Violations and Fines

Summary

Violations must be reported in writing by a property owner using the Board’s prescribed form. After the Board verifies the complaint, the alleged violator receives written notice and a warning. The owner has the right to appeal in writing through API, which triggers a hearing at the next Board meeting. Fines escalate with repeat violations and must be paid within 30 days of notice. The Board may also pursue legal remedies, with all legal costs charged back to the offending owner.

Fine Schedule

Violation	Fine
First violation (no same violation within last year)	$50.00
Same violation repeated within last year	$75.00
Third and subsequent violations	$100.00 each
Continuing/daily violation	Up to $25.00/day
Maximum continuing violation fine	$500.00
Payment deadline	30 days from notice

Applicable Rules

Rule	Source	Section
Complaints must be submitted in writing by a property owner	R&Rs 2013/2021	9
Board verifies complaint before issuing notice to alleged violator	R&Rs 2013/2021	9
Owner responsible for conduct of all residents and guests	R&Rs 2013/2021	9
Violator given written notice and warning before fine	R&Rs 2013/2021	9
Right to appeal — written response to API to schedule hearing	R&Rs 2013/2021	9
Hearings proceed with or without accused owner if notice was sent	R&Rs 2013/2021	9
Open hearings require at least 2 weeks’ advance notice to homeowners	R&Rs 2013/2021	9
Fine charged to owner of home where guilty person resides	R&Rs 2013/2021	9
Board may pursue legal remedies; costs assessed to offending owner	R&Rs 2013/2021	9
Exterior maintenance required: rotting trim boards, flaking paint, or algae growth on siding must be repaired and/or cleaned	Summer 2026 newsletter (citing R&Rs)	R&Rs (property maintenance standards)
Garbage can storage and timing rules — see garbage-disposal for full rule text	R&Rs 2013/2021	3.6

Process Flow

1. Property owner submits written complaint on Board-prescribed form
2. Board/Committee verifies validity of complaint
3. Alleged violator receives written notice and warning
4. Owner may appeal in writing to API → hearing placed on next Board meeting agenda
5. Hearing proceeds (open or closed); Board weighs evidence and renders finding
6. If guilty: written notice sent; fine charged to owner; payment due within 30 days

