Guidance |
Regulations & Maintenance |
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| ARB GUIDE Amendment JUN 4 2023 |
| Exterior Modification Application |
Submit all exterior modification applications to the LRMHA ARB via Northern Virginia Management. The ARB is appointed by the LRMHA Board of Directors and serves in an advisory capacity to the Board when requests do comply with architectural guidelines.
Do not submit requests directly to ARB or LRMHA Board members or instruct contractors to contact Board members directly. Formal requests are to be submitted to NVM and can be sent via email. Board responses will be issued via NVM, who maintains records of all official correspondence for LRMHA.
To avoid delays due to incomplete requests, accurate plans and signatures of all affected neighbors are required for changes. If a line of sight is impacted or obstructed, please obtain signatures from those neighbors who will be most affected, not just those contiguous to your property.
Do not submit requests directly to ARB or LRMHA Board members or instruct contractors to contact Board members directly. Formal requests are to be submitted to NVM and can be sent via email. Board responses will be issued via NVM, who maintains records of all official correspondence for LRMHA.
To avoid delays due to incomplete requests, accurate plans and signatures of all affected neighbors are required for changes. If a line of sight is impacted or obstructed, please obtain signatures from those neighbors who will be most affected, not just those contiguous to your property.
| LRMHA Surveyed Plat.pdf |
Contact Northern Virginia Management to request parking tags.
Tags may be mailed or picked up at NVM's offices. New tags will be delivered at the beginning of each year. Upon payment of all outstanding balances you will receive 3 tags; otherwise you will be issued only one tag. There is no provision for temporary tags or tags for surplus vehicles.
Tags may be mailed or picked up at NVM's offices. New tags will be delivered at the beginning of each year. Upon payment of all outstanding balances you will receive 3 tags; otherwise you will be issued only one tag. There is no provision for temporary tags or tags for surplus vehicles.
| lrmha_parking_regulations_08062019.pdf |
All residents are provided with a copy of the LRMHA Declarations and Bylaws as a packet when they purchase their home. These documents contain binding restrictions on the use and modification of property, including shed heights.
You are responsible for consulting your package and adhering to the important guidance contained within.
If you have lost your copy, please visit Northern Virginia Management's office to purchase another.
You are responsible for consulting your package and adhering to the important guidance contained within.
If you have lost your copy, please visit Northern Virginia Management's office to purchase another.
If you have an inspection repair notice that has not yet been addressed or observe that your property is deteriorating or does not conform to community standards, please make an effort to complete the required work as soon as possible to avoid a notice of noncompliance. Homeowners who repeatedly fail to make required repairs or bring their properties into compliance with guidelines can adversely affect the property values of everyone in the neighborhood.
Please adhere to the following Little River Mews regulations:
Home Exteriors
Little River Mews has Architectural Guidelines that must be followed. If you plan to make any changes to the exterior of your house or yard, please check with the LRMHA's Architectural Review Board (ARB) before proceeding and submit a completed exterior modification application for approval if requested. It is in the best interest of all residents that the exteriors of all houses complement the styles and colors of the other homes.
Landscaping
Common grounds are maintained by a contracted service. Homeowners are responsible for any landscaping associated with their homes as well as maintenance of areas within backyard enclosures.
Signage
Signage, other than that provided by Fairfax County or the LRMHA Board, is not allowed in the parking lots or on common grounds. Additionally, no business signage on the exterior of homes or on cars is permitted. Residents are limited to a single 1 square foot sign on their property at all times. Realtor signs are limited in size to 4 square feet of display area and must conform to Fairfax County regulations.
Snow Removal
In case of wintry precipitation, you are responsible for removing snow and ice from the sidewalk and steps in front of your home. Although our parking lot is treated and plowed after winter weather, please pitch in and help neighbors to remove snow from parking spaces, which are not plowed. We all benefit if everyone does their fair share.
Mail Boxes
After moving to Little River Mews, all residents should have received two keys for their assigned mailbox. If for any reason you need a new key for your mailbox, please contact the Annandale Post Office.
Soliciting
Soliciting is not permitted in the Little River Mews community. That means no door-to-door sales or canvassing and no unsolicited deliveries of newspapers, etc. If someone knocks on your door with a survey or to sell you something, please do them a favor and refer them to the sign at the entrance to the neighborhood. Remember to stay safe and do not let anyone you do not know into your home.
