I will play by the rules and try to resubmit. The contractor is reputable and will not do the work without the approval. Will post pictures if and when this ever gets done

So the end of the story got written today. Went to the ARC Office and showed a picture of what I proposed and they immediately approved it. The contractor just did not explain what I was going to do properly. ARC assumed I was putting just grass to have someplace for my dogs (which I do not own) to run around. I promised them that as the coi died I would dispose of them properly before they started to smell.

ARC not really the bad guys as some portrayed. Good for OP!:)

I agree. It is good for us all if plans are reviewed.

I didn't want to sound negative toward ARC but as it turned out fighting for the OP's plan was the thing to do. ARC has a lot on their plate so somethings get and need a second look. Happy for the out come the plan for the bird cage sounds very good to me.

I call that type of treatment in the Bird cage as bringing the indoors out and outdoors in.

Your Issue May Be Structural
 

Believe it or not, those birdcages are highly engineered to resist wind damage. The screens will blow out first, long before the metal structure fails--at well over 100 mph winds. But their engineering requires very precise construction of the metal pieces and particularly fastening to the concrete pad and turnbuckles placed at precise places. By trying to build the birdcage over dirt, you may be substantially weakening the entire structure because it would not be fastened to the concrete pad.

That may be a possibility.

By the way, I don't think residents have anything to do with approvals of ARC requests. They are handled by full-time professionals and are based on the authority you agreed to in the deed of the residence you purchased.

Spot on VK. A committee that holds applicants to their demands will do great harm to this community

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[B]By the way, I don't think residents have anything to do with approvals of ARC requests. They are handled by full-time professionals and are based on the authority you agreed to in the deed of the residence you purchased.[/[/B]QUOTE]
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I seemed to recall that the ARC was staffed by residents, so I sent an email to Community Standards; this is the response I received back;

Thank you for your e-mail regarding the members of the Architectural Review Committee (ARC). The ARC primary and alternate members are all residents, they represent the specific area in which they reside and are appointed by their respective Board of Supervisors. When there is an opening on the ARC, a notice is placed on the website and in the local newspaper requesting interested parties apply for the position. Once we have received the applications, the respective Board of Supervisors interviews the candidates, makes a determination and appoints the candidate to the ARC. .

I have a small garden in my bird cage which was installed during construction of the home. T&D had to get approval for the garden and the size was limited to less than I originally requested.

I agree.

Birdcage will be attached to concrete footing all around but no slab inside. All's well though. They were very polite and accommodating once they heard the plan from the horses mouth.