The purpose of this Handbook is to outline the various rules and regulations that Plum Creek has to ensure that our community stays looking its best, is enjoyable for all to call home, and that our investments are protected. By following these rules, you will ensure that our community remains a premier and desirable one to call home. This booklet is published and maintained by the Board of Directors to ensure all residents are familiar with the standards and rules we have established. This handbook was approved by the Board of Directors on June 26th, 2019 and became effective thirty (30) days after the delivery or mailing. This Handbook shall replace and supersede all prior Rules and Regulations of Plum Creek.

Please note that this is not a legal interpretation of the Master Deed and Bylaws, but instead meant to help better explain the important areas to help you better understand the document, and offer specific details about some of the restrictions in the community.

Each Co-Owner has a part of the operation of the entity legally known as Plum Creek Condominium Association. Each Unit has voting rights at the annual meeting based on value of their unit. That is, Townhome style units have a slightly higher weight in their vote compared to Apartment style units, but conversely also pay higher assessments.

The condominium is made up of General Common Elements which all share and benefit from and Limited Common Elements that are for individual co-owners use.

General Common Elements include the land, streets, sideways, utility connections, irrigation, sump pumps, pool, clubhouse, exterior lighting, and other structural components outside the building.

Limited Common Elements include terraces, storage rooms, furnace rooms, and common hallways/stairways.

A Board of Directors is elected at the annual meeting to plan and maintain the operation of the community, which includes the budget, selection of suppliers, and assessing fees.

Co-Owners are responsible for their individual unit, certain limited general common elements, and any utility charges they are responsible for. The Association is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the general common elements and certain limited common elements.

Each Co-owner is a member of the association. Each Co-Owner should have on file with the management company a designated voter’s form stating who has voting privileges for the unit. To vote, a member must be in good standing (All fines and fees must be current). Each Co-Owner has the right to designate another to cast the unit’s vote at any called meeting of the Association.

The Annual meeting must be attended by at least 25% of members qualified to vote to be a legal meeting. Proxies can be part of the 25% total.

The Association must keep detailed records of it operations and the individual co-owners have the right to inspect non-privileged documents.

The Association must prepare and distribute an annual budget and reviewed financial statements each year.

The Board has the power to collect delinquent accounts and has many remedies to ensure payments are made by each co-owner.

No unit may be used for any other purpose than that of a single family residence.

A co-owner has the right to lease their unit. There are procedures for leasing. They include informing the Association of leasing intent at least twenty (20) days in advance, supplying the Association with a copy of the lease, and understanding that the tenants are responsible for complying with all of the Condominium Documents.

Co-owners may be fined for breaches of the Master Deed, Bylaws, and the Rules and Regulations by a Co-owner, or any occupants or guests.  The Co-owner will be deemed responsible for such violations whether they occur because of their personal actions or the actions of their occupants, guests or any other person admitted to the Condominium through such Co-owner.

All co-owners are responsible for the provisions of the Master Deed, Bylaws, and Rules and Regulations.

Notice of the violation, including the Condominium Document provision violated, together with a description of the factual nature of the alleged offense shall be sent to the Co-owner for any violation of the Condominium Documents by the Co-owner, or their occupants or guests.  The Co-owner shall be provided a scheduled hearing before the Board of Directors to offer a defense to the alleged violation, which shall not be less than ten (10) days after the notice is sent by the Association.  At the hearing, the Board of Directors, by majority vote, shall determine whether the fine shall be levied.  Failure to appear by the Co-owner shall be considered a default.  The Board’s decision is final.  The following fines shall be levied for all violations of the Condominium Documents except as set forth below, or where otherwise provided in the Co-owner Handbook:

o First Violation: Twenty-Five dollar ($25) fine.

o Second Violation: Fifty dollar ($50) fine.

o Third and All Subsequent Violations:  One hundred dollar ($100) fine 

For violations of the “Trash Pick Up” section of this Co-owner Handbook, the following fines will be levied:

o First Violation: Fifty dollar ($50) fine.

