CRANBERRY TWP — While some homeowners may complain about restrictions put in place by their neighborhood homeowners association, those managing them say associations maintain property values and keep common areas clean and inviting.

The role of homeowners associations came into play when the association in The Preserve neighborhood in Cranberry Township told a couple they could not keep a miniature pet pig there.

The association said that only dogs and cats are acceptable pets.

That situation was reported in the July 18 Butler Eagle.

Keeping values high

Duane McKee, assistant township manager for Cranberry, said residents in homeowners associations pay an annual fee that goes to maintaining common areas such as playgrounds and park spaces, benches, street lights, swimming pools, clubhouses, or other features used by residents.

Dues also pay for liability insurance and for social activities in the development.

McKee facilitates quarterly meetings at the municipal center for the township's 69 active homeowners associations' board members.

He said the township has the meetings to keep the associations strong so property values will remain high. He said meeting speakers including landscapers, real estate agents and attorneys.

“We facilitate a conversation on how to solve issues that they come across,” McKee said.

Homeowners associations have bylaws that include restrictions on what residents can add or modify on their property, McKee said.

“It maintains property values by keeping the place looking nice, and curb appeal helps sell that house the next time,” he said.

Each development's bylaws and requirements are different, McKee said. Some are strict, others are more flexible. McKee said most home buyers ask about a neighborhood's restrictions through their Realtor.

One of the most restrictive conditions McKee has heard of requires homeowners wanting to renovate their homes' interior to undergo an architectural review by the association.

McKee found out that the covenant was intended for multifamily housing so the plumbing and electric would remain uniform in the units.

Management firms hired

In Cranberry, many of the housing associations have hired management companies to oversee the main tasks that once were handled by the volunteer association board.

Angela Rankin, owner and president of Cranberry Community Management, said her firm represents 14 neighborhoods in Cranberry, plus two in Adams Township.

Rankin said homeowners association boards usually go with a management company because the board members, most of whom have full-time jobs, do not have the time to take calls from residents asking if they can plant a certain tree or what color they can paint their shutters.

Also, the board members can avoid awkward communications with their neighbors if a management company takes over the tasks of running the association.

“No one wants to tell their neighbor, 'Hey, you're past due on your homeowners association dues,'” Rankin said.

She stressed that while her firm collects those dues, answers questions from residents about compliance issues and restrictions, recommends insurance, and receives bids from landscapers and other companies, the association board makes all the final decisions.

“We meet with the boards as often as they want,” Rankin said.

She explained that most associations have three, five or seven board members, depending on the plan's size. She said candidates seek to run for the board, and the homeowners vote. The results are revealed at an annual meeting.

During the year, Rankin said, an association committee approves improvement or addition requests from residents regarding plantings, sheds or satellite dishes. The board will vote on significant issues like painting a home or adding a swimming pool, she said.

“They want to make sure the homeowner understands that these are the standards they have,” she said.

Rankin said one of the most frequent complaints her office receives is that neighbors walking their dogs do not clean up their animals' waste. Rankin said her company has bought waste stations, with the homeowners association's funds, that are placed in some plans.

She said associations are often cast in an unfavorable light because they restrict what a homeowner can do with his property.

“When they bought the house, they agreed at the closing to abide by all the rules and regulations,” Rankin said. “The board is only enforcing them.”

She said most of the associations she represents also have social activities. Halloween parades, Easter egg hunts, Santa visits, annual picnics and garage sales are some of the events she has seen in developments.

“It goes outside of the scope of just enforcing rules,” Rankin said. “There is a social side of it.”

Bob Gillenberger, owner of R.J. Community Management, also in Cranberry, said his firm represents six homeowners associations in the township.

He said a management company allows an objective third party, instead of a board member who is also a neighbor, to point out violations, remind residents to pay dues, and complete other sensitive actions.

He said residents in single-family home neighborhoods pay an average of $300 to $600 per year in association fees, depending on the amenities that require upkeep. Residents cut their own grass and shovel their sidewalks.

He said members of condominium associations pay about $1,800 per year because the association pays to maintain roads in the winter, clear gutters, shovel sidewalks, plant flowers, and do all maintenance.

