New Residents
Here's what you need to know
You have made the decision to live in Bearspaw Country Estates! Are you moving to an established property or purchasing and building on an empty lot? Below are some of the things that you need to know to ensure your move is as smooth as possible:
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Contact the Board of Directors here to let us know you are moving to the area. You will find links to our facebook and instagram pages so you can keep up to date even before you move in!
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Make sure to fill out and return the Home Owner Registration form. This provides the Board and Astoria (our BPCE management company) with your contact details. You can get this form by clicking here.
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Building a Property?
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If you are building a property then you need to be aware of a number of additional items:
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There are Architectural guidelines in the community that must be adhered to. These can be found here. You can also find more details on the Architectural controls at the IBI Architectural controls website by clicking here.​
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Any construction is required to go through an application review process - see the section below for more detail and what that process entails
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All new construction requires an application fee and a compliance deposit to be paid at the time of submission of the plans to the HOA and their consultant. This process must be completed before any plans can be submitted to Rocky View County for approval and an owner/builder compliance agreement also needs to be submitted which you can find here.
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If you have more questions or simply would like to speak to a board member to give you their perspective on life in the community then please feel free to contact us.
You can also take a look at our Resident Stories here which give some background on why our homeowners love living here.
New Building Application review process
The Board of the Home Owners Association ("HOA") has hired a consultant (IBI Group) to administer the architectural design guidelines ("Architectural Guidelines") adopted by the Board from time to time pursuant to a restrictive covenant registered against all the lots in Bearspaw Country Estates. The review by the HOA will be conducted once a planning submission has been made to IBI Group including a plot plan, construction drawings and other requirements as set out in the Architectural Guidelines.
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Timing of the Review:
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The Architectural Guidelines state that IBI Group will return plans within 5 working days of receipt, after which time, if stamped “approved”, the owner/builder may proceed to apply for a building permit from the Rocky View County. The Architectural Guidelines also state that IBI Group will contact the HOA to conduct a site review once the location is staked. The HOA will review the
site and its impact on the view lines of neighbouring homes. The HOA undertakes to make reasonable efforts to conduct the site review and advise IBI Group of any issues or grant its approval
within three business days of being notified the site has been staked.
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Details of the Review:
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The site review by the HOA will be conducted by a minimum of three Board members who will
consider a number of factors including (but not limited to):
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• Adherence to the Architectural Standards in place at the time of the application (see guidelines here);
• the impact of the proposed location on sightlines of existing residences;
• to the extent practicable, the impact of the proposed location on sightlines of future residences; and
• site environmental conditions such as trees, drainage zones and elevation changes
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Evidence of the Review:
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The evidence of the review will be documented in the form of emails to the President and/or Vice-President of the Board of the HOA and recorded in the minutes of the next meeting held by the Board of the HOA.
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Communication of the results of the Site Review:
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Following the site review by the Board, a response will be sent back to the applicant (via IBI Group) with the relevant outcome. The application will either be approved as submitted, or changes will be requested before the application will be considered again. This communication back to the applicant via IBI Group will be from with the President or Vice-President of the Board of the HOA.
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Appeal process:
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In the event the owner/builder disagrees with the determination of the Board members conducting the site review, the applicant may appeal the determination to the full Board of the HOA. An applicant wishing to appeal a decision must provide the IBI Group with written notice, accompanied by the reason(s) for the appeal and all supporting arguments in writing. IBI Group will in turn advise the HOA of the appeal. A Board meeting will be called to allow the applicant to present his or her case for approval, which may include a visit to the proposed site. The HOA will undertake to hold the Board meeting in a timely manner after IBI Group has notified the HOA of the appeal. The decision of the Board of the HOA will be communicated to the applicant in writing following the Board meeting.