History

Date	Event
2024-07-11	[Address redacted] — Unapproved fence: Homeowner installed unapproved fence. After Board discussion, homeowner agreed to move the front of the fence back 10 feet from the front of the house as remediation. Source: minutes-2024-07-11
2024-07-11	[Address redacted] — Improper fence maintenance: Reported to City of West Chicago code enforcement. API sent initial warning letter. Source: minutes-2024-07-11
2025-10-30	Ed Bryson suggested skipping the standard warning step and going directly to fines for violations. Rationale: homeowners should know the rules. No formal motion; informal Board discussion only. Source: minutes-2025-10-30
2026-05-07	Garbage can violations: Board approved (MH motion, MC second) directing API to send fines to homeowners for garbage cans left in driveways. Source: minutes-2026-05-07
2026-05-07 (newsletter)	Garbage can specific timing published in Spring 2026 HOA Newsletter: cans may be placed at the curb no earlier than 5:00 PM the day before pickup; must be returned to the garage by midnight the day of pickup; garbage cans may not be stored outside in plain sight at any other time. Source: Spring 2026 Newsletter
2026-05-07	General maintenance enforcement discussion: homeowners raised concern at forum that API was not acting on reported violations (fences braced with props, falling mailboxes, garbage cans in driveways). Board acknowledged; MKH to publish newsletter article on maintenance standards. Source: minutes-2026-05-07
2026-05-13	Summer 2026 newsletter published maintenance standards article. Confirmed garbage pickup day: Wednesday (cans may go to curb after 6:00 PM Wednesday; must be stored out of sight by midnight). Published maintenance standards: grass ⇐8 inches; yards debris-free; landscaping not overhanging sidewalks; fences in good condition (no propped/braced sections); garbage cans stored out of sight; rotting trim boards, flaking paint, or algae growth on siding must be repaired/cleaned. Fines may be levied for violations. Source: Summer 2026 newsletter
2026-07-14	Large enforcement sweep — 31 first-warning violation notices issued by API (Jennifer Nissen), covering conduct observed between 6/22/2026 and 6/30/2026. This is the first major wave of enforcement following the Board’s May 7, 2026 direction to begin fining garbage-can violators. Breakdown: 18 garbage-can/trash-only violations; 11 combined maintenance violations (most also citing garbage cans stored outside, plus a second issue — fence in disrepair, overgrown weeds/yard, mailbox in disrepair, basketball hoop, or miscellaneous items such as bikes/tools/tarps/lawnmowers left outside); 2 parking violations (one non-operative vehicle, one RV parked over 72 hours). All notices were Level 1st Warning (no monetary fine); homeowners have 10 days to correct or request a hearing. Names and addresses not recorded per Hard Rule 11. Source: board-packet-2026-07-16
2026-07-14	Escalation example: one garbage-can violation first issued April 15, 2026 escalated to a 2nd Fine (“Third Notice — Second Fine,” $75.00 fine + $25.00 fee) as of this date, having previously been re-noticed as a 1st Fine on May 22, 2026. This is the clearest confirmed example in the ingested record of the fine schedule’s escalation ladder (warning → 1st fine → 2nd fine) actually being applied. Address/name not recorded per Hard Rule 11. Source: board-packet-2026-07-16
2026-07-14	Hearing request filed contesting one of the July 14, 2026 garbage-can violation notices; scheduled for executive session at the July 16, 2026 board meeting. Address/name not recorded per Hard Rule 11. Source: board-packet-2026-07-16
2026-07-16	Enforcement gap flagged: MC noted at the Board meeting that the July 14, 2026 citation sweep should have included fines, not just warnings — the notices as issued were all Level 1st Warning with no monetary fine. No formal motion recorded to correct the already-issued notices. Source: minutes-2026-07-16
2026-07-16	[Address redacted] — Trash can vs. rain barrel dispute, resolved: Homeowner contested a trash-can-storage citation, stating the item cited is a rain barrel under a tree, not a trash can. EB confirmed post-meeting it is a rain barrel — the citation is to be removed. Source: minutes-2026-07-16
2026-07-16	Excessive animals — homeowner not identified: Board directed a citation be sent to a homeowner reported to be keeping a large number of animals, allowing the homeowner to respond. No address given in the source; none recorded here regardless, per Hard Rule 11. Source: minutes-2026-07-16
2026-08-11 to 2026-09-08	Fines begin to issue. Notices dated August 11–12 and September 8, 2026 are “Second Notice of Violation — First Fine” letters: $50.00 fine plus a separate $25.00 fee (total $75.00), payable within 30 days to API’s PO Box. “Third Notice — Second Fine” letters carry a $75.00 fine plus $25.00 fee (total $100.00). Each notice cites Declaration §3.03 (Maintenance by Owner) or R&Rs §3.6 (Garbage Disposal), gives 10 days to correct, and states that a hearing must be requested within 10 days or the right is waived. Fines collected in the August 2026 income statement: $600 in the month, $675 YTD. Source: board-packet-2026-10-01, financial-report-2026-08
2026-09-25	Violation log snapshot (7/9–9/25/2026). About 82 records across about 43 accounts (approximate; parsed from text). By type: about 46 trash/garbage, 29 maintenance, 5 parking, 2 exterior. By current level: 46 first warnings, 24 first fines, 11 second fines, 1 third fine. Opened by month: 31 in July (the July 14 sweep), 27 in August, 15 in September, plus a handful carried from 2024–2026. About 45 records show as closed. Names and addresses not recorded per Hard Rule 11. Source: board-packet-2026-10-01
2026-10-01	Five hearing requests placed on the executive-session agenda (item 12a). Subjects: peeling garage-door paint and rotting trim; garbage cans out and a fence in disrepair; items stored outside (garbage cans, tools, a lawnmower, bags); debris in front of a garage plus rotting trim; and a garbage-can fee the owner says was corrected after the first warning. Of the four requests that carry both a notice date and a signature date, one was signed about 4 days after its notice and three about 11, 14 and 34 days after (the receipt stamps are later still), against the 10-day request window on the notices. The fifth request (an email dated 9/16/2026) has no notice date available. Outcomes not yet recorded (see next row). Source: board-packet-2026-10-01
2026-10-01	Hearings: no one appeared; one fine dropped. Per the October 1 minutes, five homeowners had requested hearings on their violations and none showed up (nothing was heard in executive session — none was held). One homeowner, whom the Board spoke to at the Hawthorne’s social and chatted with via Facebook, had their fine dropped because they had addressed the issues. No ruling is recorded for the other four. Box truck: the Board asked whether a violation could be sent for a box truck parked in a driveway; MC cautioned it may be legal and the Commercial Truck restriction may not be enforceable (see vehicle-parking-rules). No motion on either item. Names and addresses not recorded per Hard Rule 11. Source: minutes-2026-10-01

Open Questions

• The R&Rs do not specify what happens if a fine goes unpaid past the 30-day deadline — the assessment collection policy (Section 10) likely applies. See assessment-collection-policy.
• Hearing outcomes (October 2026). After the October 1 meeting, four of the five requests have no recorded ruling and the minutes do not say whether the no-shows waive the right to a hearing. Hearing-request timing: notices require a hearing request within 10 days or the right to a hearing is waived and the allegation is deemed accurate. At least three of the five requests in the October 1, 2026 packet appear to have been signed after that window. Whether the Board will enforce the waiver, waive the deadline, or hear them anyway is not recorded. The wiki’s summary of R&Rs Section 9 records no 10-day request deadline; it appears in API’s notice template — see the next item (confirm against the R&Rs text).
• Notice template vs. R&Rs. The notices state a separate $25.00 fee on top of the fine and a 10-day correction period; the R&Rs’ fine schedule (Section 9) lists only the fine amounts and a 30-day payment deadline. The source and authority of the $25 fee and the 10-day hearing deadline is not documented in the wiki (the API Management Agreement lists a violation-letter fee of $50 per occurrence — see api-management-agreement-2020).
• Warning step. MC noted on July 16, 2026 that the July 14 citations should have carried fines; the R&Rs require a written notice and warning before a fine (Section 9), and API’s practice since August is first warning → first fine → second fine. Whether the Board intends to skip the warning step going forward (EB’s October 2025 suggestion) remains undecided.
• “Immediate fine” is referenced for A&A violations (working without prior approval) in Sections 3.4 and 3.5 — it is unclear whether this bypasses the standard warning step in Section 9 or whether it means the first fine is assessed without the usual warning period.