A. The Board of Directors shall appoint an Appeals Committee comprised of three (3) or more persons who shall be Members in good standing. The Committee shall hear all appeals regarding violations of the Community legal documents, unless otherwise specified.

B. The appeals process applies to all violations of the Hemlock Farms Code.

C. Any person aggrieved by the imposition of an assessment or fine under the Code may appeal the same to the Appeals Committee.

D. Any appeal of an assessment or fine, shall be made in writing, and filed with or received by the HFCA office within twenty (20) days from the date of notification of the violation.

E. Upon receipt of a timely written appeal, Management shall schedule a hearing within ninety (90) days from the date of the request. The appellant shall be notified by mail of the date, time and place of the hearing. If the appellant wishes to reschedule or cancel the meeting, notification to the HFCA must be made at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the time of the appeal. If notification is not made within this period, exclusive of valid reasons, the appeal will be denied and administrative costs of $50.00 shall be added to the fine. Appeals may be rescheduled no more than twice by the appellant.

F. The issuing officer and the appellant must be present. The appelant may have an attorney present. The appellant may also present any witnesses. The Community Association may also present witnesses.

G. When the appellant is not a member, copies of all correspondence shall be sent to the responsible member and that member shall be invited to attend.

H. The Community Manager shall communicate in writing the decision of the Appeals Committee to the Member and appellant within ten (10) days after the next scheduled Regular Board meeting following the hearing. In the event the Appeals Committee denies the appeal the monetary amount will become due and payable within thirty (30) days of the date of notification unless a request for an appeal is made to the Board as described in Section I below. In the event the Appeals Committee upholds the appeal, or recommends a reduced fine, it will make that recommendation to the Board of Directors. The Appeals Committee has the authority to reduce fines when there are mitigating circumstances.

I. Should the member or appellant disagree with the decision of the Board of Directors based on the Appeals Committee's recommendation, he/she may request an appeal to the Board of Directors. A request for a Board appeal hearing shall be submitted in writing to the HFCA within thirty (30) days of the date of the notification and must include a detailed explanation of the reasons for the request (e.g. new information or witnesses that were not presented to the Appeals Committee).

J. The Board of Directors is not required to hear an appeal. It must render a decision; but may do so based on the Appeals Committee Report as well as the appellant/member request letter without a hearing. If it does decide to hear an appeal, it shall be scheduled within one of its next three regularly scheduled monthly Board Meetings. The appellant, the issuing officer or the Community Manager's designee and a member of the Appeals panel must be present.

K. The decision reached by the Board of Directors on the appeal will be final. Notification of the Board's decision will be sent First Class Mail, postmarked within ten (10) days of the date of mailing.

L. All appeal hearings will employ the following procedures and standards:

1. The person appealing the notice of violation shall be given a reasonable opportunity to present a case regarding the violation.
2. Statements and evidence shall be limited to the violation in question.
3. Statements and evidence may be heard from all parties concerned who wish to be heard.
4. The actual hearing dates and continuances are at the discretion of the Appeals Committee and Management.
5. The Appeals Guidelines as maintained by the HFCA Office and amended from time to time, shall be utilized at all Appeals hearings.

The Architectural and Construction Guidelines are hereby adopted by HFCA for the control of all buildings, structures and property improvements. All other regulations, provisions, penalties and conditions are hereby referred to, adopted and made part of this Chapter.

The HFCA shall empower the Architectural Committee to develop, maintain and enforce, on its behalf, guidelines and policies as they relate to the construction, prefabrication, alteration, occupancy and maintenance of detached single family dwellings and their accessory structures. In turn, the Committee may employ Hemlock Farms Community Association staff to assist in the maintenance and enforcement of all approved guidelines.

B. Addition - The building of additional space onto an existing structure.

H. Garage - A building or part thereof used for the storage of one (1) or more vehicles.

All construction and property improvements at Hemlock Farms shall conform with the Deed Restrictions, the By-Laws and Codes of the Association, and amendments made from time to time. Additional construction shall conform with the prevailing local Township building codes and zoning ordinances. In the event that no Township Code exists for a particular Township, the Uniform Construction Code will apply.

(Act 180.)

The HFCA shall keep an Architectural and Construction Handbook in force at all times which will describe all procedures and polices as they relate to construction, additions and improvements to properties. The contents of the Architectural and Construction Handbook, and any amendments, will be subject to the approval of the HFCA Board of Directors.

The Association in the discharge of its official duties, and upon proper identification, shall have authority to enter any building, structure or premises at any reasonable hour for purpose of ensuring compliance with the procedures and policies of this Chapter.

The Architectural and Construction records pertaining to a property may be viewed upon submittal of the proper application on file at the HFCA office, and with the written permission of the property owner. It shall be the policy of the Association to pass along costs incurred for researching and providing access to records.

All fees related to construction, additions and improvements will be included in the Architectural and Construction Handbook.

Approval for the design, construction, and location of all new and replacement septic systems will be the sole responsibility of the appropriate Township Sewage Enforcement Office.