Small Northern Virginia community concerned about speeding cars proposes HOA to impose hefty fine

Slow down and obey the speed limit.

That’s what one Northern Virginia community, concerned with speeding is trying to get drivers to do.

Some residents living in the Bristol House Condominium community in Reston believe their Home Owners' Association should get involved in the matter and even go as far as imposing a fine. 

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“It’s about time because a lot of the neighbors have complained for a while and people have been speeding more and more over the last couple of years,” said Jen Kelley.

Kelley said that the HOA, TWC Association Management approved letting residents post a placard that reads ‘Slow Down,’ provided by the Fairfax County Public Awareness Campaign.

“Since I have gotten the dog last year and being out, it’s gotten more dangerous and concerning,” Kelley went on to say. 

The discussion is part of an online forum where residents have been commenting on the proposed idea. 

The narrative posted by the  Neighborhood Watch team said that it will be monitoring anyone who is seen by two or more people speeding through the 10 mile per hour posted speed limit zone.

If caught they will be reported to the management company along with a suggested fine of $200.

FOX 5’s Ayesha Khan researched whether an HOA can impose a fine for speeding and while our calls to TWC weren’t immediately returned, Sarah Gerstein with an HOA in Broadbands, which owns 75 streets, said that the association does not regulate speeding —adding that state law allows for violation charges to be applied to a homeowner’s account, provided that the association follows due process. 

Some other residents living around Bristol House told FOX 5 that getting an HOA to issue a fine to a speeding vehicle isn’t as easy as it sounds. 

“I think that would be hard to do,” said Karen King, “you have to change the master plans and the bylaws, I think it’s better to start with the Reston Association or Fairfax County to slow speeders because then they wouldn’t be coming flying into the community to start with.

Khan also spoke with the Fairfax County Police Department and was told that traffic enforcement capabilities are generally restricted to a census such as driving while intoxicated or hit-and-run, and enforcement for speeding in a neighborhood or on private property is not something they can do.