3.10. Article 10: Community Codes

!LEGAL ADVICE RELATED TO MODIFYING COMMUNITY CODE NO. 2 AS OF 5/28/2024 FROM GLENRIDDLE’S ATTORNEY “To adopt a Community Code or cancel, modify, etc. a code, the Board must give 30 days advance notice to the community that the Board is planning on taking action. After it is adopted, 30 days must pass before the code action is effective, which gives community members an opportunity to challenge the code action. The restrictions on use of property in Glen Riddle, such as the codes and architectural guidelines, or ones that impose a financial obligation on owners, are what must be put in the Homeowners Association Depository in the Circuit Court. A resolution that does not restrict use of property or impose a financial obligation on an owner does not have to be posted or put in the depository.”

Section 10.1. Objectives and Goals.

(a) By the recordation of this Declaration and the implementation of the Development Plan, the Declarant intends to create a planned community with the goals of enhancing the quality of life of Owners, protecting the aesthetics and environment within the Community, and promoting a sense of community among Owners. To serve these goals, the Declarant recognizes that changes in circumstances, conditions, needs, and desires within the Community will require the adoption, modification and amendment of the Community Codes from time to time.

(b) Every provision of the Governing Documents, including the Community Codes, shall apply to all Owners, tenants, occupants, guests and invitees of any Living Unit. All Owners who lease their Living Units shall include a notice provision in the lease informing the tenant and all occupants that the Living Unit and Community Property are subject to the Governing Documents, including the Community Codes. However, the failure to include such a provision in the lease shall not relieve any Person of responsibility for complying with the Governing Documents.

Section 10.2. Promulgation of Community Codes.

Community Codes shall be promulgated by the Declarant or the Board of Directors in accordance with this Section and provided to prospective purchasers of Living Units within the Community, in accordance with the Maryland Homeowners Association Act and/or such other applicable laws. Community Codes shall have the same force and effect and binding nature against the Property as the covenants, conditions, easements and restrictions contained within this Declaration. Consequently, the Property and the Owners are not only subject to the provisions of this Declaration, but shall also be subject to the Community Codes, as promulgated in accordance with this Article 10. By way of example and not limitation, Community Codes may include permitted and prohibited uses for Living Units and procedures for implementing the right of the Association to process cases of alleged violations of the Governing Documents and to levy fines for violations of the Governing Documents. Subject to the terms of this Article 10, Community Codes may be established, modified, repealed or amended as follows:

(a) Subject to the terms of this Article 10, and in accordance with its duty to exercise reasonable judgment on behalf of the Association and its Members, the Declarant (during the Declarant’s Rights and Obligations Period), or the Board of Directors, as applicable, may establish, modify, cancel, limit, create exceptions to, or expand Community Codes. The Declarant, or the Board of Directors, as applicable, shall make a good faith effort to provide each Member with at least thirty (30) days prior notice of a proposed Community Code in a community newsletter, electronic bulletin board, by e-mail, website, or by other means which the Declarant or Board of Directors, as applicable, determines will be reasonably effective in providing such notice to a majority of Members. Prior to action on a proposed Community Code, Members shall have a reasonable opportunity to express their views on the proposed Community Code by written response and/or at a Board meeting or another forum, such means to be determined by the Declarant or the Board, as the case may be.

(b) Any Community Codes adopted by the Declarant or the Board, as applicable, shall become effective thirty (30) days thereafter unless within such thirty (30) day period the proposed Community Code is disapproved at a meeting called for such purpose by a majority of all Members. At any such meeting, Members may vote by proxy, and proxies may be filed by facsimile or other electronic means so long as they meet the requirements of Maryland law. The Board shall have no obligation to call a meeting to consider disapproval except upon the petition of Members as required by the Bylaws for special meetings.

(c ) All additions, modifications and amendments to the Community Codes shall be published in Association newsletters, electronic bulletin boards, by e-mail, or by other means calculated to give reasonable notice to Owners of such additions, modifications or amendments; provided, however, that the failure of any Owner to actually receive any additions, modifications or amendments to any Community Codes shall not affect the validity or enforceability against such Owner of any such additions, modifications or amendments to the Community Codes.

Section 10.3. Owners’ Acknowledgement and Notice to Purchasers.

All Owners of Living Units are given notice that use of their Living Units is subject to all Community Codes as they may be modified from time to time in accordance with this Article 10. Each Owner, by acceptance of a deed, acknowledges and agrees that the use and enjoyment and marketability of his or her Living Unit may be impacted by the Community Codes and that the Community Codes may change from time to time.

Section 10.4. Code Limitations.

Except as may be specifically set forth in this Declaration, Community Code shall be consistent with the following:

(a) Equal Treatment. Similarly situated Owners shall be generally treated in a substantially similar manner; provided, the Community Codes may vary from one portion of the Community to another depending upon housing type, Local Areas or similar factors.

(b) Occupancy Limitations. No Community Code shall unreasonably interfere with the ability of Owners to determine the composition of their households, except that the Association shall have the authority to require that all Living Unit occupants be members of a single household unit and to limit the total number of occupants permitted in each Living Unit based on the size of the Living Unit, the facilities within the Living Unit or the impact on the Community Property.

(c ) Activities Within Living Unit. No Community Code shall unreasonably interfere with activities within the interior confines of Living Units, except that the Association may restrict or prohibit the following:

(i) Activities not normally associated with residential or home office use;

(ii) Activities that create monetary costs for the Association or other Owners;

(iii) Activities that create a danger to the health or safety of occupants of other Living Units;

(iv) Activities that generate excessive noise or traffic;

(v) Activities that create unsightly conditions visible outside the Living Unit; and

(vi) Activities that create an unreasonable source of annoyance.

(d) Animals. The Association may adopt Community Codes regarding pets in order to minimize damage and disturbance to other Owners, including reasonable provisions requiring damage deposits, waste removal, leash controls, noise controls, pet occupancy limits based on the size of the Living Unit, the facilities within the Living Unit and the potential impact on the Community Areas. Nothing shall prevent the Association from requiring removal of any animal that presents an actual or realistic threat to the health or safety of Owners or occupants of Living Units or from requiring abatement of any nuisance or unreasonable source of annoyance caused by any animal.

(e) Allocation of Usage Rights. The initial allocation of rights to use Community Property among the Owners shall not be unreasonably and materially changed to the detriment of any Owner over that Owner’s written objection to the Association. Nothing shall prevent the Association from altering the availability or use of Community Property, from adopting rules or Community Codes for use of Community Property, or from denying use privileges to those who abuse the Community Property, violate the Governing Documents, or fail to pay Assessments.

(f) Alienation. No Community Code shall prohibit outright the leasing or transfer of any Living Unit, or require consent of the Association for transfer of any Living Unit.

(g) Altering Existing Uses or Rights. Any Community Code which would (i) require Owners to dispose of personal property which is properly maintained in or on the Living Unit or (ii) require a material alteration of a use permitted with respect to a Living Unit prior to the effective date of such Community Code shall not apply to an Owner without his or her written consent unless the Community Code was in effect at the time the Owner acquired his or her interest in the Living Unit.

(h) Reasonable Rights to Complete the Development Plan. No Community Code or action by the Association shall impede the Declarant’s development rights within the Property.

Section 10.5. Other Actions.

This Article 10 shall not be construed to limit the powers of the Declarant or the Board of Directors and the foregoing entities shall have full power and authority to take any action as may be authorized under the Governing Documents or applicable law, regardless of whether such action may otherwise constitute a Community Code.

GlenRiddle Community Association, Inc.