Deliveries
Please arrange for daytime deliveries between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and ask delivery trucks to not block your neighbors’ reserved parking spaces. Likewise, fire lanes are to remain open at all times.
LRMHA Assessments
Association assessments are $324 per quarter, which are to be payable every January, April, July and October.
Please mail or deliver checks payable to Little River Mews Homeowners Association to Northern Virginia Management, 4306 Evergreen Lane, Suite 101, Annandale, VA 22003-3217.
The LRMHA board of directors urges all residents to pay their assessments on time every quarter. Assessments are used to maintain our grounds, collect our trash, and in winter, plow our parking lot. It’s unfair to other residents in the community if you do not pay your fair share in a timely manner. Furthermore, the expense of collecting unpaid assessments affects everyone.
Call Before You Dig
If for any reason the area around your home requires deep digging, you are required to coordinate with Miss Utility. No one in the community wants to lose power, or risk having a pipe damaged by careless digging.
Plumbing Alert
The original plumbing for all LRM residences used polybutylene pipe, which no longer meets building standards. You may have heard that there was a class-action lawsuit for replacement of this kind of pipe. The deadlines for payment under that suit have long since come and gone. Interior polybutylene plumbing is almost always grey and exterior polybutylene plumbing is mostly blue. Many homeowners have already replaced this plumbing. If you have not already replaced all of your plumbing with materials meeting current construction standards, you could be at risk for a costly repair. Please inspect all joints and look for signs of moisture in walls containing pipes, and arrange for replacement as soon as you can. Insurance companies recommend water leakage detection systems to prevent costly damage. Insurance policies do not cover “slow leaks” so be vigilant.
Should a major break result in flooding of your basement, kindly let neighbors below you in your section know so they can check to be sure their basement has not been flooded. Water flows downhill and basement slabs below yours could be at risk.
Occupancy Limits
Fairfax County Zoning Ordinance contains limitations on the occupancy of a dwelling unit. As a matter of right, a dwelling unit may be occupied by not more than one of the following:
For further information on these topics, please contact the Zoning Permit Review Branch of the Department of Planning and Zoning at 703-222-1082, TTY 711. Here is a link to the Fairfax County website.
Home Exteriors
Little River Mews has Architectural Guidelines that must be followed. If you plan to make any changes to the exterior of your house or yard, please check with the LRMHA's Architectural Review Board (ARB) before proceeding and submit a completed exterior modification application for approval if requested. It is in the best interest of all residents that the exteriors of all houses complement the styles and colors of the other homes.
- Acceptable Paint Colors -- McCormick COLONIAL colors; adjacent homes may not use the same colors for doors. Shutters must match the door color. Trim, including the door frame, must be painted in a single color that contrasts with the door/shutter trim and cannot match the siding of a home or the door color. Siding is coated aluminum in either a pale colonial yellow, a slightly darker colonial cream/pale sand or a pale sage green. Repainting siding is not permitted. Siding can be successfully powerwashed. All exterior paint colors must be approved by the ARB prior to starting work.
- Design Standards for Doors, Siding, Windows and Roofing — Must be colonial style; consult the Board when contemplating a change to your home’s exterior to avoid conflict with neighborhood standards. This includes but is not limited to all replacements of windows, doors, decks, and exterior hardware and lighting, even if they will be in the same or similar style.
- Design Standards for Fencing and Decks — Fencing and decks must conform with the original fencing and deck finishes, sizes, materials and shapes. Uniform finishes and styles are desirable to preserve LRMHA aesthetics. Size and placement of any structures or equipment visible above fences in backyards require ARB review and approval. There is no authority to approve sheds that are above the height of the rear yard fence other than those placed close to the home that are screened completely from pedestrian-level view by fencing and/or dense greenery. See approved Behr colors for deck and fence stains.
- Flags and Lawn Ornaments — Flags and other lawn ornaments are permitted in back yards and on decks without limitation.
- Personal Items, Common Areas — Personal items, including furniture and play equipment may not be installed in common areas.
Landscaping
Common grounds are maintained by a contracted service. Homeowners are responsible for any landscaping associated with their homes as well as maintenance of areas within backyard enclosures.
