Cypress, TX 77429
Where you want to be!
IMPORTANT NOTE: You are viewing the OFFICIAL Northlake Forest Homeowners Association Website located in Cypress, TX 77429. This site is run by the Board of Directors. All other sites referencing Northlake Forest are copies and run by individuals NOT the Association. This site is password protected to protect the privacy of residents - Thank you.
HOA RELATED
Question: I am going through a hardship and cannot pay my Association dues at this time. Are there any other options I have?
Answer: If you are experiencing a hardship and are unable to pay the entire amount due, please contact Michael Quast at PCMI at (281) 870 0585 immediately to discuss and/or work out payment arrangements. It is very important that you pay your fees to prevent interest charges and further action. Remember, this money is used to maintain YOUR community. The Board is striving to use our funds as effectively as possible. Everyone’s cooperation is greatly appreciated.
Question: Has the Board made any legal inquiry regarding recouping monies lost as a direct result of Ashton Woods negligence in getting liens placed on homeowners or members that did not pay their HOA dues? (Posted: July, 2008)
Question: Can Northlake Forest be a "Gated Community"? Would it be realistic or possible to add gates to our neighborhood?
(Posted: April, 2008)
Answer: Possibly? but probably not. NLF is in the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (EJT) of the City of Houston and has to comply with their regulations. The first sentence of the regulation reads: "The concept of creating a private gated residential community must be a forethought and not an afterthought" The following information, provided by Wm. Reeves Gilmore, Assistant Director, Planning & Operations - Harris County Public Infrastructure Dept, provides in more detail, requirements that makes it all but impossible to accomplish. Gated Community Document
Question: Has there been any confirmation on who is responsible for the peremiter walls of our neighborhood? (Posted: July, 2008)
Answer: Each homeowner is responsible for the fencing around their property. There was discussion on this subject at the last HOA meeting and as a result of several requests, the Board did solicit a legal opinion. It was confirmed that each homeowner is responsible for the fencing around their property. The subject opinion is attached for everyone's review. The Board now considers this subject closed. Legal Opinion
GARAGE SALES
Question: Can I have a garage sale whenever I want?
Answer: Garage Sales are neighborhood events that are held twice a year ONLY, no individual sales are allowed. This helps to ensure the safety of our residents and children by reducing unwanted neighborhood traffic. Answer: All residents should adhear to the rules in place for our subdivision and be courteous and respectful of their surrounding neighbors. If your neighbor is having a Garage Sale that is not during the scheduled time, you can do the following: remove signs posted leading to our neighborhood; contact PCMI and request that a notice be sent to the resident informing them that there are No Individual sales allowed. Do not confront the resident as it may result in an uncomfortable situation.
Question: My neighbor is having a garage sale on their own and not during the neighborhood specified times. I do not feel safe letting my children play outside due to all of the unwanted traffic it is causing on my street. Can I confront them?
WEBSITE
Question: How much are we paying the company that updates and manages our website? (Posted: June, 2008)
Answer: Nothing, to help with costs, our website is currently updated by our Board President, as time permits. At this point it's only costing her sanity *just kidding!* We paid $40.50 to register the Domain name of 'northlakeforestHOA' for 5 years. At that time the domain name of 'northlakeforest' was already taken.
We paid $44.75 for 5 years of Private Registration services. When the website was first created, we chose the Economy hosting of $3.98/mth and soon realized that it was not giving us what we needed. We recently upgraded to hosting of $12.90/mth to include an application called 'Website Tonight" which is a service that cuts back on having to manually code our website and you are not forced to have unwanted advertisements flashing everywhere, our website is clean and about NLF only.
One thing to keep in mind, the most expensive part of our website is not cost wise but time wise. Regardless of where we go for hosting, it all comes down to who will actually manage and update the site. We have found that it is a time consuming process and appreciate everyones patience, input and suggestions about YOUR NLF website.
LANDSCAPE
Question: I inquired about our landscape plans, and actually would still like more details regarding short and long term plans/goals. (Posted: April, 2008)
Answer: There is a landscape committee that met several times last year identifying short term goals regarding the landscaping and our expectations, including the number of times the area is mowed, the number of fertilizations, etc. We will see that taking place this spring and summer and make adjustments as we progress through the summer. Longer term, we are looking at adding additional larger shrubs (knockout roses have been suggested) in different areas around the subdivision. We have also requested bids to fill in and contour low spots along the walkway running through the center of the subdivision and some of the lakes, as well as adding additional sprinkler zones around Marin Lake. We anticipate the landscaping committee will begin developing a more comprehensive plan once the landscaping basics are fully addressed.Suggestions are always welcome, please feel free to e-mail Carl Shook or one of the committee members listed under the Grounds/Maintenance page of the website.
Question: It seems that most neighborhoods that I pass have these beautiful spring flowers that welcome people and residents into his/her neighborhood. Ours is just dirt with some weeds beginning to grow. Do we have plans to place some flowers in the dirt spots that seem perfect for just that? (Posted: April, 2008)
Answer: Plants and mulch have been added to the entrances, esplanades and cul-de-sacs' this past week. There will be a second planting later in the year. In addition, the entire neighborhood greenbelt areas were treated with a weed-feed fertilizer. This coming week will see continued activity as these same greenbelt areas will be treated for ants and the trees along Northlake Forest Dr. will be trimmed. Several that appear slow budding will be treated with a deep feeding.
