Status of Proposal to Allow HardiePlank Siding

By Kelly Driscoll, Standards Committee Chair

Over the last several months, Lakeport’s Standards Committee and Board have been working with RA and the Design Review Board (DRB) to finalize the amendment to our design standards to allow individual homeowners to replace their cedar siding with HardiePlank. Although the change was tentatively approved by DRB, there are still open questions regarding stipulations the DRB proposed regarding the treatment of shared party walls. The next DRB meeting is scheduled for March 21, and we're hopeful that these issues will be resolved, with the decision and stipulations to be finalized shortly afterward.

In general, some degree of coordination with adjacent neighbors will be required to determine whether to include shared party walls in a project. The DRB's decision should provide some guidelines, but specifics will depend on agreements reached between neighbors.

At this point, the amendment to the standards would impact only Phase 2 homes because there is no HardiePlank product that matches the profile of the siding on Phase 1 homes.

Several neighbors have expressed interest in undertaking re-siding projects once the amendment to the standard is finalized. There may be opportunities for cost savings if multiple homeowners agree to have the same contractor do their jobs at the same time. If you're interested in coordinating with other neighbors,

• Send an email standards@lakeportcluster.org and we'll put you in touch with others who have expressed interest in the project.
• If you have a quote on residing your home with HardiePlank from a contractor that you're willing to share, let us know so we can share it with the neighborhood and compare pricing.
• If you have had experience with a contractor and want to make a recommendation, please let us know.