The shed amendment vote below is here for two reasons. First, it is a test: the board is using it to show how the association could manage voting and gather input through this site. Second, it is a valid question for homeowner review: allowing storage sheds is genuinely open to discussion, and the board wants to hear where the community stands. The online vote is non-binding either way, so please read the proposal and weigh in.
Detached storage sheds: where the proposal stands
A proposal is under member consideration to amend the Declaration so each Lot may have one detached storage shed, built to standards in a written Board policy. The Board has prepared the paperwork, but the decision belongs to the membership: nothing changes unless owners of at least 63 Lots sign a recordable instrument (Declaration Section 30).
Why now
Several neighbors have asked about a place to keep yard equipment, recreational gear, or seasonal items. With our smaller lot sizes, a garage alone often is not enough, and the current outright ban does not fit how the community actually uses its yards today.
There is also an enforcement angle. Our governing documents already restrict what can be kept in driveways: the 2005 Declaration of Restrictions, Section 14, prohibits outdoor overnight storage of boats, trailers, and business-marked work vehicles on any lot. Neighbors have asked the Board to enforce this. At the same time, the ban on storage sheds leaves many homeowners with no place to move mowers, tools, and seasonal gear out of the garage, which means no room to park those vehicles inside. Enforcing one rule while the other blocks the fix puts homeowners in an impossible spot. Allowing a modest shed gives families a realistic way to comply.
Motions on the ballot
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What needs an amendment, and what doesn't
Amendments change the rules. An amendment is required when the association wants to change what the recorded governing documents allow or prohibit. Allowing storage sheds is a good example: today the Declaration doesn't permit them, so allowing them means amending the Declaration itself. That takes written consent from the owners of at least 63 of the 90 lots, legal review by the association's attorney, and recording with the Waukesha County Register of Deeds. The full process is described on the Documents page.
Most votes are not amendments. Items like landscaping choices or the culvert replacement don't change any recorded rule. They are operating decisions within the authority the governing documents already give the board, paid for from dues and reserves. The board can still put them to a member vote to gauge or follow community preference, but no signature campaign, attorney review, or county recording is needed.
Members may propose and vote on amendment language at any time, but the board will not record, file, or enforce a change to the recorded Declaration of Covenants or the HOA's Bylaws until it has been formally reviewed by counsel. This protects every homeowner from accidentally adopting language that conflicts with Wisconsin statute or existing covenants.
If your motion proposes a bylaw or Declaration change, expect a 2 to 4 week legal-review window before the board takes action on the result. See the amendment procedure →
Propose a motion
Any homeowner can propose a motion for board consideration. Email the board with the motion language and a brief rationale, we'll review it at the next monthly meeting.