Making Changes to the Exterior of Your Home
Are you tired of your landscaping? Need to paint the house? Want to put in a hot tub? These are all things that need approval from the Architectural Review Committee BEFORE you do them. In a nutshell, anything you’d like to change or add outside requires written approval from ARC. It’s how we keep up with what changes home owners are making and a way to keep our values up, even if that means saying no sometimes.
For example, you want to revamp the front bed in your yard. You would need to fill out a modification form and provide detail about your project. These details include photos of the front of your home, a drawn out landscape design , and the number and types of plants you’d like to use. If you’re putting in a fence as part of a landscaping plan, ARC would also need the plat of your property to show property lines. Basically, ARC needs to know what you want to plant, how many of them, and where. If you’re just trimming existing plants or adding seasonal color, there’s no need to send in a modification form. Also, if you’re taking out a tree, you’ll need a permit from the City of Kennesaw.
Keeping with the outdoors, if you’d like to add a firepit, patio, hot tub, play structure, trampoline, etc, to your back yard, you must have approval. Please submit a photo of the item and a drawing on where it will be placed, along with a modification form for review.
Another modification we see often is house painting. It’s the same procedure. We want to know what color you’d like to paint (siding, shutters, trim, garage doors) and what your neighbors homes are painted (so we don’t have 3 brown houses in a row).
If you plan to change your windows or doors, approval from the ARC is required. This includes changing the color of your door. We recently changed the rule where windows were required to have grids/mullions. Now, windows don’t have to have them, but they do all have to be the same. Please include photos of your home and the windows or door you plan to install.
If you’re ever in doubt that you need a modification approved, just call the office. The staff is always available to answer questions, pick out paint colors, or help you with professionals to keep your home in tip top shape.