SUBDIVISION GOVERNANCE

The lake lot and the 291 residential lots in the subdivision are subject to recorded Covenants running with the land. The Covenants authorized the creation of the West Shores Homeowners Association, Inc. (“HOA”), a non-profit Nebraska corporation, the members of which are the owners of the 242 residential lots numbered 1-242 that surround the lake lot and the 49 residential villas lots numbered 246-294 that are off-lake and overlook the outlot that includes the wetlands. The articles of incorporation and bylaws of the corporation are here.

The HOA is governed by a seven member board of directors, who are elected to staggered seats with three year terms at the annual lot owners meeting each January. The upcoming election dates, deadlines and procedures appear on the Events page of this website. The 2023 board members are Carl Bortol, President; Don Hansen Vice President; Mark Dunbar, Treasurer; Cheryl Osterloh, Secretary; Jana Wheatley-Renault; Corey Taylor and Karoly Mirnics. The board can be contacted at hoaboard@westshoreslake.com.

The 49 villas lots are additionally subject to the recorded Villas Covenants, which run with the the land associated with the villas lots. The Villas Covenants authorize the creation of the Villas at West Shores Homeowners Association, Inc. (“Villas Association”), a non-profit Nebraska corporation. Although, as of December 2021, the Villas Association has not filed articles of incorporation with the State of Nebraska or otherwise commenced operations, the Villas Covenants are still binding on the owners of the villas lots.

The marina lot, the several commercial lots that surround the marina, the several outlots, and the 99 acre outlot (which outlot includes some 66 acres of federally protected wetlands) are owned by the original developer, Century Development Company, LLC, and are not part of either HOA or subject to any covenants.

The streets, traffic islands and the perimeter land, including the park, are owned by the Sanitary Improvement District (“SID”) #453 and are not part of either HOA or subject to either HOA’s covenants. The SID is funded through each lot owner’s regular annual property tax assessements paid to Douglas County. The SID operations and its board are distinct from the HOA. For more information regarding the SID, see below.

COVENANTS

Covenants govern construction and other matters on the 291 residential lots numbered 1-242 and 246-294 and the certain rights and obligations of the members with regard to the lake.

The HOA collects annual dues, which for 2023 are $800 per lot, which covers expenses such as weekly trash and recycling pickup (a $19 month / $228 annual value), lake patrol, lake maintenance, fish stocking, community events, insurance and Independence Day fireworks.

Here are links to PDF’s of the amended and restated Covenants recorded 1/18/2013, the First Amendment relating to setbacks, fences, and Villa pools, and the Second Amendment re electronic voting. A Third Amendment passed on December 16, 2020, and eliminated the notarization requirement for electronic voter designee forms used in voting, as further discussed below.

The 49 villas lots, numbered 246-294, are subject to the Covenants, and additionally to the Villas Covenants recorded 6/29/2015, which govern lawn care, snow removal on the villas lots, the right of a villas lot owner to use the lake, and the right of a villas lot owner to purchase a boat slip in the West Shores marina from Century Development. As of December 27, 2020, the Villas Association has not yet begun providing lawn care or snow removal services to villas lots, and so no Villas Association dues are being collected from the 49 villas lot owners at this time.

RESIDENTIAL RENTAL POLICY: While the Covenants and Lake Rules do not prohibit the rental of a residence, the right to use of the lake extends only to Owners and their guests. Any guests must be accompanied by the Owner or a resident member of the Owner's family when using any of the common areas, which would include swimming, fishing and boating. The HOA board intends to take all appropriate enforcement action against any Owner or tenant violating these provisions.

LAKE RULES

In addition to construction matters, the Covenants address certain major issues pertaining to lot owner’s right to use of the HOA’s lake. See the Boating page for more information.

VOTING & AMENDMENTS

Voting for HOA director elections, covenant amendments and Lake Rules amendments, is conducted by electronic voting. Covenant amendments require approval by 75% (219) of the 291 residential lots. Lake Rules amendments require approval by 50% (146) of the 291 residential lots. Each lot has one vote. The HOA currently utilizes www.electionbuddy.com, a commercial online electronic voting service. To vote, the lot owners must have submitted an electronic voter desigee form to the HOA identifying the one person who is authorized to cast the vote associated with the lot. A list of the current designees is here.

Villa Covenant amendments require approval by over 90% (45) of the 49 villa lots until 5/15/2035, after which Villa Covenant amendments require approval by 75% (38) of the 49 villa lots. Additionally, Century Development has voting rights and superceding powers of amendment described therein which terminate not later than 1/1/2025.

SID #453

The streets, traffic islands and the perimeter land, including the park, are owned by the Sanitary Improvement District (“SID”) #453. The SID is funded through each lot owner’s regular annual property tax assessements paid to Douglas County. The SID operations and its board are separate from the HOA. The 2022-2023 SID #453 budget can be found here.

The election of the Board of Trustees of SID #453 occurs via a mail in ballot administered by the Douglas County Election Commission. The various dates for mailing of the notice of election, the candidate filing deadlines and that ballot distribution and return dates are posted here. The Trustees are elected for two year terms in two classes, with 3 seats in the residential only class and 2 seats in the all property owners class. The last election was held September 14, 2021, and detailed results were posted here. In the residential class, Robert Edick, Warren Hanson and Gary Demmel were elected. In the all property owners class, Frank Krejci and Scott Simmelink were elected.

For the 2021 tax year, which is paid in 2022, the total valuation of real and personal property in SID #453 was $245 million, an increase of 3% over the prior year. The consolidated tax levy (County, School District, SID, etc.) applied to the assessed value of property in West Shores for tax year 2021, paid in 2022, is 1.95822%. The SID’s portion of the levy is 0.47%, which results in an $1,150,919 budget, of which $710,142 (62%) is allocated to bonded indebtedness and $440,778 (38%) to other purposes. Detailed budget information for the current year, as well as past years, is available on the Douglas County website here.

The tax levy (consolidated County, School District, SID, etc.) applied to the assessed value of property in West Shores for tax year 2021 (which is paid in 2022) was 1.95822%, which is just over 2% less than the tax levy for the prior year.

PLANNING AN IMPOVEMENT TO YOUR PROPERTY?

Construction is strictly regulated on our lake. An owner desiring to erect an improvement to any lot shall deliver two sets of construction plans, landscaping plans and site plans with grade elevations showing drainage to the ORB with a $250.00 nonrefundable review fee and a $2,500.00 construction impact deposit made payable to the West Shores Homeowners Association. Please, review and abide by the ALL the rules laid out in the Covenants Article I., which can be downloaded form here.