Oxford Place   

Happy New Year! Another year has passed and the Oxford Place continues to blossom. Although, we are still under construction, we are well over the hump. Before the annual meeting, we are setting aside some time for neighbors to meet and socialize. The 2003 Oxford Place property owners meeting will be held on Thursday, February 27 at Doby’s Bridge Presbyterian Church (about ½ mile north of Oxford Place on Dobys Bridge Road). The social time will be held from 6:30pm to 7:15pm and the Annual Meeting will start promptly at 7:15pm. We expect the annual meeting will end no later that 8:30pm. The members of the various committees and the board will remain after the annual meeting to address concerns and answer questions. We look forward to seeing you there.　

Our neighborhood’s monthly obligations amount to about $4 per lot per month for electricity (lights); about $4 per month for landscape maintenance of the entrance and common areas; less than $1 per month per lot for insurance; and less than $1 per month for mailing, printing, photocopying, liens, etc. We are working to resolve the recreation lot deed issue and will probably be responsible for taxes on the lot. This will likely add less than $1 per month per lot. We also need to plan for unexpected expenses. The unexpected would include repairing entrance signs, replacing bushes, increases in landscaping/lawn maintenance, extra cost of collecting non-payment of fees (one lot in 2002), etc.

We will provide a copy of the budget worksheet and current account balances at the meeting. We were right on target with our expense projections for 2002.

At the beginning of last year, the start-up neighborhood fee was $45. This initial fee allowed the neighborhood to pay the bills at the beginning of the year. At the meeting held at the end of January 2002, the community approved a $100 annual fee for the remainder of 2002. For a few lots this was collected with two $50 payments. So, the total fee collected last year was $145 per lot for the year. For 2003, we are setting the annual neighborhood maintenance fee to a flat $150. The owner of record as of April 1, 2003 will be responsible for the payment. To make this easier for everyone, we will collect the fee as one single payment due on April 30, 2003.

Homestead Land and Timber contributed $1500 towards lights for our entrance signs. We also have a little extra money in the neighborhood account to put towards lighting. We ran into a few delays due to time issues, including meeting with York Electric, getting permission from property owners, resolving a permit issue, and finding a qualified electrician. We hope to have this resolved and the lights installed by the time of the 2003 neighborhood meeting. We will provide an update at the meeting.

The 2002 members of the Property Owners Board have enjoyed serving the community this past year. We are looking forward to serving the community in 2003 and helping the 2003 board members get started.

Frank Collins   547-xxxx   1026 Croyden Court
Maureen Reavis  802-xxxx   218 Oxford Place Drive
Heather Ratliff 548-xxxx   1426 Doe Ridge Lane
Dan Warren      802-xxxx   building on Lot 95 Cabin Creek
Angie Bivens*   547-xxxx   1059 Croyden Court

A friendly reminder that a verbal exchange with the person that sold you a lot in Oxford Place does not constitute approval of an architectural plan. Developers, builders, and former property owners do not have the authority to approve plans or override anything stated in the C&Rs. The architectural review committee must approve all plans in writing. This makes sense, protects property values, and protects you.

The 2002 architectural review committee has enjoyed serving the community during 2002. They look forward to helping the 2003 committee understand the intricacies of architectural review. Please contact a member of the current committee if you have a project you are planning or just need some advice.

Laura Bradford   802-xxxx   628 Kingston Way
Roger Guchone    547-xxxx   603 Kingston Way
Johnny Webster   802-xxxx   202 Oxford Place Drive

Per item 27 of the Covenants and Restrictions - No construction, reconstruction, remodeling or alteration of any building, improvement, or structure shall be commenced without prior written approval. Basically the architectural review committee wants to make sure plans meet the conditions of the C&Rs (square footage, setbacks, 90% brick, stone, stucco, cement drive, extra walls etc.) and some other common sense guidelines (not a duplicate of house next door, quality materials etc.). All Oxford Place property owners buy lots with these conditions in place and want to protect home values. The members of the Architectural Review committee will be happy to help you with any questions or concerns.

There are many ways you can serve your neighborhood in ways that you enjoy and fit your time schedule. In addition to the 5 board member positions and the 3 architectural review committee positions, we envision other residents will step forward to lead specific efforts or head small project committees, such as landscaping, an annual social event, and possibly other special projects.

Oxford Place Property Owners Board - The board consists of 5 members. Based on the experiences of board members, the duties of the board members are as follows:

Oxford Place Architectural Review Committee - The duties of the 2003 architectural review committee members are envisioned as follows:

Landscaping Committee – Our lawn maintenance service receives little guidance at present. We need a person (or group) with a green thumb to decide what our neighborhood landscaping needs are and communicate them to the lawn maintenance service every month or two. This person or group would also make recommendations to the board about purchasing additional landscaping (bushes, flowers, etc.). 　

Neighborhood Event Committee – Being a new neighborhood, we commonly hear from neighbors about not having a chance to meet their new neighbors. Several people have mentioned having a neighborhood event. This could be as simple as bring your own lawn chair and head for the park, or it could involve something really innovative. Some people have mentioned having a neighborhood yard sale at the recreation lot. The committee can decide the timing, the theme, and the activities. It should be a lot of fun.

Recreation Lot Committee – See the attached voting form. If enough interest is expressed for one or more projects for the recreation lot, we will need a committee to brainstorm about how to accomplish the desired project. How can we make it attractive? Where will the project be situated? How much will the project cost? When can we afford the project and when can we start it? A nicely designed amenity to the neighborhood could boost home values and easily offset a temporary increase in the annual neighborhood fee.

Board members can serve on some of these committees if needed. However, since board members are already committing some time to the neighborhood, it would greatly appreciated if a neighbor with a specific talent and a strong interest in a project would step forward. The Property Owners Board, and the committees would be greatly served by having members from both the East and West sections of Oxford Place. Please step forward to improve your community. Most roles should require between 3 to 7 hours per month when there is activity during a month. Some activities are short duration or seasonal and will only require a commitment for 4-6 months during the year.

Your attendance at the annual meeting is important. If you can not attend the meeting or do not wish to attend the meeting, we need you to complete the attached voting ballot and mail it to P.O. 1283, Fort Mill, SC 29716 or deliver it to Frank Collins at 1026 Croyden Ct. The neighborhood needs at least 50% of the properties represented to constitute a quorum.

There are 108 individual properties in Oxford Place. Your vote is very important.

79 of the 108 properties in Oxford Place are built upon or are under construction! More than half of the people that currently live in the neighborhood responded to the request for information for the neighborhood directory. We would like to extend a big thank you to Donna Armstrong for her efforts in spearheading this project. The directory looks to be quite impressive with a nice cover and tract maps for the neighborhood. If you have not responded and would like more (or less) than your name, address, and telephone number listed in the directory, please complete the directory questionnaire and send it to Donna Armstrong at 1422 Doe Ridge Lane, Fort Mill, SC 29175 before February 10, 2003. Copies of the directory will be available at the February 27 Oxford Place meeting.