What is Design Review, and Why Do I Need It?
Have you ever been walking through a neighborhood, looked at a house, and said to yourself, “Boy, am I glad that is not my neighbor!”? The likelihood is all of us have done this at some point…maybe the paint scheme was a tad “out there," the yard was not quite maintained, or maybe it just looked like the builder was not paying attention to certain details during construction.
In these moments, you are going to be very happy if your community has a Design Review Process. When referring to the “process," it is all inclusive of a community’s Design Guidelines, Architectural Review Committee (ARC), consultants, construction rules, and required levels of ongoing maintenance. These all work together to ensure a community maintains its vision for architectural character and style, construction processes and peer review.
Now, this all sounds pretty technical, so let’s get down to the two main advantages of everyone in your community being subject to the Design Review Process:
1. Protects everyone’s property values by requiring all community members to construct and maintain homes/landscape in a similar manner; and
2. Gives community a consistent aesthetic appeal, with similar home styles and standards of maintenance.
Follow this link for an example of Design Guidelines for Northwest Crossing in Bend, Oregon: http://www.northwestcrossing.com/real-estate/nwx-home-building-and-building-guidelines/rules-design-guidelines-2/
Design Review in Winter?
Each community is different in their requirements for design review. Typically, there is a board appointed committee in the community who reviews and approves exterior improvements. Since much of this type of work is weather dependent, winter can be a slow time for design review.
This year Central Oregon experienced an unusual amount of snow and freezing temperatures. This harsh weather has brought to light many issues which may require community members to consider improvements to their homes, or replace damaged elements with something new. Below are some examples of maintenance issues that may need to go through the design review process:
Key Design Review Lessons from the Pros!
This process can seem intimidating if you’ve never been through it before, so we wanted to share a few key tips we’ve learned from our time with Design Review:
In these moments, you are going to be very happy if your community has a Design Review Process. When referring to the “process," it is all inclusive of a community’s Design Guidelines, Architectural Review Committee (ARC), consultants, construction rules, and required levels of ongoing maintenance. These all work together to ensure a community maintains its vision for architectural character and style, construction processes and peer review.
Now, this all sounds pretty technical, so let’s get down to the two main advantages of everyone in your community being subject to the Design Review Process:
1. Protects everyone’s property values by requiring all community members to construct and maintain homes/landscape in a similar manner; and
2. Gives community a consistent aesthetic appeal, with similar home styles and standards of maintenance.
Follow this link for an example of Design Guidelines for Northwest Crossing in Bend, Oregon: http://www.northwestcrossing.com/real-estate/nwx-home-building-and-building-guidelines/rules-design-guidelines-2/
Design Review in Winter?
Each community is different in their requirements for design review. Typically, there is a board appointed committee in the community who reviews and approves exterior improvements. Since much of this type of work is weather dependent, winter can be a slow time for design review.
This year Central Oregon experienced an unusual amount of snow and freezing temperatures. This harsh weather has brought to light many issues which may require community members to consider improvements to their homes, or replace damaged elements with something new. Below are some examples of maintenance issues that may need to go through the design review process:
- Paint/Stain
- Gutters and Downspouts
- Roof Repairs
- Pavers/Driveways/Asphalt Repairs
- Landscaping
- Improvements for future winter preparedness, e.g: snow guards and heat tape
Key Design Review Lessons from the Pros!
This process can seem intimidating if you’ve never been through it before, so we wanted to share a few key tips we’ve learned from our time with Design Review:
- READ all your governing documents thoroughly before hiring anyone to bid or design your plans!
- Contact your Design Review Administrator to understand your community’s process and the fees involved.
- Try not to take decisions or questions personally, as aesthetics and design tastes vary widely person to person, and all your neighbors must follow the process to maintain consistency in the community.
