As currently written, the Highland Woods Land Owners Association (HWLOA) bylaws
do not contain minimum standards of sanitation and health protection measures. In order to ensure the health and safety of all members of Highland Woods Land Owners Association, the members of Highland Woods Land Owners Association, at their annual meeting on July 4, 2017, by a unanimous vote of the members present, adopted the following policy:
Minimum Standards of Sanitation and Health Protection Measures Policy

  1. Definitions:
    (1) “Person” means an individual, corporation, organization, government, business trust, partnership, association, or any other legal entity.
    (2) “Privy” means a facility for the disposal of human excreta.
    (3) “Sanitary” means a condition of good order and cleanliness that precludes the
    probability of disease transmission.
    (4) “Septic tank” means a covered water-tight tank designed for sewage treatment.
    (5) “Toilet” means the hopper device for the deposit and discharge of human excreta into a water carriage system.
  2. Rules for Sanitation and Health Protection: The Board of Directors has the authority to:
    (1) adopt rules consistent with the purposes of this Policy; and
    (2) establish standards and procedures for the management and control of sanitation and for health protection measures; and
    (3) levy and forgive fines on land owners in violation of these stated Sanitation and Health standards, whether by their own actions or by the actions of others using their property, with or without their explicit permission.
  3. NUISANCE. Each of the following is a public health nuisance:
    (1) a condition or place that is a breeding place for flies and that is in a populous area;
    (2) sewage, human excreta, wastewater, garbage, or other organic wastes deposited,
    stored, discharged, or exposed in such a way as to be a potential instrument or medium in disease transmission to a person or between persons;
    (3) a vehicle or container that is used to transport garbage, human excreta, or other
    organic material and that is defective and allows leakage or spilling of contents;
    (4) a collection of water in which mosquitoes are breeding and that is a breeding area for mosquitoes that can transmit diseases

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(5) a place or condition harboring rats in a populous area;
(6) the maintenance of an open surface privy or an overflowing septic tank so that the
contents may be accessible to flies; and
(7) an object, place, or condition that is a possible and probable medium of disease
transmission to or between humans.

  1. ABATEMENT OF NUISANCE.
    (1) A person shall abate a public health nuisance existing in or on a place the person
    possesses as soon as the person knows that the nuisance exists.
    (2) The board of directors, upon receiving information and proof that a public health
    nuisance exists within the Highland Woods Association, shall issue a written notice ordering the abatement of the nuisance to any person responsible for the nuisance, and the to the owner of the land on which the nuisance occurs. The board of directors shall at the same time send a copy of the notice to the HWLOA attorney.
    (3) The notice must specify the nature of the public health nuisance and designate a
    reasonable time within which the nuisance must be abated.
    (4) If the public health nuisance is not abated within the time specified by the notice,
    the board of directors shall notify the HWLOA attorney who received the copy of the original notice. The HWLOA attorney:
    (a) shall immediately institute proceedings to abate the public health nuisance; and
    (b) shall begin to assess fines as described below in subchapter XXXX
  2. GARBAGE, REFUSE, AND OTHER WASTE.
    (1) Premises occupied or used as residences or for business or pleasure shall be kept
    in a sanitary condition.
    (2) Kitchen waste, laundry waste, or sewage may not be allowed to accumulate in,
    discharge into, or flow into a neighboring property, public place, gutter, street, or highway.
    (3) Waste products, offal, polluting material, spent chemicals, liquors, brines, garbage,
    rubbish, refuse, used tires, or other waste of any kind may not be stored, deposited, or
    disposed of in a manner that may cause the pollution of the surrounding land, the
    contamination of groundwater or surface water, or the breeding of insects or rodents.
    (4) The use of land as a public or private dump is strictly prohibited
    (5) Any temporary kitchen facilities must have a grey water system built to standards
    adequate to keep grey water underground, 25+ feet long.

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(6) Trash and debris cannot be buried or dumped on the owner’s or another’s land. It
must be hauled away.
(7) A person may not permit vacant or abandoned property owned or controlled by the
person to be in a condition that will create a public health nuisance or other condition
prejudicial to the public health.
(8) Owners will be given up to two notices of the violation (s) a month apart. The third
notice will be a bill for the accrued fine starting from the first notice. (Two months, times
$20.00/day or $600.00 a month equaling $1,200.00 for the two months to start).

  1. DISPOSAL OF HUMAN EXCRETA.
    (1) Human excreta shall be disposed of through properly managed sewers, treatment
    tanks, chemical toilets, or privies constructed and maintained in conformity with the Lewis County Department of Health specifications.
    (2) The disposal system shall be sufficient to prevent the pollution of surface soil, the
    contamination of a drinking water supply, the infection of flies or cockroaches, or the creation of any other public health nuisance.
    (a) Any temporary living situation must provide an enclosed outhouse with a door
    and screens and lids on the seats that meets the Lewis County code. (An outhouse must be 50 feet from all streams runoffs and water sources. A privy may not be constructed within 50 feet of a drinking water well or of a human habitation, other than a habitation to which the privy is appurtenant, without approval by the local health authority or the board of directors. A privy may not be constructed or maintained over an abandoned well or over a stream.
    (b) The superstructure and floor surrounding the seat riser and hopper device of a
    privy constructed and maintained in conformity with the board of directors specifications shall be kept in a sanitary condition at all times and must have adequate lighting and ventilation.
    The privy must have proper screening and a secure lid to prevent insects from accessing human excreta.
    (c) Material and human excreta removed from a privy vault or from any other place
    shall be handled in a manner that does not create a public health nuisance. The material and human excreta may not be deposited within 300 feet of a highway unless buried or treated in accordance with the instructions of the local health authority or the board of directors.
    (d) Any temporary kitchen facilities must have a grey water system built to standards
    adequate to keep grey water underground, 25+ feet long,
  2. PENALTIES, FINES AND LIENS.
    (1) The penalty for violations of any of these codes confirmed by a representative of
    the Board of Directors will be $20.00 /day to be assessed to the owner of the land. If there are

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multiple violations then there may be multiple penalties.

(2) Owners will be given up to two notices of the violation (s) a month apart. The third
notice will be a bill for the accrued fine starting from the first notice. (Two months times
$20.00/day or $1,200.00 to start).
(3) Remission of fines can be granted by the board as a whole or a group designated
by the board.
(4) Failure to comply will result in accruing fines and a lien on the property if they are
not paid. (All legal costs will be passed onto owner).
(5) If a property does not fall under the LCDOH codes, this HWLOA Minimum
Standards of Sanitation and Health Protection Measures Policy is the governing policy and
must be adhered to by land owners and anyone using the land for whatever length of time and in any manner whether it be residential, recreational, commercial, or other.
As currently written, the HWLOA bylaws do not contain written standards for leasing or
sub-leasing land and/or structures owned within the Highland Woods Land Owners
Association. The Board of Directors of Highland Woods Land Owners has adopted the
following policy:
Standards for Lease or Sub-Leasing of Land and/or Structures

  1. Rules for leasing or sub-leasing land and/or buildings: The Board of Directors has the
    authority to:
    (1) adopt rules consistent with the purposes of this chapter; and
    (2) levy and forgive fines on land owners in violation of these stated Standards for
    Lease or Sub-Lease of Land and or structures, whether by their own actions or by the actions of others using their property, with or without their explicit permission.
  2. The following types of leases are not permitted on any HWLOA property:
    (1) hunting leases
    (2) timber leases
    (3) leasing land for residential occupancy without basic infrastructure necessary to
    meet requirements under Minimum Standards of Sanitation and Health Protection
    Measures Policy.