Community Reminders

The Board would also like to remind residents of one of the Rules for Crofton Georgetown Houses, Horizontal Property Regime No. 3: Section III; A., which states that pets are permitted in the general common areas, subject to the animal control laws of Anne Arundel County. In Anne Arundel County, pets should not be running at-large, and pet owners must pick up their pets' waste. Animal laws and regulations can be found in the Anne Arundel County Code, which is accessible on the County website, Article 12, Title 4, Subtitle 9-905 of the County Code provides that "At-Large" means off the property of an animal's owner and not leashed and under the control of a responsible person. Article 12, Title 4, Subtitle 9-909 of the County Code provides that the owner of any animal shall be responsible for the removal of any excreta deposited by his or her animal on public walks, recreation areas, or private property other than their own. Residents whose homes back up to the alley in the center of our community have reported seeing dog waste that has not been picked up. Please be mindful of your neighbors.

The Board has received complaints by email from homeowners regarding trash and recycling containers left out for an unreasonable amount of time after pickup has been completed. Trash and recycle bins should be brought into your home or onto your patio by the evening after pickup. If they are left out 24 hours after pickup, they will be considered abandoned on common property and brought to the dump for disposal. If you are going to be out of town, please ask one of your neighbors to bring in your labeled bin for you or email regime3@gmall.com for assistance.

Another immediate concern in the community is that there have been complaints about homeowners leaving food out for stray animals, including cats. The Board agrees that no personal property or food of any kind should be left out on common property. Homeowners and/or their tenants should not leave food out even on their personal patio space. Wild animals beyond cats, the number of which has increased greatly in recent months, are being attracted to this food. Several residents have observed at least one fox eating the unattended food. There are several communities in the Crofton area with rat infestations. Rats, like foxes, are attracted to pet food and human food. The community must work together to prevent attracting vermin to the community, to avoid the health and safety issues presented, as well as the potential expenses involved with removing an infestation. There has also been an increase in animals ripping into trash bags in the community since more animals have been attracted by food being left out.

The Board has generally given residents a degree of latitude to use the limited area in front of the properties to make minor, non-permanent changes, such as planting flowers or putting up seasonal decorations, either with or without the Board's approval (depending on the size and scope of the temporary changes), this practice does not convey ownership. Please remove all holiday decorations within one week of the holiday.