We’ve all see the humorous signs for private parking or private roads. One of my favorite "better not park here" signs is Dragon Parking Only! All Others Will Be Toast!
But in the community of North Oaks, the private road/no trespassing signs are not a joke. This unique community is not specifically a "gated community" as one might expect in other areas of the country. However, every entrance to the city is posted as a private road. North Oaks, originally a 5000 acre farm, was developed for upscale, mostly acreage properties, built around Pleasant Lake and the concept of persevering the natural beauty of the area. Though there are 600+ conservancy acres and 500 acres of residential open use land, the city owns no property. All parks, trails and recreational facilities are owned and maintained by the homeowners association. Each homeowner owns the road frontage to the middle of the street, effectively making all roads resident owned and private.
So what does this mean? If you have not been invited into North Oaks by a resident, you are quite simply trespassing. There is a sheriff that patrols the community on an exclusive basis. Interestingly, residents who are selling a home can only have “invitation only” open houses or private scheduled showings. Public invitation open houses are not allowed as residents must know specifically who is coming and going from their homes.
The residents of North Oaks take their privacy and private roads very seriously. With or without gates.
