Be Our Guest...

Well, 2020 is upon us and with it we also embark upon year three of operation #hoassholes. Jen has been breeding like crazy and thus when Declan was born we gained a lovely daughter, but also lost one of our guest rooms. Despite the surrounding community, the Gray residence is a hot ticket for those looking to escape harsh winters and harsher California socialism. With the welcome flow of guests, Jen and I decided to put custom home plan v1.5 into motion and begin construction on a detached guest house which would allow for the adequate housing of visitors and maybe also serve as a "hey, where's Justin" escape room. You probably know where this is headed.

One of the main goals, along with expanded guest lodgings, was also to add on another garage bay where my toys can take up residence. We're already beyond available spaces if you count the never-ending 1969 Scout build. No sooner had we drawn up preliminary plans for the review of our watchful Oligarchs when our dreams took on the muted tones of nightmare. We knew a fifth car garage was going to be an 'ask' as the current community architectural guidelines state that garages beyond four stalls are subject to HOA approval, and a pending lawsuit certainly does nothing to grease the wheels of bureaucracy. However, what I had failed to catch was that there is a conflicting provision in the community CC&R's, and as the HOA elegantly pointed out, when in conflict, that document becomes the tiebreaker.

One of the main reasons I hadn't thought to check the CC&R for this provision, in addition to the fact that the Architectural Guidelines are supposed to be the singular source of detail for building and remodel regulations, was due to the fact that several homes in the community already have five and even six car garages. Of course that's par for the course in good ole' Pinnacle Paradise. The 'Grandfather Provision' as it's known and frequently cited by the HOA, was once again cited here when this discrepancy was brought to their attention. Similar provisions are the norm in most HOA regulatory documents. Essentially, when a rule is passed into the CC&R, you don't want to create an environment where those currently out of compliance suddenly have to jump into a remodel. I actually agree with that. What I don't agree with is passing rules in a CC&R that create such a broad base of non-compliance. If something is widely being practiced in the community, it's probably not a reasonable item to outlaw - because obviously the community wants it. Beyond that, grandfather provisions do in fact have pretty tight conformity laws attached to them, our's for instance states that when you modify any elements of the home the out of compliance items have to then be brought into compliance.

You guessed it - that hasn't happened.

And also consider how ridiculous that would be in practice - you add a fence and as such you have to tear down one of your garages, or lower your home by sixteen inches?

Ridiculous.

As such, due to the 'Grandfather Clause' really the only two homes in the community which are subject to the CC&R's (by the HOA's crazy interpretation) are the two built after 2012. Ours, and my neighbor - which is a spec house currently on the market.

NOTE: If you're looking for a new home in North Scottsdale I can turn you on to a great option! The HOA is a bit tricky though.

We attempted to solve for the garage issue by eliminating it and putting in it's place a gym. But, the HOA found a way to reject that as well - this time citing issues that aren't even in the CC&R enforceable - like the fact they thought it still looked like a garage from the exterior due to the fact is has a carriage door (allowing us to open the room in cooler weather months). Apparently, the look of a door dictates a garage. For reference you can check out the doors here. They're typically used just as we are intending, in a flex interior/exterior space.

So, long story short, if you're planning to come for a visit - book in advance. New rooms aren't opening up anytime soon.