BHA President's Letter
Dear BHA Members,
Last week, I published a letter in the Compass newsletter that described the Board’s request that the Architectural Review Committee (ARC) conduct a review and analyze the ARC’s interpretations of several construction policies. These types of reviews occur regularly. In fact, the current BHA Design Guidelines are the 27th Edition, meaning that the guidelines have changed often over the years.
The BHA issued that letter specifically to inform our members of the upcoming periodic review, and to add transparency to the design guideline review process. Unfortunately, false rumors and misinformation has been circulated over social media - Those rumors have distorted and mischaracterized the facts. We write today to provide clarity and accurate information to our members.
After much discussion at both the Board level and within the ARC during 2024, the Board requested that the ARC chairs review and consult with ARC committee members and staff in January 2025.
The reason for this review is two-fold. First, review of these guidelines occurs on a regular basis. Second, changes that occurred in the past set of Design Guidelines have resulted in numerous concerns with internal inconsistencies and varying interpretations. That has been a topic discussed at every Board meeting this year and has been the focus of nearly every ARC appeal to the Board. The Board is asking the chairs of the ARC Committees to consult with one another as well as with the ARC committees and staff so BHA may avoid such inconsistencies and conflicting decisions in the future.
Terry Steelman, Chair of one of two ARC Committees, has been asked to work with Dave Pacyna, Chair of the second ARC Committee, as well as consult with others on the ARC Committees and staff. They will present their findings and suggestions to the Board by January 24.
A few important points are worth noting:
- The BHA Board has requested that the ARC review guidelines and to present their findings.
- This review will principally focus on two areas of the guidelines – the 6 foot issue and the 60%/40% guideline. No decisions have yet been made.
- The Bald Head Association is committed to preserving the ARC review process.
- There is no proposal on the table to abolish the ARC nor the design guidelines, nor to fundamentally alter the safeguards provided by the ARC review process. Such a topic has never been part of the discussions by this board.
- The Board does not support overbuilding, nor any construction that exceeds the ARC guidelines.
- The design review guidelines and their interpretation have been a topic of discussion at every BHA Board meeting in 2024. Each meeting has a public session. The Board’s public sessions have reflected many hours of discussions on the topic. BHA members are always welcome to attend meetings, to listen to meetings online, and to review published meeting minutes.
The Board actively seeks to ensure the preservation of Bald Head Island’s property values through conservation of island resources. Preserving those shared values requires proper regulation of construction for existing homeowners and new construction alike.
Members of the Board have spent countless hours working with the ARC, property owners and even the Mitchell family to understand the intent of the vision for the island. We will continue to volunteer our time and efforts to preserve and protect our shared island. Our goal with this review process is to improve the ARC process, while maintaining protections for our beautiful island properties.
We wish each one of our fellow islanders the best for a Happy New Year!
Christine Osborne
President, Bald Head Association
(Click here for PDF of letter)
| 
