New Fence Color - Cabot Dune Gray (Solid Base)

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On August 27, 2020, the Rock Creek Board voted to approve a color policy change for the fencing and mailbox posts to Cabot Dune Gray SOLID Stain.  This is a policy change from the "Rock Creek Fence Stain" formula that has been used for decades.

 

Background 

 

In 2019 the Rock Creek Master Homeowners Association (RCHOA) put out a survey to engage our membership about many topics related to the current architectural guidelines; fencing color was in there (see page 11). From that data, we see that 56% of respondents wanted a change to the current fence color. 

 

The Town of Superior co-maintains large portions of the fences in Rock Creek along with our members. These are the areas along open space, HOA common areas, or town rights of way.  The town paints about 25% of this fencing each year, completely repainting all sections on a 4-year cycle.

Our members maintain their own fences at their own expense and on an as-needed basis.

 

Cabot Dune Gray

 

The fence color prescribed by our covenants (on page 21) is “Cabot Dune Grey #0167, or a similarly identical substitute”. What this formula was circa 1991 is no longer clear. Cabot is still in business (though now owned by Sherwin Williams) and what is clear is that the current Cabot Dune Gray color is much more gray than the current Rock Creek Fence Stain. 

 

We are changing our policy to what is documented in the RCHOA covenants - Cabot Dune Gray (SOLID Stain) available at Lowe's, Ace, or other retailers that sell Cabot products.
 

Legal

 

We have had this issue reviewed by the association’s attorney. 

 

Many board members provided research and information for consideration. The HOA attorney was also present for the open discussion of this item in the board meeting on 5/14/2020, hearing perspectives from the Board, ACC, and general membership.

 

That review established a legal truth:
 

The current, available-at-retail formulation of Cabot Dune Gray would qualify as a “substantially identical substitute” to the original Cabot Dune Gray #0167.

  

September 2020

 

Over the summer, The Town of Superior Board of Trustees decided to paint Cabot Dune Gray on the fences it co-maintains with our members, south of Coalton Road.  The most visible sections are on the south side of Coalton between Indiana and Rock Creek Circle as well as on McCaslin south of Coalton.

 

The Board collected your feedback about Cabot Dune Gray, which was significantly positive.  Many owners asked when they could update their fencing on the exterior and interior to the Cabot Dune Gray to match the Town stained fencing.  We are of course mindful of how the HOA fences will look with more than one color, as this will be a transition period to take a few years.

 

Enforcement

 

If you do wish to paint your public-facing fence or mailbox post in 2020, the color has changed for HOA members, so you would need to use the currently sanctioned color, Cabot Dune Gray in Solid Stain.  Solid Stain ONLY - not semi-solid, which is a different color.

 

Also, please purchase this Cabot product at Lowe's, Ace or another Cabot supplier.  Other "formulas" at other paint stores may not be consistent in color, and we are trying to avoid the color "drift" that occurred in past years from the yellowing of the "Rock Creek Fence Stain" from Home Depot.

 

Summary 

 

The HOA wants to see increased property values and enhanced enjoyment of our properties.  In addition, according to our covenants, we cannot force members to proactively update their fence color, so the change could take several years as regular staining maintenance comes due.

 

We hope the members share our enthusiasm for this positive architectural policy change based on your feedback, as we take another step forward in updating the appearance of the Rock Creek Community!