of hoses and a grill there – it’s not the best look," adding, "Technically, we could probably do some enforcement but, if they’re putting both cars in the garage, there’s not a lot of room."

Smith said the HOA is interested in seeking "some sort of relief" that would allow single-family homes to be able to have sheds, with an understanding that the types of sheds that would be allowed would be governed by the HOA. "We don’t really want the old Montgomery Ward’s metal sheds that we all grew up with, there are some very attractive alternatives," he stated.

After considerable discussions, the council decided the solution would be to amend the development’s Development Rights and Responsibilities Agreement (DRRA) to allow sheds and to designate the HOA as having the regulatory power to govern the specifications, which they determine to be allowable.

In addition, it was decided to amend city-coding to include wording that defers to the DRRAs which, in turn could allow HOAs to govern sheds where sheds would make sense, such as for single-family homes.

Changing Meade’s Crossing’s DRRA would be subject to the review and public hearing by the Planning Commission, while changes to the code would necessitate a public hearing before the council.