Two Paths Forward
There are two real procedures by which the community can step away from the current trajectory. Both are provided by Pennsylvania law and by our own governing documents. Neither is easy, but neither is impossible, and one of them, surprisingly, is mechanically less demanding than the other.
Path one
73 of 108 owners sign (67 percent, Declaration § 7.1)
Keep a small Association for stormwater and the three common lots. Remove architectural pre-approval, fines, and broad rule-making.
Path two
87 of 108 owners sign (80 percent, 68 Pa.C.S. § 5220)
Dissolve the Association. A recorded agreement decides who takes the common lots and stormwater system, and how the reserves are distributed.
An important point about property values, either way
Section 8.3 of our Declaration states that the use restrictions and architectural standards in Article VIII survive the termination of the Planned Community and run with the land. Both paths preserve the value-protective covenants. Both eliminate the Board's broad enforcement apparatus. The choice between the paths is about scope and permanence, not about whether home values get protected.
Section 7.1 of the Patriots Choice Declaration allows the Declaration to be amended by a sixty-seven percent (67%) vote of the Association. That is 73 of 108 unit owners.
A carefully drafted amendment could strip the Board of broad authority, eliminating architectural pre-approval, fines, and broad rule-making, while leaving the Association in place to handle the narrow functions that genuinely need a collective body: stormwater compliance and Common Element maintenance. Annual dues would drop to a small fraction of current levels, reflecting only the actual cost of those functions. The Association would still exist as a legal entity. It would just be limited to what's genuinely needed and nothing more.
A reform amendment is a single recorded instrument that modifies specific sections of the Declaration. The exact scope of what 67% can amend, versus what may require unanimous consent of all affected owners under Section 7.1's exceptions, is a question for counsel to resolve in drafting. A serious reform amendment would seek to address, at minimum:
Targeted for removal or sharp limitation:
Preserved:
The Association's 2025 actuals (through October 30) totaled $11,384 in expenses, of which roughly $4,463 was grounds maintenance (ponds, drainage, tree work) and $1,750 was a one-time detention pond inspection. The remaining roughly $5,170 went to legal fees ($1,886), insurance ($1,382), operations and admin ($943), the reserves contribution, and meetings. A reform amendment that strips broad enforcement authority while preserving the stormwater and Common Element maintenance functions would target the maintenance line items, modest insurance for those Common Elements, and a small admin overhead, eliminating the rest. A reasonable order-of-magnitude estimate puts annual per-unit assessments in the range of $60 to $90 under reform, compared to the $150 per unit set by the 2026 budget. Exact figures depend on the amendment language and on what insurance and admin the narrowed Association still requires. The point is structural: today's dues structure carries an apparatus the community no longer needs.
The Pennsylvania Uniform Planned Community Act and our own Declaration give us two procedural options. The amendment can be passed by written consent, circulating the proposed amendment and collecting signatures from 73 unit owners, or by vote at a duly noticed special meeting where 73 owners cast affirmative votes. Written consent is typically faster and more common for community-initiated amendments because it doesn't require everyone to be in the same room at the same time.
The amendment can be initiated by any unit owner or group of unit owners. Board cooperation streamlines the process, particularly in providing access to current owner contact information, though owners have statutory records-access rights under 68 Pa.C.S. § 5316 if cooperation is not forthcoming. Once 73 signatures are collected and the amendment is finalized in proper form, it is executed, certified and recorded with the Adams County Recorder of Deeds as 68 Pa.C.S. ยง 5219 requires, and becomes effective upon recording. The drafting of the amendment itself is work for a Pennsylvania attorney familiar with the UPCA; an estimated timeline from initial drafting to recording is three to six months with reasonable coalition support.
73
of 108 unit owners
67%
the amendment threshold in § 7.1
1
recorded amendment
The table below summarizes the operational difference between today's structure and what a Section 7.1 reform amendment would establish. These are concepts and principles, not legal drafting language. The specific amendment text would be developed by a Pennsylvania attorney working with an organizing committee, and some items below require careful drafting to stay clearly within the 67 percent amendment lane and out of Section 7.1's unanimous-consent exceptions.
