bblestones Town Hall in the Mermaid Lot
Thursday September 18th, 2025
Called to order at 5:40PM
Board in attendance: Natasha Hulme, Gene Terry, Catherine Webster, Sherra Maitland, Joyce Shepherd
Units in attendance: G8,G7,D10,E12,G1, G2, G3, C1, B1, E9, B5,F5, B2, H3, A2, G11, D4, B5. E7, E6,E11, F3
Opening Statement.
The world is changing. It’s a little more unstable, angrier, careless, trashy, less safe, and inconsiderate and for the better of our homes, community, and investment, we must work together to adhere to standards that protects everyone’s quality of life; sometimes this means choosing to not be selfish and look at the big picture. Since we are all financially linked and responsible for this property- it blows my mind when I encounter owners who disregard their neighbors. In the 5 years that I have been your president, I have guaranteed transparency, answered questions, found solutions, and LISTENED. In return, I’ve been sneered at, ignored, accused of bias, threatened with legal action, and told that I should act more professionally.
But here’s the solid truth, I am not a professional politician or your President; I am a volunteer, I am a human being with feelings, and I am a neighbor who should be entitled to the same quality of life as all of you. I continue because 60 is more than 5, which is the ratio of neighbors who understand HOA living and those who seem to resent it.
In this townhall, we will be unveiling a few new policies that will make EVERYONE’S LIFE a little easier. We’ve listened to your appeals and will always attempt to close loopholes, update the outdated, and strengthen rules that keep us stable, less angry, mindful, pleasant, safe, and considerate.
I stated 5 years ago, how nothing brings out an angry community like someone’s hand in their pocket. I have fulfilled my promises to get us financially healthy, to fix what’s broken, and to manage funds moving forward. I’ve also stated that I can not do the one without having to do the other, enforcing the Covenants as written. I am not at liberty to decide which rules should be ignored and which should be enforced. We can only decide that as a community, which is exactly what we have been doing at our public monthly meetings where 20% of the homeowners attend. A far cry from the 80% who attended our first town hall before we even held the office. That fire was fueled by the unknown, by rumors, insinuations, and assumptions.
Today, there is no Cobblestones issue that we cannot discuss.
Treasurer’s Report:
Operating Budget: $ 67,542.55
Reserves: $124,776.45
Total: $192,301
-Vehicle Registration: All units with vehicles parking on the lots must register each vehicle assigned to his or her unit. This includes any vehicle parked on the lot more than 3 times a week. Temporary visitors including aids, contractors, and friends should register on the form as soon as they enter your unit. Please keep the QR code handy to register visitor parking.
This new policy is going into effect as a result of a few homeowners who received violations accusing the board and neighbors of selective, discriminatory, and targeting. All parking rules must be enforced to avoid these types of accusations in the future. Effective Date: November 1st. A detailed letter will be sent to each unit
-A motion by a resident to have the above parking details discussed at the October HOA meeting was unanimously approved.
-Rental Units: Any homeowner who leases a unit without the required City of Philadelphia licensing and completion of the forms required by our Covenants will receive a $50 violation each month the documents are not received.
These documents are not only needed for insurance purposes, resident identification (for misdelivered mail, lost personal items, pet identification, trespassing, and vehicle information.
While some may feel this oversight makes a unit less desirable; requiring these documents protects the homeowner because it requires the tenant to acknowledge the Rules and Regulations. If you are renting, you are encouraged to download and review the most current Rules and Regulations listed in the Onyx Portal or at https://ChestnutHillCobblestones.com/rules-and-regulations-2025/
-The Violation Process…
No Board Member is ever going to come out of their home and stop you from doing something that breaks the rules. YOU are expected to know, understand, and remember the rules. If you break them, you will receive notice from Onyx and it might be weeks before you see anything in your mail or email. Board members are not permitted to address any violation with a member without other members of the Board present. Please do not take offense to this. We are simply following a policy that looks to limit confrontations while maintaining a volunteer’s quality of life in and around their home.
If you see a fine on your ledger and want to appeal, you should pay the fine to avoid late fees. If you win your appeal, you will see a credit for the amount you paid on the next month’s ledger. Please note: fines are deducted from your balance first, and any balance carried over is considered a delinquent HOA due. We will not approve the removal of late fees for fines.
The moral to this story is simply, follow the rules.
-New Appeals Process. Explain.
There are a few that have been discussed ad nauseam and when they are brought up, that is when you see frustration and aggravation. ALL RULES are considered when a proper appeal is presented. Simply disliking a rule is not grounds for dismissal. A written and submitted solution or alternative must be offered prior to any meeting for rules to be discussed in open forum.
Homeowners reported youth rifling through their cars using the device to unlock doors. Homeowners are urged to use the Farraday box to store Fabs and Remote entry keys. The product can be purchased on Amazon.
-Trash and Recycling Management Include keeping assigned parking space and areas around your home free of trash. Bags of trash from cars have been noted in parking spaces.
-Parties and events. What you do in your home is your business but keep in mind that if your neighbors are affected by noise in your unit, or out in the common area, you will be responsible. This includes littering, unauthorized parking, and trespassing on other unit’s private areas like the patio. I can’t leave this meeting without pointing out how the world has changed. You may invite 10 people with 1 guest each, but no one can assure, especially once spirits and cheer kicks in, that your event won’t spread on social media and get out of hand real quick. This is not a rare occurrence, as it is seen in the news often. We are asking anyone considering a party inside their unit to keep this in mind. If you are renting, we strongly suggest that you convey this info to your tenants to avoid violations and fines.
-Limited Common vs Common Elements. Landscaping, next year, will tend to only Common Elements. If you have shrubs in front of the patio fence, the landscapers will not trim that area. Note: If you bought a home with flowers/shrubs in front of the patio fences, you must provide maintenance for this area or remove the shrubs and replace the grass. Snow removal is not affected. Homeowners complained that the inability to correspond with the landscapers is poor due to the language barrier. Homeowners were informed that a foreman is always on site. His name is Dennis.
-Trees will be trimmed in October. Homeowner sstated that G8 needs tree trimmed from their light on the Cresheim side.
-Design Template and Styles
-Homeowner’s responsibility – The financial costs of beautification and maintenance of their homes. Broken lights and mailboxes must be repaired or replaced.
Note: All windows must fit the Cobblestones standard, they must be the horizontal sliding windows. The deck railings can be modernized. Before any changes/work, an ARC form must be completed and approved. . The paint samples (brown) were shown to attendees. This will be used for steel door and window trims.
Scheduling water shutoff for maintenance and emergency shut off
Before any procedures that require water to be off for your neighbors, you must contact the board. We will send out notifications via text or flyers, All homeowners are encouraged to install an Individual emergency water shutoff valve in their units.
Note: A notice will be coming out shortly regarding a shutoff of water on the G row to allow shutoff valve replacement and installations,
Open Floor Discussions
– There was a request to increase the lighting at the end of the Mermaid Lane parking lot. The board will look at installing Solar lighting on the wall outside of A1.
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-October meeting at The Library and Budget Release for 2026 in November.
On Saturday September 20th from 9AM-1PM, The Cobblestones presents its Annual Sidewalk/Yard Sale on Mermaid Lane between A & B Row. Ample space for anyone who wants to sell unwanted items, bring something to sit on and a table or blanket to display your goods. Setup begins around 8:15AM. Encourage friends and visitors to park across Mermaid in the Acme lot.