Gillenberger said association requirements can include restrictions on above-ground pools, fencing, trash can placement, building additions, shed sizes, paint colors or trees and shrubbery allowed.

He said in most cases, residents must fill out a request form, and the board approves or rejects it.

Gillenberger said association requirements are usually more restrictive than township ordinances, so conflicts rarely occur between association restrictions and township ordinances.

Homeowners views

Homeowner Kristen McWilliams of Cranberry has lived in a development with a homeowners association for five years.

She said the association, which she declined to name, turns a blind eye on tall grass but then can be strict on shed sizes.

“There's not really a big benefit,” she said of the association.

She said the association, through dues, takes care of the sign and landscaping at the plan's entrance. But no social activities are organized, she said.

McWilliams said her association board will hire a management company within the next few years because busy residents don't have the time to volunteer for association duties.

Marcy Eck of Franklin Park just south of Cranberry, lives in a community of carriage homes. She said her association fee pays for lawn and pool care, winter maintenance, painting, grass cutting and all other maintenance.

“It's well worth it,” Eck said of her annual fee.

She said the association also keeps an eye on the neighborhood, quickly cracking down on violations.

“They walk around nightly,” Eck said.

The association also holds activities like pool parties, progressive dinners, and wine tasting.

Lia Noel of Cranberry Heights said her homeowners association is just getting up and running.

Noel said the upside of a homeowners association is that the neighborhood always is well kept, but the downside is that the board members have control.

She said with four active children, she doesn't have time to attend association meetings.

Noel said her association is trying to install a playground which she opposes because it would impinge on some residents' backyards.

“It doesn't seem to matter,” Noel said. “You get what you get.”

A state requirement

The Pennsylvania legislature passed the Planned Community Act in 1996, then amended it in 2004 and again in 2013. The law requires the formation of a homeowners association for residential developments with more than 12 homes.

Developments created before 1996, like Northview in Center Township and Fernway in Cranberry Township, are not required to follow the act.

Lorraine DiDomenico, president of the Butler County Association of Realtors, said while every development must form a homeowners association, many do so and then dissolve it.

She said some Butler-area developments have thriving associations, while others have none. Some charge only a small fee to pay for the landscaping and sign maintenance at the development's entrance.

“It's a mixed bag,” she said of what these associations do.

DiDomenico said many clients ask if a neighborhood they are interested in includes a homeowners association.

“A lot of people don't want to pay that extra fee,” she said.

DiDomenico said she has seen clients reject a property after learning the association's rules and requirements.

Helping everyone

Nick Protos has served as president, vice president and treasurer on the homeowners association in the Glen Eden development in Cranberry. The plan has 113 single-family, and 275 town homes on 202 acres off Glen Eden Road.

Protos said the association fees in Glen Eden are relatively low, with residents paying $64 to $70 per month. He said owners of single-family homes pay less.

The features funded by the association at the condos include grass cutting and treatment, power spraying the townhomes' exterior, painting the exteriors every five years, plus maintenance of the lake, park, pavilions, play structures and walking trail.

He said the association also plans several community events each year such as an Easter egg hunt and garage sale.

Protos agrees that associations are important because they help maintain property values.

“Keeping the homes up helps everyone in the plan,” Protos said.

He recalled a neighborhood without a homeowners association where homes had widely varying front doors, siding and lamp posts.

“Everyone was able to exercise their creativity, but it looked terrible,” he said.

He said going with a management company takes a burden off the association board.

“(The board members) don't have to make rounds to inspect properties, or get bids for services,” he said. “In my experience, the key is to have a good management company.”

Angela Rankin, owner and president of Cranberry Community Management, which represents 14 neighborhoods in Cranberry Township and two in Adams Township, said most homeowners associations are flexible.But she said they exist to help keep developments uniform to protect the property values for all residents.She said home buyers need to know that they will be required to sign documents at their homes' closing that they agree to all the conditions and bylaws in the development's homeowners association.She said typical requirements by an association place conditions on these kinds of items:• Swimming pools• Fences• Exterior home color• Storage of trash cans• Firewood storage• Children's play equipment• Contractor signs• Pets• Satellite dishes• Radon systems