Fellow Lake Owners,

After seeking legal counsel, I wanted to provide a brief update on the enforceability of the proposed POA rules for certain sections on the lake, should the board receive a 2/3 vote to form a POA.

Bottom line, only owners of Sections (Phase) II, Section II Addition, Section V, and owners from any section who voluntarily sign into the POA will have to follow the proposed rules and fall under the POA structure.

Sections III, IV and any other homes not under Sections II, II addition and V do not have CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions) on their property and therefore cannot have any POA rules enforced on their property without the owners express written consent per Georgia Law. The Talahi Lake Use Agreement is an easement, and nothing from that document has ever been enforced on the lake. Just ask the board member who just built a covered dock. No CC&Rs means that even with the 2/3 vote, the STR restrictions would not apply to Sections III, IV, or any other home not in the aforementioned sections who have CC&Rs defined by recorded plat, book, and page number. The 2 current STRs will not be affected, and anyone who votes into the POA will now be subject to the list of disagreeable terms for owners we’ve previously sent out. The POA will not remove any current STRs and only limit STRs on Sections II, II addition, and V.

This has all been confirmed with legal counsel.  I’m not writing this in a self-serving manner to protect my home, as I’m in Section IV and will be unaffected by the POA. I’m writing this because I see a power grab in progress that is not legally sound, has been rushed, and has been full of misleading information from a board who spent our lake dues without our permission to execute.

Here is the suggested way forward.

1. Do not sign into the POA. This ties you into the POA CC&Rs for life. The affidavit the board wants you to sign will be recorded with your deed. Even if you do not have any CC&Rs (Sections III, IV) the affidavit will follow your deed. This limits your options as a homeowner and limits your future buyer’s options which has the potential to affect the marketability of your home.
2. Tell your neighbors. This vote has been rushed and there has been a lack of transparency from members of the board. In fact, given the verbiage written into the proposed POA covenants and “how” the verbiage tries to tie in sections that do not have CC&Rs imply that the board, and the legal counsel they hired, knew about the lack of CC&Rs /unenforceability and pushed the vote anyway to try and get the POA passed and recorded.
3. Protect your Protect our lake. I’ve heard people on the board say the POA is to “protect the lake.” I believe this is misrepresenting the truth. The lake has gotten along just fine with no impacts to how the lake operates with the 2 STRs on the lake, and as I’ve mentioned, the STRs will not be affected by the creation of a POA. What would drastically change the lake is a POA, especially one given the powers that the proposed amendments provide the board. Any language stating “this is just to stop STRs” is misleading, as the board will be unable to pick and choose whom it will levy fines against and which rules it will choose to enforce. They will have to fine all 42 of the properties (from the sections that the POA will have the ability enforce rules upon) that break covenants, or else they’ll be sued for discrimination. That is going to cost you as the homeowner in fixes to your property as well as increased POA dues and legal fees as well. This is not “protecting the lake,” but is a drastic movement away from how the lake has been run and operated.
4. The board needs to be held accountable. The board spent a quarter of this year’s lake dues to change their name and create the legal groundwork for a POA that the lake collectively did not ask for. The purpose of the Lake Management Group is to manage the lake (the water on the lake, not the homes) and stock it with fish. They have repeatedly reminded owners via meeting minutes over the years that the board does not exist to enforce any rules. Spending our lake dues for such a cause without asking for input from the lake owners and without consent is not acceptable. The board was told in the Cease and Desist notice to stop using lake funds for legal dues, yet recent actions imply they have not. This is an overstep in authority and carries legal repercussions.

This movement seems to stem from a few busy-bodies on the lake trying to push an agenda under misleading pretenses. If their objective was only to limit STRs, the proposed covenants would not contain such a drastic overhaul that limits owner’s property rights, jeopardizes owner’s use of the lake if you don’t follow the POAs rules or pay fines, or contain such strong language transferring significant powers to the POA.

Regardless of intent, the power to protect your property, regardless of your section, lies with you. Not voting counts as a no, and without a 2/3 vote, the board is unable to attempt to record a POA for Sections (Phases) II, II addition, or V.

Please join the “Talahi Lake Owners” Facebook page we started for free and uncensored communication and as always, feel free to reach out with any questions.

All the best,

Joshua 619-228-3384 and Abigail 405-501-1313

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