Hello Neighbors,

Architectural Guidelines Comment Period Closes on 5/15/15
The public comment period for the draft architectural guidelines and change application closes on Friday, May 15, 2015.  For those still wishing to submit public comment, please do so by sending them to Tim Mulford ([email protected]) at PMP before the end of the day, 5/15/15.

Neighborhood Yard Sale
Saturday, May 16th
8 AM – 12 Noon
Jean Pagan-Bullock is once again organizing the Washingtonian Woods neighborhood yard sale.  If you are interested in participating, please contact Jean directly at:  [email protected] or 301-908-6767.  She will be providing yard sale signs and maps.

CCT Latest
Washingtonian Woods was among several communities and organizations to recently sign a letter sent to Governor Hogan outlining our collective stance on the CCT.  The letter and its associated attachments can be found below:

Hogan Letter
Attachment A
Attachment B
Attachment C
Attachment D
Attachment E
Attachment F

Additionally, the CCT kitchen table discussion and neighborhood “walk about” with Ike Leggett has been re-scheduled for May 21st at 10:30AM at the home of Lisa Cline, 420 Upshire Circle.  For more information and the latest news on the CCT, feel free to visit the Sensible CCT Facebook Page, run by neighbor and Washingtonian Woods resident, Lisa Cline.

Entrance Signs
As many of you may have noticed, two of our new entrance monuments have recently been installed at the northernmost Muddy Branch entrance to the neighborhood (the one across from Mission Hills.)  Feel free to swing by and take a look, if you haven’t yet already.  The three remaining entrance monuments will be updated to match over the next several years.

Pool Opens on Saturday, May 23
The pool opens on Saturday, May 23!  Please be sure to complete and return your pool pass applications to PMP by Friday, May 15.  Forms were mailed to all residents in April.  Completed forms can be mailed, faxed or emailed to Tim Mulford ([email protected]) at PMP.

End of School Pool Party Scheduled for Friday, 6/12
Our annual End of School Pool Party is scheduled for Friday evening, 6/12.  The rain date is the following evening, Saturday, 6/13.  More details to follow.

Thank you,
Glenn Watts
Board of Directors, Washingtonian Woods HOA

Hello Neighbors,

We are in the final stages of preparing the 2015 edition of our Community Directory.  The directory will be printed and distributed in June 2015, and will once again be produced by AtoZ Directories.

ADVERTISING DEADLINE 5/8/15
The directory is produced at no-cost to the Association, but rather is completely funded by advertising.  For those neighbors who have not already done so, but are still interested in advertising in the Directory, you have until next Friday, 5/8/15, to download, complete and return the following form directly to AtoZ Directories.  The front page lottery has not yet taken place, but will occur after 5/8/15.

2015 ADVERTISING AGREEMENT (download .pdf)

INFORMATION UPDATES
We also ask that all residents log into their A2Z Online Directory accounts and update their contact information to their liking.  All account updates made prior to June 1st will be incorporated into the printed version of the 2015 Directory.

To login to your Online Directory account, please go to this link:
https://atozdirectories.com/home/login.php

Most residents should have received their A2Z Online Account login information directly from A2Z in an email in May of 2014.  If you don’t remember your login, you may click on the “Forgot Password” link on the login page above.  For those residents who have not yet received a login, you may request one by sending an email to [email protected].  Please include your name and home street address in your login request.

We will also be sending another reminder email to all user accounts within the A2Z system in the coming week or so.  Please keep an eye out for it.

Thank you,
Glenn Watts
Board of Directors, Washingtonian Woods HOA

Hello Neighbors,

The community is invited to learn about the upcoming Bicycle Master Plan. This meeting will provide an overview of the countywide planning effort while focusing specifically on bikeways in the vicinity of the planned Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT).

If interested in attending, please click here to RSVP.

Bikeways Master Plan Community Meeting
April 20, 2015 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Johns Hopkins Montgomery County Campus
9601 Medical Center Drive
Academic and Research Building, Room 106-110
Rockville, MD 20850

Thank you,
Glenn Watts
Board of Directors, Washingtonian Woods HOA

Hello Neighbors,

The Board of Directors has extended the comment period for the Draft Architectural Guidelines and Draft Architectural Change Application an additional 30 days.  The comment period will now close on May 15, 2015.

