Please note that new a new dog treatment ordinance is in affect for Indianapolis. This is separate from / in addition to anything listed in the Franklin Trace covenants.

A note from Ryan Clem, Director of Community Outreach, from Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services

A new ordinance that went into effect this year sets general requirements for animal care and treatment (Revised Code of the Consolidated City and County, Indianapolis/Marion County, IN Section 531-401).

Shelter

Your dog must have access to:

• a shelter constructed of solid wood or other weather resistant materials consisting of solid walls on all sides
• a dry floor raised above the ground
• a roof sloped away from the entrance to protect your dog from weather and extreme cold

During the winter months and when the temperature is below 40°F:
• the shelter must be large enough for your dog to stand up and turn around
• the entrance must be covered by a flexible wind proofing material or self-closing door
• the shelter must contain clean, dry bedding which must consist of an insulating material that does not retain moisture, such as straw, and sufficient depth for your dog to burrow

Pen or Fenced Enclosure

• Your dog must have adequate space for exercise when confined to a kennel, enclosure or pen which must be at least 100 square feet (for example: 10ft. x 10ft.)
• Any dog over 80 pounds must be provided with a space of 150 square feet
• For each additional dog inside the enclosure, an extra 50 square feet must be provided

Tethering

It is against the law to tether (chain) your dog if any of the following is true:

• Your dog is is less than 6 months old
• Your dog is sick or injured
• It is between 11PM & 6AM
• Your dog is not spayed or neutered, unless you are an adult, your dog is in your visual range, and you are outside with your dog

Extreme Weather

Your dog must be brought inside a temperature controlled building, such as your house when:

• the temperature outside is 20°F & below
• the temperature outside is 90°F & above
• there’s a heat advisory
• there’s a windchill warning
• a tornado warning has been issued

Shade

On any day where the temperature is at or above 80°F, your dog’s shelter must be shaded by either trees or a tarp.

To get help for your dog, call the Friends of Indianapolis Dogs Outside (FIDO): 317-221-1314

To report a dog in need, call the Mayors Action Center: 317-327-4622

Nearly half of the required yard lamps are not functioning properly in Franklin Trace.

In the interest of pedestrian safety and neighborhood security, please make sure that your lamps are function properly, as specified in the declaration of restrictions section 3E:

Individual Yard Lights Required on Each Lot. At the time that the owner of the lot in the Development completes the construction of a home on his or her lot, he or she shall install or cause to have installed a dusk-to-dawn yard light in the front yard of his lot.

If you notice any street lamps that are not functioning, please report them using the contact form on the website or by calling Kirkpatrick Management. Yard lamps are the responsibility of the homeowner.

The newly revised and community-approved Deed Restrictions / Covenants / By-Laws for Franklin Trace have been filed with the Assessor’s Office and are now officially in effect.  This one document is now common for all sections of Franklin Trace.  Please see the Document Section of the FranklinTrace.com website to download: http://franklintrace.com/documents/

There has been quite a bit of confusion around the displaying of signs around the Franklin Trace community, and I must admit that I was a bit confused as well. Below are the guidelines from the current (and previous) covenants around the displaying of signs:

5B. Signs. No signs or advertisements shall be displayed or placed on any lot or structures in the Development without written approval of the committee except for home or lot sales signs.

Please do not display any other types of commercial signs (i.e. lawn treatment, construction/repair, etc.)

Personal message signs (i.e. graduations, birthdays, school/team participation, etc.) are currently considered to be pre-approved by the committee; the general guideline is 1 week for displaying such signs. These signs should not contain advertisements for businesses (i.e. should in primarily/prominently feature business phone numbers, business names, etc.)

Home security system signs are approved for display. They should be located near the house, close to the shrubbery / landscaping.

For the common areas of the community, no signs are allowed at all, except with the explicit approval of the  committee for a very limited amount of time (i.e. community annual meetings, yard sales, block parties, etc..)

If you have any questions, please contact the Franklin Trace Board and the Property Management Company.

After two-and-a-half years of hard work and tracking downs votes, we finally reached our milestone last week. Franklin Trace now has one set of covenants for the entire community. We no longer have to try to sort through the slight differences between sections 5A, 5B, 8, 9, 10, and 11.  Here are some details on the process:

• Franklin Trace was broken into sections as it made logistics easier for the developer, with slight variations being added each time. Since development is largely complete, it was time for unified covenants.
• Zero homeowners voted against the unified document, with right at 2/3 of all homeowners overall responding to the call to vote.
• The biggest challenge was getting 75% participation from sections 9 & 11; all of the other sections required only 50% approval rate to pass. The new covenants now require 50% for all sections, which is most common for resident-owned (vs. developer owned) communities.
• Some of the changes are new for some sections of the community, but not for other sections (because they were in the previous covenants for that section.)
• Here is a link to the newly passed covenants; please review them if you haven’t seen them recently.
• The success and value of the community hinges on courtesy, consistency, maintenance, and accountability. If you have any questions or issues, please let us know.

We hope to see everyone at the 2014 annual meeting on June 11th!

Nearly all of the street storm drains in Franklin Trace are plugged with leaves.  With the “big flooding” rain that is forecast for today and tomorrow, please help prepare by taking a trash bag out and cleaning the drain in front of your home.  It is the property owners responsibility to keep those clean and now might be great time to do that to prevent potential issues.

We have received multiple complaints over the past few weeks regarding trash throughout the neighborhood. This appears to occur on Wednesdays before and during trash pick-up. Loose trash is being blown out of cans the night before it is picked-up and/or it is falling out of the garbage truck as it drives through the neighborhood.

Please be aware that Indianapolis Trash Regulations prohibit loose trash; all trash must be placed into bags. Placing loose trash into a garbage does not meet this requirement; it is supposed to be bagged and then placed in the can.

55-gallon drum liners, which are available at Home Depot and many other stores, are large enough to fit most garbage cans and will prevent loose trash from escaping into the neighborhood.

The board is pleased to announce that Kirkpatrick Management Company has been selected to manage Franklin Trace.  All residents should have just  received a welcome packet in the mail.

The board was very diligent in the selection process. Over the past 5 months, we contacted 7 different property management companies, selected 4 of them for face-to-face interviews, narrowed it down to 2 companies for follow-up interviews, contacted board members of other communities for references, and finally conducted and legal review and modification of the contracts.

Some of the reasons Kirkpatrick was chosen include: they have been in business since 1973, manage over 155 communities, are locally owned and operated, strong references from other neighborhoods, identical pricing to our previous provider, multiple payment options (send check by mail, automatic electronic fund transfer, credit card), and extensive property management knowledge and experience.

Cindy Brown is the property manager responsible for Franklin Trace. Her contact information is below.

Kirkpatrick Property Management
e-mail: cbrown [at] ekirkpatrick [dot] com
phone: (317) 570-4358 x5341
5702 Kirkpatrick Way, Indianapolis, IN 46220
website:  http://www.ekirkpatrick.com

FranklinTrace.com is the website of the Franklin Trace neighborhood, located south east of the intersection of E Southport Road and 5 Points Road . Franklin Trace is located within the Franklin Township district of Indianapolis, Indiana.