Conditional approvals
Your project isn't approved yet, and it isn't denied either. Here's what "approved if" actually means.
A conditional approval means the committee will approve your request only if you make a specific change, like a different stain color or a few inches of setback. It is not a yes and not a no. The condition should point to an actual guideline, and you are entitled to know exactly what would make the application approved as submitted.
Approved, but only if...
A conditional approval is exactly what it sounds like: the committee will approve the work once one specific thing changes. Maybe the fence stain has to match the sample on file. Maybe the shed has to move two feet to clear a side setback. Maybe the window trim has to be white instead of the tan you submitted.
It sits between the two outcomes owners expect: approval and denial. Read it carefully, because a conditional approval is not an approval of what you submitted. It is an approval of what you submitted, with the named change made. Build the version you proposed instead of the version the committee approved, and you have built an unapproved modification, not an approved one.
The condition has to come from somewhere real
A good condition points to something written: a materials list, a color palette, a setback already fixed in the declaration or in design guidelines adopted under it. A committee's power over the exterior of your home comes from that declaration, not from the committee's own preference.
"The authority of an association or any architectural, construction improvement, or other such similar committee of an association to review and approve plans and specifications for the location, size, type, or appearance of any structure or other improvement on a parcel... shall be permitted only to the extent that the authority is specifically stated or reasonably inferred as to such location, size, type, or appearance in the declaration of covenants or other published guidelines and standards authorized by the declaration of covenants."
Source: Florida Statutes Section 720.3035, State of Florida
That's Florida's wording, but the underlying idea travels: a committee's power is only as big as what its documents actually grant it. Whether your state has a statute saying this out loud, or whether it is simply the general law of restrictive covenants where you live, is worth confirming against your own documents. If a condition can't be traced to a published standard, ask the committee to point to the specific guideline it's applying. "The board didn't love the color" is not a condition, it's an opinion wearing one.
Get it in writing, and know what happens next
Ask the committee to put the condition in writing, including exactly what change would make the application approved as submitted and any deadline for responding.
"A decision on a proposed change shall be in writing."
Source: California Civil Code Section 4765, State of California
Not every state requires a written decision the way California does. Check your own state's statute and your declaration for what your committee actually owes you. If you can't meet the condition, or you think it isn't tied to anything in the guidelines, treat it like a straight denial: ask about the appeal process and use it, rather than building the disputed version and hoping nobody notices.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
A committee approves a fence "provided the stain matches the sample board on file." The owner installs a stain that's close, but not the sample. What's true?
A committee approves a shed on the condition that it be painted a color the chair personally prefers, though the guidelines are silent on shed color. What's the strongest read?
In California, a committee tells an owner by phone that her patio cover is approved if she lowers it one foot, but sends nothing in writing. What's true?
Sources
- California Civil Code Section 4765, State of California
- Florida Statutes Section 720.3035, State of Florida
Architectural Review
Next: what happens when the committee says no outright. Read Denials.
Whether a conditional approval must be delivered in writing, and whether an unmet condition counts as a denial that triggers a hearing or appeal right, varies by state and by your own governing documents.