We thank everyone that has shared comments to date, both in written form as well as in person at the March Board Meeting.  The written comments that have been received so far are listed below for your review (each is a downloadable .pdf file):

1 Driscoll Court, Sneeringer
1 Flameleaf Court, Burstein
3 Argosy Circle, Vazquez
3 Driscoll Court, Meyers
9 Flameleaf Court, Miller
14 Flameleaf Court, Riggsbee
101 Canfield Hill Drive, Belgard
103 Driscoll Way, Chiet
108 Argosy Drive, Farrell
114 Englefield Drive, Zaiderman
119 Upshire Circle, Robinson
203 Midsummer Drive, Spiegel
211 Argosy Drive, Epstein
213 Midsummer Drive, Blaker
220 Midsummer Drive, Wenk
224 Midsummer Drive, Nussbaum
235 Midsummer Circle, Brady
304 Midsummer Drive, Murayama
318 Midsummer Drive, Leshin
319 Arogsy Drive, Ellinport
408 Midsummer Drive, Blackman
418 Upshire Circle, Mark, Box
445 Upshire Circle, Bonaz
Minutes Excerpt from 3/24/15 HOA Meeting (oral comments)
Minutes Excerpt from 4/28/15 HOA Meeting (forthcoming, pending formal approval)

We will amend this page with future comments as they are received.

Additional comments may be submitted via email or postal mail to:

Property Management People, Inc.
955A Russell Ave
Gaithersburg, MD 20879
℅ Timothy Mulford
[email protected]

The Board and Architectural Review Committee welcome comments from the community.  Community comment and input will be taken into consideration when proposing any modifications to the draft documents.  Any updates or alterations to the draft documents as a result of the public comment period will also be shared with the community.

Thank you,
Glenn Watts
Board of Directors, Washingtonian Woods HOA

Hello Neighbors,

Reconvened Annual Meeting
The reconvened Washingtonian Woods HOA 2015 Annual Meeting will be held this Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at 7 pm in the Upper Level of the Clubhouse. 

The purpose of this meeting is to elect 3 members to the Board of Directors and review Association business.  We encourage all homeowners to attend.

Public Comment:  Draft Architectural Guidelines and Change Application
All single-family homeowners should be receiving packets in the mail containing the Draft Architectural Guidelines and Draft Architectural Change Application for neighborhood comment and review.

If you have not yet received your copies, both documents have also been posted to our web site, should you wish to download them.  You may find them both here.

The Board welcomes your comments, and appreciates all those who choose to participate in the discussion.

CCT Discussion with Ike Leggett
The CCT kitchen table discussion and neighborhood “walk about” with Ike Leggett has been re-scheduled for May 21st.  For more information, and the latest news on the CCT, feel free to visit the Sensible CCT Facebook Page, run by neighbor and Washingtonian Woods resident, Lisa Cline.

Spring Loose Leaf Collection
Spring Loose Leaf Collection for our neighborhood is scheduled for March 23 – April 10. Please click here for more information.

Washingtonian Woods Annual Park Cleanup
Saturday, April 11, 2014

Join the Muddy Branch Alliance in the annual cleanup on Saturday, April 11th from 9-12 pm. The Muddy Branch Alliance, a local non-profit watershed group, is helping the City of Gaithersburg with this clean-up as part of a larger clean-up of the Potomac River.

Participants will meet in the Washingtonian Woods clubhouse at 9:00 am, collect pickup sticks supplied by the City of Gaithersburg and bags supplied by the Alice Ferguson Foundation. Volunteers will head to various areas in the neighborhood and park that are in need of trash pickup.

SSL hours are available. Please contact Paul Hlavinka at [email protected] for information. You may also download the Flyer, here.

Thank you,
Glenn Watts
Board of Directors, Washingtonian Woods HOA

Hello Neighbors,

The Washingtonian Woods HOA Board of Directors recently convened an Architectural Review Committee, with the stated purpose of drafting Architectural Guidelines for the single-family homes in the neighborhood, modifying the Architectural Change Application and clarifying and updating the process by which homeowners can go about maintaining, improving and updating the exterior appearance of their homes.

Clear, consistent and respectful Guidelines will greatly assist in maintaining a beautiful and cohesive look for Washingtonian Woods; increasing curb appeal for the neighborhood as a whole, and thereby preserving home values.

With these Guidelines, it is the Board’s intent to clarify expectations as to what is considered an acceptable architectural change and to reacquaint homeowners with the specific architectural qualities that make each of the three different home styles in the neighborhood unique (Centex, Christopher and Alfandre.)  Additionally, these Guidelines will also make it easier for the Board to render clear and consistent decisions, while at the same time increasing your understanding and appreciation of the architectural change process.

These Guidelines complement the architectural expectations of the Association as set forth in the following sections of the Association’s Declaration of Covenants:

“Article VI:  Architectural Control”
“Article VII:  Use Restrictions”

The Architectural Review Committee was convened in the Spring of 2014 after a call to residents went out via our official Board email distribution list.  Numerous neighbors responded and chose to participate in this endeavor, volunteering hours of their time over a period of 7 months, meeting every two weeks and in some cases, more frequently.  This dedicated group of your peers diligently discussed and reviewed countless perspectives on all things architectural, all with the goal of putting forth clear, comprehensive and respectful Guidelines for the Board and residents to review.

