Based on a covenant that runs with the land, all BW2 home owners become members of the Beechwood West #2 Homes Association upon purchase of their properties. Mandatory annual fees are levied by the BW2 Board of Directors. 

BW2 2024 Membership Information Form  (Note: BW2 does not offer associate memberships)

The BW2 Association provides:

  • Annual General Meeting held in March each year
  • Financial Statements
  • Email lists and newsletters
  • Babysitter lists
  • Neighborhood contact lists
  • Social events and summer programs
  • Communications of interest from the City of Waterloo and other groups.

Local Schools

  • Mary Johnston, Public (JK-6),
  • KW Bilingual (JK-8),
  • Holy Rosary Catholic (JK-8)
  • Centennial Public (7-8)
  • Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary
  • Resurrection Catholic Secondary

City/Region of Waterloo Information

  • Our ward is Ward 1. Our city councilor is Sandra Hanmer.
  • Recycling and Compost pick-up is every Wednesday. Garbage collection is every other Wednesday. More waste management information can be found at the Region of Waterloo website.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of the Beechwood West #2 Homes Association (ie. our neighbourhood association)?

The 128 houses in our neighbourhood have shared ownership of the property and facilities at 431 Winchester Dr, comprised of the parcel of land, tennis courts, and pool. All property owners in the development known as “Beechwood West II” are members of the Beechwood West #2 Homes Association, which is a not-for-profit corporation registered with the the Province of Ontario. As a legal entity, this association assumes the responsibilities that naturally arise from the property ownership, such as paying property taxes and general property maintenance for example. Any registered corporation requires a board of directors. In our particular case, directors must serve as volunteers and must not receive any remuneration for their service. This is mandated by the Letters Patent issued when the corporation was formed.

What does our board do?

The board of directors represents the association in its dealing with external entities (such as the City) and organizes the day-to-day operation of our facilities. The detailed structure of the board is governed by the association’s by-laws and the board is elected during the Annual General Meeting, which is usually held at the beginning of each March. The most important tasks of the board are:

  • maintaining the status of the corporation, such as periodically reporting certain information to Service Ontario; filing tax returns and paying property taxes;
  • archiving important documents about the ongoing business of the corporation, as required by law;
  • ensuring that the facilities can be operated by, for example, acquiring property and liability insurance for our facilities;
  • ensuring that applicable rules and procedures are being followed, as mandated for insurance coverage and by other regulations;
  • planning the operation of the facilities by, for example, hiring personnel tasked with running the facilities;
  • collecting fees to facilitate all of the above.
  • In addition, board members take on additional volunteer work directly related to facility maintenance and event planning and realization.

Why do we have lifeguards at the pool?

Our pool is classified as a Class B public swimming pool by provincial regulations. Two important rules apply to Class B pools:

  • the water quality needs to be tested and recorded every two hours;
  • without lifeguards, the number of bathers permitted on the deck and in the pool is ten (10).

The lifeguards perform the required water quality tests and permit us to have 73 people at the pool (including deck) at any given time. They also open and close the pool professionally and perform other maintenance duties necessary to comply with public health regulations, such as ensuring acceptable water quality. Our lifeguards permit us to offer organized swimming lessons at the pool and ensure the safety of everyone who uses our pool facilities.

Why do we not offer associate memberships?

Our neighbourhood association is a not-for-profit organization. Offering associate memberships would change our status to for-profit and trigger immediate additional expenses. The relatively small size of our pool, combined with the expectation that associate members would use the pool frequently, would limit the number of associate memberships that could be accepted. Ultimately, when considering the additional expenses, as well as the time and effort required for administering them, selling associate memberships would not have a significant beneficial impact on the finances of our association.

Furthermore, our neighbourhood enjoys a strong sense of community and our association benefits from a high level of participation and volunteering. It is a false assumption that the yearly fees cover the true costs of running and maintaining our facilities. Instead, the commitment of our volunteers to the neighbourhood means a significant portion of those costs does not translate into expenses. Most importantly, board members must be volunteers and take on a significant responsibility when managing the affairs of the association. It is the opinion of this board that the current level of volunteer engagement is critically linked to the fact that volunteer work is done to foster the immediate neighbourhood community.

When bringing guests to our facility, what do I have to consider?

Members of the association can use the association’s facilities and bring along guests, but must accompany guests during their visit to the facilities. This rule is the long-standing guest policy for our facilities. To do otherwise invites several questions that are not easily resolved. Among them include: Who qualifies as an unaccompanied guest? Are there any limitations on the number and frequency of unaccompanied guest visits? How do we implement access control (and priority member access) under such a scheme? What is the impact on our insurance policy? This topic has been the subject of a recent board meeting and it seems impossible to formulate a clear-cut rule that would generally permit unaccompanied guests without the potential for unwanted side effects. As such, the only possible clear policy is to consider as members only those people that actually live in the Beechwood West #2 neighbourhood, while applying the guest policy to everyone else.

Covenants and By-Laws

Beechwood West 2 Home Association – Covenant (pdf)

Beechwood West 2 Home Association – By-laws (pdf