WHY?
The Covenants, or rules, under which our association / neighborhood have operated since 1990 are inconsistent with who we have become 35 years later. The original Covenants were largely written for the Developer and for the Golf Course, both of whom no longer exist. Many sections had to be revised, and several paragraphs removed. One of the Board’s functions is to work with owners who are not complying with the community's rules. This is complicated as some rules are outdated or are not worth enforcing. Improvements will benefit the Board, the Administrator, the ARC, and home and lot owners.

 

WHAT?
Back in 1990, the (current) Covenants 'defined' the Royal Oaks Subdivision by three plat maps equaling 127 lots. Since then we have grown to over 600 lots, and 175 plats (and growing). The old Covenants were built from an even older template, and in some areas were not well-thought-out. The new document has several Major Changes. [Some of the Old 1990 Covenants Problems.]

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WHEN?
(Currently) the Covenants can only be redone every 10 years, so our deadline to accomplish the changes and voting process is no later than November 1, 2025.

 

HOW & WHERE?
The ad hoc Covenant Revision Committee worked on this project for over ten months. A majority of deeded owners must approve it, with their signatures witnessed by a Notary. This will be done by having owners visit the Community Center over several days time. The approved revision and the owner signature pages will then be filed at the courthouse. (We need volunteer Notaries!)

See the short 2-minute video for Why we need all Owners to Sign.

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WHO?
We had a six-person team of dedicated volunteers, approved by the Board, that included former Board members, an ARC member, and dedicated residents who have long served the community. We worked with a very experienced covenants attorney, and we have consulted with Board members, current and past Administrators, the ARC, ROPOA's lawyer, and other key people.  

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COSTS?
It’s been said that "nothing worthwhile in life is free." The covenants lawyer’s review, advice and reformatting; possibly hiring some notaries unless we have enough volunteers; sending each household a paper copy, and recording hundreds of final documents at the courthouse will be the major costs. Consideration has been made to save where possible. For example, households will only receive one paper copy - single-spaced (18 pages), as compared to the 30 page double-spaced document which must be filed at the courthouse. This significantly saves copying and mailing costs.

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ACTIONS! 
In mid May 2024 the Board approved the (ad-hoc) Covenants Revision Committee, and it met through March 2025. Progress reports were regularly provided to the Board, and this website was built to show owners and residents what we have worked on. The community was kept informed through the Royal Messenger and in meetings at the Community Center. On July 30, 2025 the new Covenants were fnally completed. The legal version is 30 pages long, so we shrunk it down to 18 pages by making it single-spaced for owners, and it was advertised on a Community email on Aug. 3rd. Paper copies will be sent to all owners soon, along with our attorney's letter asking all owners to attend the mid Sept. Signature Approval Days. There will also be a Community Meeting on Aug. 21, 2025 at 6:30pm for residents to ask questions.