About LEHA
The Lake Ellen Homeowners Association, or LEHA, represents the entire North Forest Hills neighborhood (about 218 homes), and discretionary membership is open to all residents. North Forest Hills has never had a mandatory homeowners association.
LEHA was incorporated as a voluntary HOA to protect and enhance the neighborhood and has remained as such. LEHA does not have restrictive covenants. Instead, members work together to preserve, protect and enhance the quality of the North Forest Hills neighborhood by providing leadership for neighborhood concerns, addressing safety issues, implementing neighborhood
improvements, providing social and community outreach activities, communicating important issues to residents and local government, promoting beautification projects and watershed protection, and maintaining Lake Ellen and other neighborhood common areas.
Some recent projects that LEHA members have worked on together include purchasing and installing benches and picnic tables near the lake, restocking the lake with fish, purchasing and spreading gravel on the walking path, and providing funds for social activities like the neighborhood Halloween event and the Ronald McDonald House luminary night.
Although LEHA membership is voluntary, this year more neighbors have chosen to join than ever before and this increase in membership has helped foster the wonderful sense of community for which our neighborhood is known.
Meet the Board
The Lake Ellen Homeowners’ Association is supported by a board of directors, comprised of neighbors who assist in accomplishing neighborhood-related goals. Three officer positions – President, Secretary, and Treasurer – are supported by a small contingent of additional elected board members. All neighbors are welcome to serve on the LEHA board and its subcommittees. The LEHA board hosts an annual meeting of the full membership on Memorial Day, when new board members are nominated. The board also meets during the year to address issues as they come up. All board members serve voluntarily and, while it is beneficial to have consistent service for a term of a year or more, any member may resign at any time.
Philip Berke
My wife (Jane Sell) and I moved to Indian Trail in 1995. Our daughter and son grew up here and spent many days boating, fishing and sometimes swimming in the lake. We left for Texas for 5 years and thought that we might not return. But after 5 years, the pull to come back to the neighborhood was deep and strong. Lake Ellen neighborhood is home. I served for several years on the LEHA board before our stint in Texas, and co-chaired the Chapel Hill Stormwater Utility. Jane and I can be found walking along the dam and neighborhood streets enjoying the beauty and chance encounters with our neighbors.
Karen Caira
I moved to the neighborhood with my husband (Dave) and our 2 daughters (Kaylee and Zoe) in July of 2004. We moved to Chapel Hill for the schools but we were attracted to this neighborhood because of the lake, the variety of houses, and its natural beauty. Our daughters have since left this nest, but Dave and I continue to love it here. We enjoy walking the neighborhood with our dog, Ginger, who occasionally takes a swim in the lake and regularly runs through the creek! We are glad to have so many kind and talented people living in our neighborhood – including the children who built this amazing snowman!
Rob Monahan
I moved to the neighborhood in 2017. We'd visited Carlyn's sister who has lived in this area for over 20 years multiple times over the years, so we always thought we might relocate to be closer to her (and to the Mapleview Ice Cream dairy farm). We convinced Carlyn's parents to move here as well by building her mother a garden where she can work her horticultural magic. Fun fact: We keep our entire Halloween skeleton collection in the crawlspace during the off-season.
Cathy Lohmann
President
I moved here with my husband (Ken) in 1994. We are both biologists at UNC with a particular interest in sea turtles. Naturally, we love the turtles in the lake, the birds, and all the other wildlife nestled into this little spot in the middle of town. We are also delighted by the warmth of this community and hope to share it for many years. We raised two daughters here who have told us that we can never, ever move away. They love this neighborhood too much. You’ll see us walking our dog, out for a casual stroll, or admiring the lake just about every day.
Michael Goy
Secretary
I moved to the neighborhood in 1988. I came for work (a faculty position at the UNC School of Medicine), and I thought that my stay in Chapel Hill might be temporary. But now that I have retired, I realize that my roots here are deep, and this has become my home. As I stroll our tree-lined, gently curving streets, surrounded by amiable, community-spirited neighbors, I feel a strong sense of connection - and, on warm summer evenings, I get to hear the Symphony of the Frogs as it wafts across Lake Ellen. Thank you, friends (and amphibians!), for creating such a welcoming environment!
Bill Hunter
My wife Becky and I moved to 228 Indian Trail more than 30 years ago. Before that, we lived just down the street on Indian Trail, in one of the first houses in the "new" part of the neighborhood. We have enjoyed living in this neighborhood for its beauty and experiencing the friendliness of the people. We take many walks along the streets. Along with us, our son and now our grandchildren continue to enjoy the lake, especially the blue herons.
Carlyn del Rosario &
Rob Monahan
Weejy (Eloise) Neebe
My husband Alan and I moved to Chapel Hill in 1973, and our house on Lake Ellen was built for us in 1974. We have lived here ever since! Our children had a wonderful time growing up here, enjoying the lake, playing with friends and riding bikes around the neighborhood. I have been on the board since LEHA was founded, and I was president of the association during the time when the dam was brought up to state standards in the 1980s. This is a wonderful neighborhood, and we are very happy we live here!
History of Lake Ellen
The North Forest Hills neighborhood was developed in the 1970’s by the Greene family who owned the land at that time.
Sometime in the 1960’s, prior to selling off plots of his land to developers, Ted Greene created a lake by damming Booker Creek. Mr. Greene named the lake after his wife Ellen, stocked it with fish and charged people for fishing. Lake Ellen was originally about 8 acres with a maximum depth of 18 feet. When Mr. Geene began selling plots to future homeowners the lake was featured as a big selling point.
In April of 1978, the Lake Ellen Homeowners’ Association, or LEHA, was officially incorporated to protect, beautify, and maintain the property under and immediately adjacent to Lake Ellen. Mr. Greene continued to hold ownership of Lake Ellen until 1985. He transferred ownership of Lake Ellen and the dam to LEHA.
From 1986 to 1989 members of LEHA worked tirelessly to raise the money and complete repairs to the dam and construction of an upgraded spillway so the dam would conform to state standards. The dam is routinely inspected to ensure its safety. Inspections and maintenance of the lake and surrounding areas were fairly smooth until December of 2016 when a drainpipe located in the bottom of the lake inadvertently opened up and caused the lake to drain completely at a pace rapid enough to cause damage to the dam. LEHA stepped up again with the support of many neighbors to raise the money and complete the necessary repairs. Repairs to the dam were completed in the fall of 2018, the faulty pipe was sealed, and the lake gradually refilled.