o Second Violation: One hundred dollar ($100) fine.

o Third and All Subsequent Violations: Three hundred dollars ($300) fine 

Nothing contained herein shall be construed as preventing the Association from pursuing any other remedy under the Condominium Documents or from combining a fine with any other remedy or requirement to redress any violation.  Fines shall be levied as an assessment against the Unit under Article II of the Bylaws and shall be immediately due and payable.  Failure to pay any fines shall subject the offending Co-owner to all remedies afforded the Association under Article II of the Bylaws. For purposes of this Rule, the number of the violation (i.e. first, second, etc.) is determined with respect to the number of times that a Co-owner violates the same provision of the Condominium Documents, as long as that Co-owner may be a Co-owner of a Unit or occupant of the Condominium, and is not based upon time or violations of entirely different provisions. In the case of continuing violations, a new violation will be deemed to occur each successive week during which a violation continues or in such intervals as may be set forth in supplements to this Rule; however, no hearings other than the first hearing shall be required for successive violations if a violation has been found to exist. 

Co-owners have until the 10th of the month to pay their monthly assessment, or any other late fee or assessment levied against the Unit.  Failure to pay any charge levied against the Unit by the date provided herein shall result in a $25/month late fee being assessed to the Unit for as long as there exists a delinquency.  Payments shall be applied first to the costs of collection and any attorney fees, then against late fees, and finally against assessments in order of their oldest delinquency.

No co-owner may make alterations or modifications to the common elements or change the exterior appearance of any unit without first gaining written approval from the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors may require Co-owners to sign a recordable modification agreement as a condition of approval for any alteration or modification.

The following are additional guidelines and specifications that the Board of Directors has enacted for the efficient administration of the Condominium Administration. These rules and regulations have been voted on and accepted at the monthly meetings of the Plum Creek Board of Directors. They have become the policy and like the Master Deed and Bylaws, are enforceable by the Board of Directors.

Association fees, or assessments, are due by the 10th of each month. Any Assessment received late will be charged a $25 penalty. At the beginning of each Fiscal Year (January 1st), each resident will receive envelopes for this purpose.

Each resident is allotted 2 parking spaces. If you have a carport associated with your unit, you are entitled to another spot outside your carport. Otherwise two spots will be assigned to your unit.

Fluids, including oil, leaking from motor vehicles can cause expensive damage to the cement surface. Clean up any fluids that do leak immediately. Failure to do this could result in being charged the cost of cleaning or resurfacing your parking area. 

No non-emergency major car repairs are to be done in the parking areas.

Vehicles cannot be backed into parking spots. The only exception to this is while loading or unloading your vehicle.

Vehicles are to be moved when the snow removal crews are in the complex to clean the parking spots. They will typically do the main streets first and then return to do the parking spots.

Trash Pick Up is on Mondays. Trash shall not be placed for pick up until after 5pm the day before. If a holiday falls on a Monday, trash will be picked up on a Tuesday. If you are in doubt, consult with the City of Sterling Heights. A schedule of holidays is listed in the quarterly magazine published by Sterling Heights. Trash is not to be stored on patios, balconies, or porches.  If trash is put out before 5pm of the day preceding trash day, the responsible Co-owner will be subject to monetary fines, as well as the costs incurred by the Association in picking up or removing the trash. Those costs shall be levied to and collected from the responsible Co-owner under Article XI, Section 1(c) and Article II of the Bylaws.

Residents are responsible for checking with the City of Sterling Heights or the trash service provider for their policy on oversized or special pick up items. Co-owners will be responsible for any fines or fees associated with not following the policy of the City or the trash service provider for oversize or special pick up items, including any costs incurred by the Association in disposing of such items.

No toys, bicycles, chairs, obstructions, or personal property shall be left unattended on the common elements.

Only outdoor furniture is to be used on patios, balconies, or porches.

No boats, trailers, motor homes, commercial vehicles, etc. may be parked or stored on common elements except when they are being loaded or unloaded. All unauthorized vehicles may be towed from Plum Creek at the owner’s expense.