SAFETY
Question: Who do I contact if I notice suspicious activity or a suspicious solicitor around the neighborhood?
Answer: Immediately call the Sheriff's Department at (713) 221-6000 and provide them with as much detail (time, date, description of suspect etc.) so that a patrol car can be sent out to investigate.
Question: I have noticed an increasing number of cars and trucks parked along the lake banks in the grass with people out fishing. What is the policy or procedure to prevent this kind of unwelcome traffic in our neighborhood? (Posted: June, 2008)
Answer: The Association has recently filed a trespassing affidavit for the community that will help and be enforceable by the sheriff however, since the streets are public roadways, enforcing the parking by the lakes would be difficult, if not impossible to fully enforce.
Question: What recourse do we have in these situations (people that knowingly don't live here and use our lakes) without putting our own personal safety at risk?
Answer: Under no circumstances should any homeowner put themselves at risk and ask them to leave on their own. The best way to enforce this, especially if the individuals are known NOT to live in the community and are damaging the property, is to contact the sheriff and have them come and speak with the people and have them removed from the community. The recent trespassing affidavit filed should help this process. Now keep in mind, this type of request will not take top priority by law enforcement so please use good judgment when taking this route.
Question: There is a street light out, who do I call to get it repaired?
Answer: As homeowners, you are paying for the lighting of the streets in our neighborhood. If the lights are not working, we are wasting money. If you see lights that are out, please get the number on the pole and the nearest address and call Center Point Energy at (713) 207-2222. You can also access the Centerpoint Energy outage report page at www.centerpointenergy.com/outage.
DUCKS/WILDLIFE
Question: Who is responsible for the well being of the ducks in our neighborhood? (Posted: July, 2008)
Answer: Nature - they are not HOA property and we are not responsible for their well being. They are considered wildlife and are treated as such. There is no budget allocation in our dues for wildlife preservation.
Question: How do we control the duck population?(Posted: July, 2008)
Answer: Currently there is no policy set forth for controlling the population.
Question: What if we notice the ducks are being mistreated?(Posted: July, 2008)
Answer: If there is concern that they are being mistreated, you can call the National Wildlife Federation at 1-800-822-9919 or search www.nwf.org for information on how to report the incident.
Question: What can we feed the ducks?(Posted: July, 2008)
Answer: They can eat leftover bread broken into tiny pieces, crackers or you can buy special duck food at a feed store. By no means are residents to bring their dinner leftovers!! (ex: chicken, spaghetti, potatoes, etc.)
Question: Is it OK for me to feed the ducks in areas away from the lakes?(Posted: July, 2008)
Answer: Out of respect to homeowners that live around the lakes, we request that residents only feed the ducks at the waters edge of the lakes within the Community and must not intentionally encourage the ducks to wander away from the water's edge. Residents who live close to the lakes have discovered that the ducks love to nest in flower beds for protection and cause considerable damage to grass, plants and shrubs.
Question: Has any NLF duck lover figured out how the baby ducks make it into and out of the water? Is there a ramp that needs to be built? (Posted: June, 2008)
Answer: There have been many baby ducks out over the past several years and the issue of them getting in and out of the lake has not been a problem thus far. I would assume that the momma duck keeps them on dry land until they are able to navigate in and out of the lakes.
GENERAL
Question: What is NLF's rule concerning the placement of Realtor signs? (Posted: April, 2008)
Answer: Realtor For Sale Signs should be placed in the Front Yard ONLY. Not in side yards nor at the front of the subdivision or anywhere in the common area. It must be on the property that is for sale. Not only are there deed restrictions against signage, there was also a law passed in September prohibiting signs in the public right of way.
Question: When is Heavy Trash Pick up Day?
Answer: Heavy trash pick up is every Saturday. Our trash pick up days are Wednesday and Saturday. Answer: Please contact the Harris County Sheriff's department at (713) 221-6000 who will take down the necessary information and submit a request for repair/replacement.
Question: There is a street or No Outlet sign missing, who do I call to report this?
LAKES
Question: I have seen someone catch a sunfish, kill it and then use it for bait to catch catfish. Isn't this considered stealing from the neighborhood? (Posted: June, 2008)
Answer: Taking the fish and killing it to use as bait could be considered stealing since the fish and the lakes are NLF property, however, this type of violation is hard to enforce without police involvement. If any activity such as this is going on, the police should be contacted and the violators escorted out of the community. Without community involvement and police enforcement, these individuals will continue to invade the neighborhood, contact the law enforcement in any scenario to have the problem cured.
Question: Are there any plans for signs saying that the lakes are for catch and release only? (Posted: June, 2008)
Answer: No, the lakes are Northlake Forest property and all fish in the lakes should be catch and release, as any fish in these lakes are not edible.
POOL
Question: How many guests may a resident bring at one time to the pool? Is this per tag? (Posted: July, 2008)
Answer: No more than (3) guest are allowed per member, per pool tag.