| Topic | Today | Under a reform amendment |
|---|---|---|
| Architectural pre-approval | Board approval required for fences, paint colors, exterior modifications, landscaping changes per Section 8.1.2. | Pre-approval requirement removed. Underlying architectural standards in Article VIII remain recorded against the land and enforceable by adjacent owners through private action. |
| Fines for violations | Board may impose the newly adopted fines schedule under its authority at 68 Pa.C.S. § 5302(a)(11). | Fining authority removed. Violations of municipal ordinances handled by the Township Code Enforcement Officer; violations of recorded use restrictions handled through private neighbor action. |
| Broad rule-making | Board may adopt new Rules and Regulations creating restrictions beyond what is in the Declaration itself. | Rule-making narrowed to what is necessary for stormwater compliance and Common Element management. New Declaration-level restrictions still require the 67 percent amendment process. |
| Annual dues | $150 per unit (2026 budget). Set annually by the Board. | Capped at the actual operating cost of stormwater compliance, Common Element maintenance, narrow insurance, and minimal administration. Plausible range: $60 to $90 per unit per year. |
| Reserves contributions | $6,100 per year to reserves on top of an existing reserve balance of $103,247 as of October 30, 2025. | Contributions sized to actual capital needs based on a reserve study. Existing reserves retained. The current oversized annual contribution ends. |
| Inspections of units | Board has standing authority to inspect for compliance with rules and standards. | Inspection authority limited to observable conditions affecting Common Elements or stormwater compliance. |
| Board structure | Executive Board with broad governance authority across enforcement, rule-making, finance, and architectural matters. | Board (or smaller equivalent body) retained, with authority limited to overseeing stormwater contracts, Common Element maintenance, and the narrow administration that remains. |
| Insurance | Combined liability and Directors and Officers insurance budgeted at $1,500 per year. | Liability coverage for the Common Elements only. D&O coverage scaled to the narrow scope, or removed if not needed for the narrowed function. |
| Legal fees | $2,000 budgeted for 2026 ($1,886 actual through October 2025), supporting enforcement and rule-making activity. | Modest annual budget for vendor contract review only. No enforcement budget. Plausible range: $200 to $400 per year. |
| Use restrictions (Article VIII) | Recorded against the land. Enforced by the Board through warnings, fines, and lien authority. | Still recorded against the land (Section 8.3 confirms they survive any change to the Association). Enforced by adjacent owners through private legal action. |
| Common Element ownership | Association owns the three Common Element lots (H-1, H-2, H-3) shown on the recorded plat. | Unchanged. Association continues to hold the Common Elements; reform only narrows what the Association is empowered to do, not what it owns. |
| Stormwater compliance | Association is responsible for stormwater compliance under Cumberland Township Chapter 20 and the Pennsylvania Storm Water Management Act. | Unchanged. This is one of the genuine reasons to keep a narrow Association in place rather than terminating altogether. |
| Annual meeting | Required by the Bylaws; held annually. | Continues as a basic governance requirement. Agenda narrowed to the narrow scope. |
The pattern is consistent. The items that change are the items associated with discretionary Board authority, enforcement, and broad rule-making. The items that stay the same are the items associated with the physical community, the underlying recorded restrictions, and the genuine collective obligations (stormwater) that the Association exists to manage. Reform is not about dismantling everything; it is about returning the Association to what it actually needs to be.
Pennsylvania's Uniform Planned Community Act, at 68 Pa.C.S. § 5220, allows a planned community to be terminated by a written termination agreement signed by unit owners holding at least eighty percent (80%) of the total interests. That is 87 of 108 unit owners.
Termination ends the Association as a legal entity altogether. The termination agreement specifies what happens to the three Common Element lots and the stormwater system, distributes any remaining reserves, and is recorded with Adams County once the threshold is reached. Termination is more permanent than amendment. It is also a higher bar.
A § 5220 termination agreement is a single recorded instrument that ends the planned community. The statute and standard practice require it to address each of the following:
This is the part most owners don't realize: termination does not eliminate the use restrictions. Section 8.3 of our Declaration explicitly states that the standards in Article VIII run with the land and survive termination. After termination, the substantive rules about paint, fences, prohibited uses, and architectural standards remain recorded against every property and are enforceable by any neighbor through private legal action, the same mechanism that has worked for restrictive covenants in Pennsylvania since long before HOAs existed. The Township's authority under Chapter 20 and the Pennsylvania Storm Water Management Act also persists, as does the backstop under MPC § 705. The legal protections most owners care about do not depend on the Association's continued existence.
Termination is initiated by drafting the agreement and circulating it for signature. Like the amendment path, this can be done by written consent, collecting signatures from 87 unit owners, or by vote at a duly noticed meeting. Once the threshold is reached, the agreement is recorded with the Adams County Recorder of Deeds, the corporate dissolution is filed with the state, the Common Elements are conveyed per the agreement, and the reserves are distributed. Estimated timeline from drafting to full wind-down: six to twelve months. The agreement becomes effective when it is recorded after the 87th signature is collected; the wind-down of contracts and corporate dissolution happens afterward.
87
of 108 unit owners
80%
the threshold in § 5220
1
recorded termination agreement
Both thresholds are high by design. Both require a real conversation among neighbors. Both are achievable. The question is which is the right fit for our community, and that question belongs to all of us, not to any single owner and not to the current Board.
A note on legal counsel
This site is an informational overview of options available to owners under Pennsylvania law and our recorded governing documents. It is not legal advice. Actually drafting an amendment or termination agreement, navigating Section 7.1's exceptions, and ensuring proper notice and recording are all work for a Pennsylvania attorney familiar with the Uniform Planned Community Act. Any serious effort along either path should retain counsel before circulating any document for signatures.