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Appeals Committee

APPEALS COMMITTEE . . . . shall consist of members responsible for discharging the duties enumerated in Article XV of the Association By-Laws. They may make recommendations for improvements to the Board.

Administrative Committee
Lakewood Policy #3 | Committees

What Does the Appeals Committee Do?

Members on the Appeals Committee serve in one year terms and are appointed each year by the Board. The current committee keeps around 7 members active, and must have a quorum of 4 to conduct meetings.

The Appeals Committee hears appeals of fines or points assessed for violations of

    • Rules and regulations
    • Property maintenance codes
    • Any ARB/ARC guidelines

When a resident has been issued a fine, citation, or other points, the resident has the right to appeal the violation to the Appeals Committee within 10 days from the date of the letter. The Appeals Committee will listen to residents who want to appeal their violation received from staff.

The members of the committee work to identify the mitigating circumstances that would warrant a decision to reduce, rescind, or uphold fines or points that were assigned based on the violation code.

The Appeals Committee does NOT hear appeals for contract violations including contracts for:

    • Boat Slips
    • Storage Lots
    • Boat Racks

Committee Members

    • Chair: Steve White – 1993
    • Jerry Baxter – 2018
    • Tony DeMarco – 2020
    • Brett Emison – 2013
    • Donna Goodman – 2018
    • Kate Simonett – 2013
    • Geri Taul – 2022
    • Staff Liaison: Sean Bachtel
    • Board Liaison: Andrew Crocker

Have Questions?

The Appeals Committee is an Administrative Committee.

Contact Sean Bachtel at (816) 373-4326 or you can email him at sean@lpoa.com.

Interested in serving on this committee?

Committee Interest Form

If a resident commits a contract violation, you would immediately be served notice, and your contract would be immediately sent for review by the Board of Directors. This would not involve the Appeals Committee.

How Would You Receive a Violation?

Violations are received via mail, issued by the Community Services Department. Violations would be received via First Class Mail, Postal Mail. They will not be sent via email.

Common Code Violations to be Aware Of

In very general terms, these are the types of code violations we see most often:

Property Maintenance Codes make up about 80% of code violations. These mostly include the following:

    • Overgrown grass (6” or more)
    • Condition of the home (deteriorating paint, roof, etc)
    • Improper storage, with tools, supplies, or vehicles stored incorrectly around the yard
    • Parking of boats and trailers in driveways without permits

Other Common code violations include:

    • Boating Registration & Sticker Compliance
    • Construction without approval
    • Removing trees without staff approval in your yard
    • Altering any type of common ground, by adding or removing structures or trees

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if a resident does not attend their appeals meeting?

Although there could be an exception, generally the fines will stand. These decisions are similar to a “default judgment”.

How many citations per month are generally handed out in the community?

The Community Services department keeps track of these records in their office. Usually there are around 400 per year. A year-end report is published annually in the Board Packet, as requested.

Do Residents Lose their Boat Slips Due to Violations?

Losing a boat slip due to violations is extremely rare. The Appeals Committee is not directly involved with violations of contracts for Boat Slips, Storage Lots, Boat Racks, etc.

Violations of the Boat Slip lease agreement terms (or other property contracts) will trigger a review of the lease by the Board of Directors. The Board may find that you are in violation and may terminate the agreement.. This is very rare, and has only occurred in less than 10 people over the last 20 years.

Please see a Sample Boat Slip Agreement | Section 10 for details

Is the Appeals Committee Process a criminal or civil proceeding?

Neither. These are simply hearings to determine whether there are mitigating circumstances to the code violation penalties you may have received and wish to appeal.

Complete Policy References

The Appeals process, including fines, rules & regulations, and guidelines are spread across many of our governing documents. Please see excerpts from each document for a deep dive into our process around violations.

LPOA Rules & Regulations

The Rules and Regulations contain a large volume of content relative to the Appeals Committee, found in Article X | Enforcement of LPOA Rules & Regulations. See below for details.

Overview of Rules & Regulations Document

Content relative to the Appeals Committee can be found under Article X:

Article X
10.010 Citations
10.020 Fines and Accumulation of Points
10.030 Vandalism, Theft and Destruction of Property
10.040 Suspensions and Other Sanctions
10.050 Violations of Suspensions
10.060 Procedure and Appeals
10.070 Legal Proceedings to Enforce Sanctions

Understanding the Points System & Fines

Points are assigned for various violations, and they add up throughout a calendar year. If a resident accrues 12 points in one calendar year, they will automatically be suspended from all amenities (pools, boats, restaurants, etc) for 90 days. Points will begin at 0 again on January 1 each year.

See for details: 10.010 and 10.020

How do you Appeal a Violation

Appeals must be received in writing by the LPOA administration staff. A hard copy is recommended, and you can also email sean@lpoa.com or Reception@lpoa.com to confirm receipt. The violation is then placed in a Stay, where the accounting supervisor will be made aware they can temporarily remove any fines, pending appeal.

Once the Committee Chair sets a meeting date to hear the appeal, Staff will send out an email to all participants (appellants) letting them know the date and time of the hearing date.

Appellants are strongly encouraged to attend the hearing date to appeal their violation in person. They will be able to speak on their behalf, and the committee will ask them questions. They will be asked to leave the room while the committee deliberates. When a decision has been made, they can re-enter the room to hear the decision.

See for details: 10.060 (a. – d.)

How do you Appeal an Appeals Committee Decision

This is a very similar process to the appeals process. To appeal an Appeals Committee decision, a resident would need to submit in writing to the Board of Directors, and mail to the Clubhouse address, to the attention of the Board of Directors. Email is not recommended, but would be allowed.

See for details: 10.060 (e. – h.)

Policy #3 | Committees

APPEALS COMMITTEE . . . . “shall consist of members responsible for discharging the duties enumerated in Article XV of the Association By-Laws. They may make recommendations for improvements to the Board.”

LPOA By-Laws

Overview of LPOA Bylaws | Making and Enforcing Rules and Regulations
Content relative to the Appeals Committee can be found under Article XV:

Section 1. Purpose, Scope and Authority

Section 2. Promulgation of Rules & Regulations

Section 3: Effective Date of Rules & Regulations

Section 4: Fines, Suspensions and Other Sanctions

Section 5: Procedure for Imposing Sanctions

Section 6: Enforcement of Sanctions

Section 7: Penalty for Disregarding Sanctions

ARB/ARC Guidelines

SECTION XII – LPOA ENFORCEMENT and FINES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE
Overview:

Part A: After-the-Fact Fines for Unapproved Alterations – Pg 26
Part B: Appeal of Fines – Pg 27

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