Signage
Signage, other than that provided by Fairfax County or the LRMHA Board, is not allowed in the parking lots or on common grounds. Additionally, no business signage on the exterior of homes or on cars is permitted. Residents are limited to a single 1 square foot sign on their property at all times. Realtor signs are limited in size to 4 square feet of display area and must conform to Fairfax County regulations.
Snow Removal
In case of wintry precipitation, you are responsible for removing snow and ice from the sidewalk and steps in front of your home. Although our parking lot is treated and plowed after winter weather, please pitch in and help neighbors to remove snow from parking spaces, which are not plowed. We all benefit if everyone does their fair share.
Mail Boxes
After moving to Little River Mews, all residents should have received two keys for their assigned mailbox. If for any reason you need a new key for your mailbox, please contact the Annandale Post Office.
Soliciting
Soliciting is not permitted in the Little River Mews community. That means no door-to-door sales or canvassing and no unsolicited deliveries of newspapers, etc. If someone knocks on your door with a survey or to sell you something, please do them a favor and refer them to the sign at the entrance to the neighborhood. Remember to stay safe and do not let anyone you do not know into your home.
Deliveries
Please arrange for daytime deliveries between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and ask delivery trucks to not block your neighbors’ reserved parking spaces. Likewise, fire lanes are to remain open at all times.
LRMHA Assessments
Association assessments are $324 per quarter, which are to be payable every January, April, July and October.
Please mail or deliver checks payable to Little River Mews Homeowners Association to Northern Virginia Management, 4306 Evergreen Lane, Suite 101, Annandale, VA 22003-3217.
The LRMHA board of directors urges all residents to pay their assessments on time every quarter. Assessments are used to maintain our grounds, collect our trash, and in winter, plow our parking lot. It’s unfair to other residents in the community if you do not pay your fair share in a timely manner. Furthermore, the expense of collecting unpaid assessments affects everyone.
Call Before You Dig
If for any reason the area around your home requires deep digging, you are required to coordinate with Miss Utility. No one in the community wants to lose power, or risk having a pipe damaged by careless digging.
Plumbing Alert
The original plumbing for all LRM residences used polybutylene pipe, which no longer meets building standards. You may have heard that there was a class-action lawsuit for replacement of this kind of pipe. The deadlines for payment under that suit have long since come and gone. Interior polybutylene plumbing is almost always grey and exterior polybutylene plumbing is mostly blue. Many homeowners have already replaced this plumbing. If you have not already replaced all of your plumbing with materials meeting current construction standards, you could be at risk for a costly repair. Please inspect all joints and look for signs of moisture in walls containing pipes, and arrange for replacement as soon as you can. Insurance companies recommend water leakage detection systems to prevent costly damage. Insurance policies do not cover “slow leaks” so be vigilant.
Should a major break result in flooding of your basement, kindly let neighbors below you in your section know so they can check to be sure their basement has not been flooded. Water flows downhill and basement slabs below yours could be at risk.
Occupancy Limits
Fairfax County Zoning Ordinance contains limitations on the occupancy of a dwelling unit. As a matter of right, a dwelling unit may be occupied by not more than one of the following:
- One family, which may consist of one person or two or more persons related by blood or marriage with any number of natural children, foster children, step children or adopted children and with not to exceed two roomers or boarders with a Home Occupation Permit
- Two single parents or guardians with not more than a total of six of their dependent children, including natural children, foster children, step children or adopted children, functioning as a single housekeeping unit
- A group of not more than four unrelated persons functioning as a single housekeeping unit
- A group residential facility (“Group Home”) - requires permit
- A dwelling unit may be occupied as a group housekeeping unit or an accessory dwelling unit subject to special permit approval by the Board of Zoning Appeals or as a bed and breakfast subject to special exception approval by the Board of Supervisors. The limited availability of parking in the Mews does not support the extra cars inherent in such uses and the members of LRMHA should not be expected to support the added costs for common services that would be incurred for such uses. The LRMHA Board can be expected to strenuously oppose such permits and uses in this neighborhood.
For further information on these topics, please contact the Zoning Permit Review Branch of the Department of Planning and Zoning at 703-222-1082, TTY 711. Here is a link to the Fairfax County website.