QUESTION:  Following February 2021’s major winter/ice storm, several items in our landscaping were severely damaged or have died.  This is a good time for us to do modifications to our yard, including replacing existing bushes, shrubs, or trees with different plants, and perhaps replacing some of the St. Augustine grass or border shrubbery with xeriscape type material, including river rock.  Do we need to obtain HOA approval for the project? Does it take a lot of effort and time to submit an Improvement Request Form for planned exterior improvements at our residence?  How and when do we submit the request?

ANSWERS:  (1) Submission of an Improvement Request Form for review and consideration for approval by the HOA’s Architectural Review Committee is quite easy to do, and the timing of the submission is especially important – HOA approval of the request is required before you start the improvement.

(2) Our CCRs (Article XII, Maintenance) require:

…Trees, shrubs, vines and plants which die shall be promptly removed from each Lot and replacements of equal quality or value promptly installed….

(3) Our CCRs (Article XIII, Landscaping) require: 

In connection with the initial construction of a residence, or significant landscape changes/improvements made thereafter,  each Owner will furnish the ARC a detailed landscaping plan prepared by a professional landscape firm/designer. The elements proposed in the plan must be of a scope and quality consistent with the neighborhood. Any proposed departures from typical landscape schemes (i.e., xeriscapes, rock ground cover, etc.) must be approved by the ARC prior to design and installation. The ARC shall be the sole judge as to the adequacy and appropriateness of the landscape plan.

Improvement Requests:  The form that needs to be submitted to the Springs HOA Architecture Review Committee prior to an exterior improvement being initiated is available on both the Springs HOA website’s Pages & Links tab and the Hill Country Management website.  Get the Improvement Request Form for submission on-line by clicking on HERE.  Please remember to include any relevant attachments when you submit the form.  The ARC will make a decision on your improvement request within 30 days of the request being accepted.  Additional information on the Improvement Request process can be found in HOA CCR Article IV, Architectural Review Committee, and on the ARC Overview document available on our HOA website’s Pages & Links tab. 

These CCR messages intend to remind residents of The Springs of the Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CCR’s) that apply to all Springs residents solely by our election to live in this community. The purpose of the CCR’s is to maintain specific standards for the good of us all, as articulated in their definition:

“THE SPRINGS AT STONE OAK is encumbered by these Restrictive Covenants for the following reasons: to seek to achieve the best and highest use and most appropriate development of the property; to protect lot owners against improper use of surrounding lots; to preserve so far as practical the natural beauty of the property; to guard against the erection of poorly designed or proportioned structures of improper or unsuitable materials; to encourage and secure the erection of attractive improvements on each lot with appropriate locations; and to secure and maintain proper setbacks from streets and adequate free space.”

If you are a Springs resident who has misplaced your copy of the CCR’s, or are a new resident who wasn’t provided a copy by the previous owners or your realtor, you can view (and download in Adobe Reader [.pdf] format) the complete Springs CCR’s and By-Laws at the Consolidated Bylaws and CCRs section of this website, located in the Pages & Links tab.