The Committee took great care in drafting a document that is easy to read and understand.  To that end, pictures were used throughout, as doing so will help make the review process much easier for both the homeowner and Board to conduct.

It is also worth noting that proposed changes that fall outside of these Guidelines will still be considered.  As always, homeowners are welcome to bring forth new ideas and technologies in their applications.  The Board will review and consider all proposed architectural changes — as long as the thematic look and feel is consistent with the style originally envisioned for Washingtonian Woods.

Once these Guidelines are formally adopted, homeowners can more easily upgrade and improve their homes, the Board can more easily render decisions, and a more harmonious look of the neighborhood can be maintained, and even re-established.

While these documents have the representative support of the community — through the 7 elected Board members, as well as the numerous resident volunteers who chose to serve on the Architectural Review Committee — we welcome and encourage comment from the entire community.

As such, the 2015 Washingtonian Woods draft Architectural Guidelines and Architectural Change Application are hereby respectfully submitted to the Washingtonian Woods homeowners for review and comment.  The review period will extend for a minimum of 30 days from the date of this mailing, ending on or about April 15^th, 2015.  The draft Guidelines and Application will also be posted on the Washingtonian Woods website (www. washwoods.org).

Comments may be submitted via email or postal mail to:

Property Management People, Inc.
955A Russell Ave
Gaithersburg, MD 20879
℅ Timothy Mulford
[email protected]

All comments will be reviewed and considered in finalizing the Guidelines and Application.  Lack of comments does not imply acceptance but the Board will certainly take that into consideration when we vote on the documents at the April 28th meeting.  To that end, we would invite homeowners to attend our March 24th meeting if they have comments they’d rather air in person.

It is the intent to make comments publicly available.

Thank you,

The Washingtonian Woods HOA Board of Directors
The Washingtonian Woods Architectural Review Committee

DOWNLOADS:
Draft Architectural Guidelines (.pdf)
Draft Architectural Change Application (.pdf)

Hello Neighbors,

This is a friendly reminder that the Washingtonian Woods HOA 2015 Annual Meeting will be held this Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at 7 pm in the Upper Level of the Clubhouse. 

The purpose of this meeting is to elect 3 members to the Board of Directors and review Association business.  We encourage all homeowners to attend. 

Thank you,
Glenn Watts
Board of Directors, Washingtonian Woods HOA

Hello Neighbors,

Last year, Washingtonian Woods produced a Directory for the neighborhood.  To keep resident information up to date, we will be producing the directory again this year.  The directory will be produced and distributed in May/June 2015, and will once again be produced by AtoZ Directories.

The directory is produced at no-cost to the Association, but rather is completely funded by advertising.  That said, we have asked that AtoZ Directories give our own residents the first chance to advertise, before they begin selling ad placements to businesses outside the neighborhood.

If you are interested in promoting your business to your neighbors in this year’s directory, please feel free to download, complete and return the below form directly to AtoZ Directories — following the directions provided.

2015 ADVERTISING AGREEMENT (download .pdf)

More details and specifics can be found in the form above.  In order to take advantage of the “early bird” window, the above form should be returned to AtoZ no later than January 23, 2015.

Thank you,
Glenn Watts
Board of Directors, Washingtonian Woods HOA

Hello Neighbors,

All of you should have recently received the 2015 Washingtonian Woods HOA Annual Meeting Notice, Ballot and Nominations packet from PMP in the mail.

Per the enclosed cover letter, the purpose of the meeting, among other things, will be to elect 3 members to the Board of Directors.  The enclosed Ballot, unfortunately, incorrectly instructs you to vote for no more than two.  Please note that the instructions on the Ballot should read:  “PLEASE VOTE FOR NO MORE THAN THREE”.

Please feel free to still use the Ballot in the package (simply voting for up to THREE); or, if you wish, you may download and submit a revised and corrected Ballot, here.

We apologize for the confusion.  Feel free to reach out to Tim Mulford at PMP with any further questions or concerns.  Tim can be reached at:  [email protected] and 301-963-3337.

Thank you, and Happy New Year!
Glenn Watts
Board of Directors, Washingtonian Woods HOA

Hello Neighbors,

Thank you to everyone who helped us continue the great Halloween spirit of Washingtonian Woods by decorating their houses this year!  The judging occurred on Thursday 10/30 and Friday 10/31, and our only rule was that no home could win two years in a row.  This year the following winners were selected:

Winners
1st place – 300 Midsummer Drive
2nd place – 310 Midsummer Drive
3rd place – 402 Midsummer Drive

Honorable Mentions
108 Englefield Drive
8 Driscoll Court
408 Midsummer Drive

Prizes will be distributed in the next week or so.  Thank you again and we hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Thank you,
Glenn Watts
Board of Directors, Washingtonian Woods HOA