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

Hello Neighbors,

Well, October is here and that means that Washingtonian Woods’ annual Halloween traditions are right around the corner!

Halloween Parade & Candy Hill
This year’s Halloween Parade (featuring Costume Contest and Candy Hill) will once again be held at Washingtonian Woods park.  Come decorate a pumpkin, show your creative spirit, and watch the fun at Candy Hill!  Drinks and snacks will be provided.

When:  Sunday, 10/26
Time:  3:30pm (Costume Contest at 4pm, followed by Candy Hill)

Volunteers Needed:  We are looking for volunteers to help with our festivities.  Please check out the Signup Genius page for more information on how you can sign up and help.

Halloween House Decorating Contest
Show your Halloween spirit and decorate your house for the annual Washingtonian Woods Halloween House Decorating Contest!  In order to participate, please have your house decorated by the end of the day on Thursday, October 30th.  Judging will be based on creativity, uniqueness and curb appeal and will take place on October 31st.

Prizes will be awarded to the top three homes.  Winners will be announced through our web site, mailing lists and Facebook group after Halloween. Good luck and happy decorating!

Get B00-ed!
Keep the Halloween spirit going all season.  Feel free to Boo! someone (by leaving this flyer and a treat on a neighbor’s doorstep), or keep it going when you get Boo-ed!  You can download a Boo Buddy here.

Happy Halloween!

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

Hello Neighbors,

We had an excellent turnout of over 80 people at the CCT meeting this past Tuesday evening at the Clubhouse.  Attendees included many neighbors as well as Mayor Katz; Gaithersburg City Council Members, Jud Ashman, Mike Sesma and Cathy Drzyzgula; Gaithersburg Director of Planning and Code, John Schliting; as well as representatives from both the Montgomery County Department of Transportation and the Montgomery County Parks and Planning Commission.

Rick Kiegel and the MTA team gave a thorough presentation on current status of the CCT.  He and his team of engineers discussed in great detail the 15% complete design plan, including: design, traffic, and noise considerations.

You can read a recap of the meeting in the Gazette, here.  The Town Courier also had a reporter at the meeting, and they plan to post their article in the next week or so.

Next August is the next deadline for design changes.  Until then, we are asking the MTA to address several of our concerns.  While they have added noise mitigation behind the homes at the end of Upshire Circle to the plan (which is a “win”), there are many issues to be addressed.

Next step:  We will write a formal letter to the MTA outlining and stating our unified neighborhood stance to get the CCT off of Muddy Branch Road.  The letter will be signed by the three Washingtonian Woods HOAs (Washingtonian Woods, The Oaks, The Vistas).  Mission Hills will likely sign, as well.

We will post a copy of the letter once written to our web site, and we will continue to keep you abreast of our continued efforts.

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

Hello Neighbors,

CCT Area 2 Advisory Committee Recap
Last Tuesday was the most recent meeting of the CCT Area 2 Advisory Committee.  Several of our neighbors participate on this committee.  In attendance from Washingtonian Woods last Tuesday evening were: Lisa Cline, Toby Lehman, Tami Mensch and Wayne Berman.

Donna Baron, Coordinator of The Gaithersburg – North Potomac – Rockville Coalition (www.scale-it-back.com), also participates on the Committee and she has posted a thorough recap of that meeting here.  Please take a moment to read it, as it reflects some of the most recent discussions on the CCT and its effects on our neighborhood.

For those wondering (from www.cctmaryland.com):  “The CCT Area Advisory Committees (AAC) were created by the MTA to encourage involvement from the community regarding the design and construction of the transitway as well as how the stations will be incorporated into the existing community. Decisions on the system design will be informed through facilitated discussions at quarterly meetings. Possible topics of discussion include station design amenities, traffic management, transit operations, safety and security, transitway access and community interface.”

Neighborhood CCT Meeting at Clubhouse
Tuesday, September 30th at 7pm

Please don’t forget:  On Tuesday September 30th, the MTA’s lead planner on the CCT project, Rick Kiegel, and a few members of his team will share updates on the project at the Clubhouse.  He will bring maps and specifics about the CCT’s impact on our environment, our traffic, our neighborhood, and our overall quality of life.

This meeting will be held in the upper level of the Clubhouse, and will begin at 7pm.  All neighbors are strongly encouraged to attend.

Please help us spread the word, and we hope to see you all there.

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

Hello Neighbors,

Neighborhood CCT Meeting at Clubhouse
Tuesday, September 30th at 7pm

Please mark your calendars:  On Tuesday September 30th, the MTA’s lead planner on the CCT project, Rick Kiegel, and a few members of his team will share updates on the project at the Clubhouse.  He will bring maps and specifics about the CCT’s impact on our environment, our traffic, our neighborhood, and our overall quality of life.

This meeting will be held in the upper level of the Clubhouse, and will begin at 7pm.  All neighbors are strongly encouraged to attend.

Several members of the community who have been actively following the CCT will meet at the clubhouse on Tuesday, September 16th to discuss an agenda for the 30th.  This meeting is open to all.  Time:  7pm.

To read up on the CCT and the ongoing efforts of fellow neighbors, please see the following links below:

Washingtonian Woods CCT Survey Results
Jason Klemow’s Letter to Rick Kiegel
Doris Fejka’s Letter to Mayor Katz
Washingtonian Woods Town Courier Article 1
Washingtonian Woods Town Courier Article 2
Mission Hills Report (referenced in Jason’s Letter)
Map of 4 Proposed CCT Alignments (referenced in Jason’s Letter)
Washwoods.org Recent CCT News Posts
CCT Project Website
CCT Area 2 Advisory Committee (Neighbors Lisa Cline and Toby Lehman are on committee)
Great Seneca Science Corridor Advisory Committee (Neighbor Phil Usatine is Co-Chair)

Please help us spread the word, and we hope to see you all there for this very important meeting.

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

Hello Neighbors,

Final Weekend and Dog Swim
The Board has recently decided to keep the pool open for an extra weekend this year!  As such, the final day of the 2014 pool season will be on Sunday 9/7.  Our community Dog Swim will also be held on that day starting at 5 pm.

Here is the pool schedule for our final weekend:

Friday, 9/5:  4 pm – 8 pm
Saturday, 9/6:  10 am – 8 pm
Sunday, 9/7:  10 am – 6 pm.  Dog Swim begins at 5 pm.
The pool will remain closed Tuesday 9/2 – Thursday 9/4. 

Ice Cream Social
There will also be an Ice Cream Social held at the pool this Labor Day, Monday, September 1st from 1 pm – 3 pm.

Please help us spread the word, and we hope to see you all there!

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