Non-operational vehicles or vehicles with expired licenses are not allowed to be stored on condominium property.

Speed limit is 15 MPH.

To ensure the safety of the community, no games shall be played in the streets or parking spaces.

Firearms, BB Guns, fireworks, drones, bows and arrows, or similar devices are not allowed on or about the Condominium property.

No signs are allowed on common elements, except a single “For Sale” or “For Rent” sign of reasonable size may be displayed in one the windows of a unit.

Gas BBQ Grills are only allowed if they are used and stored 10 feet from the building. Charcoal and wood burning grills are never allowed. No grill of any form may be stored or used on a porch or terrace, or under an overhang. Using a grill under an overhang is against Sterling Heights City fire code and will be subject to a $500 fine.

If authorized grills are used on common elements, co-owners are responsible for cleaning up entirely afterward and will be responsible for any damages caused by grill use.

Animals must be attended to at all times. No animal should be running loose on common elements. All dogs should be on a leash and their waste picked up and deposited in the co-owners trash within their unit. No dogs are allowed to be tied to a stake or other structure and left unattended.

Co-owners are encouraged to plant flowers on their patios, balconies and porches.

Flowers may be planted in the front gardens, but they may not go above the railings on the porches.

Vegetables may not be grown in the front gardens.

Flowers or vegetables may be planted on the patio but they are not allowed to go above the fence.

Patios must be kept neat and clean.

No towels or clothes are to be hung to dry on any railing.

Except as provided by this rule, no other planting shall occur on the common elements without the written approval of the Board of Directors.

All gardens must be cleaned by November 1st. All debris from these gardens must be placed in acceptable containers and put out with the weekly trash.

Co-owners are responsible for ensuring their gardens and patios are free of weeds and that all plants are of ornamental nature.

The pool is open between Memorial Day and Labor Day Daily from 12pm until 8pm. Pool hours are subject to change based on weather conditions, etc., as may be determined by the Board of Directors and pool attendant in their sole discretion.

Co-owners/residents in good standing and their guests are welcome to use the pool for their enjoyment, but must follow the direction of the pool attendant on duty and all related pool rules.

Up to 4 guests per unit are permitted at the pool at one time, but the Co-owner/resident bringing guests must be present at all times that the guests are using the pool. In the event of overcrowding, the pool attendant on duty may limit the number of guests a co-owner may bring.

Anyone desiring to enter the pool must shower beforehand.

No lifeguards on duty – swim at your own risk! No running on the pool deck. No diving is permitted. Bathing suits with a liner are required.

No diapers are allowed in the pool. Anyone not toilet-trained must wear appropriate swim diapers in the pool.

No pets are permitted in the pool area.

Violation of the pool rules will subject the offending Co-owner/tenant to any of the following remedies:

(i) Immediate removal from the pool area.

(ii) The levy of monetary fines.

(iii) A written warning sent to the Co-owner advising of the violation(s) of the Co-owner, or the Co-owner’s tenants, family members or guests. Should a second violation occur of the same or similar nature, the Association may revoke the pool privileges of the Co-owner, and/or the Co-owner’s tenants, family members or guests for the duration of the pool season.

The clubhouse may be rented for social uses. Please contact the Board of Directors for more details.

Holiday decorations are permitted for display from Thanksgiving until the end of January.

Nothing may be stored in the apartment hallways, including, but not limited to shoes and boots. This is in accordance with Sterling Heights fire code.

Nothing is to be stored in the common elements of the basements outside of your designated storage space. Your storage space is provided for this purpose. This is also in accordance with Sterling Heights fire code.

The Fire Chief makes annual inspections of our basements and hallways. If a fine is levied against the Association, the Co-owner causing the violation will be billed for the fine and shall also receive a fine from the Association.

The board may update these rules and regulations as needed. This Handbook will be available from the current Management Company or on the Association website.

The association website is located at www.PlumCreekCondos.com . On there you will find updates, as well as minutes from previous board meetings.