dhays
Guru
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- May 26, 2015
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- 9,532
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- Gig Harbor, WA
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- 2010 North Pacific 43
Yes, am familiar with them word-for-word. I'm one of the original owners when these condos were built back in 2002, and have been cover-to-cover on them. Here's the actual by-law:
Standard #16 GENERATORS
Rules for Emergency Generators:
a. Generators will only be permitted for emergency power only.
b. Generators may only be used during named storms or disaster power outages.
c. Generators may only be used in the location of the resident’s driveway, with a minimum distance of 10-feet from the building.
d. Generator size shall be no larger than 15KW.
e. Generators may not be installed for permanent use or have any outlets installed into the building.
f. Generators will not be operated between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
g. Unit owners are responsible for ensuring safe operation of their generators and safe storage of generator fuel.
(Adopted by the Board of Directors 10-02-06)
HOAs are designed to help ensure that the residents of the community have a positive living experience. I generally think that those that serve on HOA boards are trying to do the best job they can to serve the needs of the entire community.
I"m assuming that the HOA was formed in 2002 when the condos were built. Since this rule was adopted 4 years later it implies that one of two things happened. Most likely, there was an incident that upset a board member or a community member who then caused the board to adopt this rule. Alternatively, the board could have found this rule while examining other HOA rules during a periodic review of their own covenants and thought it sounded like a good idea. In either case, the board felt that the rule would improve the quality of life in the community and help reduce neighbor conflicts, both good things.
HOA covenants are not like the rules brought down from Mt. Sinai, they aren't written in stone and HOAs have a process for modifying them. Before spending lots of money, this is the approach I would take.
The current HOA rules have a couple key problems. The most obvious is that rule a and b make no provision for firing up a generator to ensure that it works, nor to test an electrical install necessary to make the use of a generator safe. Smart homeowners will pay an electrician to install a panel that will allow them to safely run a generator to power their home. (I was not one of those and simply closed the breaker to the muni power and plugged my generator into an outside outlet. I don't recommend this.) An electrician will need to power up the generator to test the install once completed. This would violate the rule. It also would make testing the generator to ensure that it starts and runs a violation of the rule if there isn't a named storm present or the power is out.
Rule C means that a generator must be moved before it can be used. This may not be possible for all residents depending on their age or physical ability. It also presupposes that a resident's driveway would be clear 10' away from the building in the event of a major storm. We don't know if these condos are free-standing homes, duplexes etc... but a major storm can make quite a mess and could make moving a generator from a garage or storage shed to a driveway all but impossible. This rule would preclude a very nice professional installation of an emergency generator in some other location that could be safer, quieter, and more accessible in the event of an emergency.
Rule C and E combined mean that power cords will have to be used that will be exposed to the elements. We are used to those with our shore power cords, but not every resident will be and with storms often come rain and flooding.
Rule F means that anyone that requires constant power for health related appliances can't run a generator at night. This could be anything from AC required for someone with fragile health (excessive heat can be hard on the heart), a CPAP machine, refrigeration for certain meds that need to be kept cold, and I'm sure other potential situations that I can't think of. Not sure of the topography in your area, but it also means that emergency pumps may not be able to be used at night if they are powered by a generator, increasing the damage caused by flooding, a common issue in major storms.
I would bring these problems to the HOA board and see if they can modify the rules. A decibel limit at the property line for both day and night would be an easy way to do it. There are some loud window AC units out there, use the loudest as the max sound level at night from a generator. If rule C is altered, it would be easy to install the genset in a sound enclosure to make it very quiet indeed.
You may also point out that another option would be to install a large bank of lithium batteries. I hear that Samsung has a bunch they need to get rid of. High energy density, but with a bad habit of catching fire.