Newsletter
Roxborough Village Filing 16-A Arrowhead Shores
Landscaping of Private Lots: Let's start off with the number 1 topic in Arrowhead Shores-Landscaping of private lots. First of all, your covenants require landscaping to be installed (read done) within six months of moving in, or one growing season. Your Board determined that a growing season runs from October 1st until the following September 30th. That means if you moved in before September 30th of 2003, then your landscaping should have been done before landscaping inspections began on June 3rd of this year. If it was not done, it was noted and re-checked on June 10th. If it was not done on June 10th, a Courtesy Notice was sent to you that you had 10 days to get it installed. One June 24th, your property would have been inspected and a "fine threat letter" would have been mailed to you on June 30th giving you an additional 10 days to install landscaping. If you still did not complete it, you would have received a fine of $100 based on an inspection by your Community Manager and a Board member and forwarded to you on July 21st. A Hearing Notice was attached to each of those letters inviting you to attend a hearing on July 26th at 6:30 pm at the Roxborough Elementary School. Eighteen of the 83 recipients of that notice attended the hearing and were granted an extension. The remaining 65 homeowners still had until an inspection on August 5th to complete landscaping or face an additional $250 fine. Subsequently, those who do not complete installation by August 19th will receive an additional $500 fine (total $850) and the case will be referred to court. Subsequent letters from attorneys, lien fees, late fees, additional penalties, and court costs add up significantly, resulting in fees well in excess of $1500.00 very quickly.
All of this is being done very methodically and deliberately. One hundred twenty one Courtesy Notices were sent out on June 15th. That is more than one notice for every six homes. That is not good. For the "fine threat letter", that number only reduced to 97 letters. That is worse. For the first fine letters, that number reduced to 83. That is terrible! All of the letters, hearings and advisements are being administered in specific compliance with your governing documents…there are no loopholes to pursue. Your board and Community Manager have been inundated with phone calls, letters, emails, and comments since the first letters went out…at some times numbering more than 70 calls over one weekend. Simply downloading 70 phone calls takes forever, resulting in even more calls while accomplishing this task. Many of those calls were intentionally not returned. Calls including threats or final statements like "You guys are idiots and I'm not paying any fines so stop sending them to me!" were ignored. Before any fines were in fact administered, the opportunity for a hearing was offered. Since only 18 homeowners came to that forum, it must be assumed that for many of you, you are satisfied with the fine process and intend to pay the penalty.
Why is this being done? Remember, violators number one in six. For every violator, there are six homeowners who followed the rules and installed their landscaping on time, sometimes at great personal expense. These homeowners want to get their money's worth from their homes. They put pressure on the Board and Community Manager to get this done. Was it publicized? You bet it was. It was in the community Newsletter that went out in January 2004. It was announced at the Annual Meeting in February. It was mentioned in a special letter from Dave Lynn, your Community Manager, in March. It was mentioned in a second Newsletter in April. And it has been a topic continually announced on your website since March. That is five times since the beginning of this year alone-plenty of opportunity for everyone to be advised. Remember May and June? Wet. If everyone had paid attention to the notices and upcoming inspection schedule, lawns could have been installed and been growing well before fines accrued, possibly without the use of any water from your tap.
What's next? Inspections, hearings, fines and liens will continue. Best advice? Get with the program. Contact a landscaping company. Order sod (seed will not grow during the hot months of August and September). Minimize landscaping that will require water (xeriscape). Install rock, underground drip irrigation, and "X-rated plants". If you have a special circumstance, come to a hearing. The management company does not have the authority to waive fines, hear circumstances or make decisions…they follow the instructions of the Board of Directors. It does little good to harass, threaten or cajole them. They cannot "cut you a deal". Attending a Hearing is the place to do that. It is unfortunate that strict enforcement has become so necessary, but it is here. Look around your community. If you are civic minded, you know what a mess the whole Arrowhead Shores has looked for some time. It is getting better (see next article), but it will only achieve the look we all expected if we all chip in, bite the bullet, and do what we signed-up for when we took possession of our homes. Join the majority!
Common Land Landscaping: Now that we have addressed private property landscaping, let's look at common land landscaping. One of the biggest misconceptions most people have about Arrowhead Shores is that the Homeowner's Association has owned all of the common land surrounding our homes for 2-3 years, and has done nothing. This is absolutely not true! All of the common land was owned by either the Developer or three builders until very recently. Ramstar Development Company passed the land it owned to the HOA on June 17th. DR Horton passed responsibility to the HOA on July 15th, although we are still awaiting their check to make the deal final. KB Homes transferred their lands to the HOA on the 25th of June. Centex Homes has yet to transfer official title to their tracts, but your HOA has taken on the task of maintaining most of their land as well. It is imprudent, and illegal, to trespass upon lands owned by others and do work, so the HOA has been doing an awful lot in a very short time to get this land in excellent shape. American Civil Constructors, the grounds maintenance company hired by your HOA, is doing it all! They are installing landscaping per the plans approved by Douglas County and on file in Castle Rock. The first task in any landscaping project is to secure water and install sprinkler mainlines, lateral lines, clocks, valves and drains. This is much easier said than done. Basically, they started with nothing, despite being assured everything was in and working. For those of you who experienced giant sinkholes in the middle of your back yards, you know some shortcuts were taken in the past years when installing main lines. For those of you who have seen the ACC workers up to their necks in holes they have dug, you know what a broken main line looks like. And don't forget, the lake provides all the water we use, and we don't control the lake or the water in it! That is the responsibility of the Roxborough Village Metropolitan District. After ensuring the availability and distribution of water, the land is ready for landscaping. Land is reshaped, scraped, scarified and readied for top dressing. Some native grass seed is sown, trees, shrubs and flowers are placed, borders are installed, walls created, and rock or bark is scattered in appropriate areas. Where sprinkler lines do not yet exist, hand-watering is called for. Get out and about, and enjoy the tracts around the lake, between Bison Court and Crystal Lake Drive. Look at the tract on Bison Place, Pintail Court, Red Fox Court, the parks on Marmot Ridge Circle and between Elk Mountain Circle and Mule Deer Place, look at our two entrance monuments. Drive around Village Circle East. And look at the area around the lake. All of this is being done through the extreme dedication of a lot of people, not the least of who are your Board of Directors and the men of American Civil Constructors. If you see them out there in the baking hot sun, offer them a cool drink…they will appreciate it. Remember what this land looked like only so recently, and consider what has happened in the last month and a half, and you will have a better appreciation for their work.
Property Access: Homeowners are reminded to access their property from the street side only. Do not use access trails or the lake sidewalk to access the back of your lots. These areas are sprinklered and landscaped, and driving on them destroys them. Take a look at the lake access trail on Pintail Court some day to appreciate what an excavator can do in 30 seconds. If you see someone accessing the back of their property, call Dave Lynn at Management Specialists at (720) 974-4258 immediately. If you can, get a license number or other identifying writing on the vehicle to pass to Dave.
Emergencies: Homeowners are reminded to call the Management Specialists, Inc emergency phone number for any event resulting in the imminent loss of property due to fire, water main break or other disaster. That number is (303) 420-4433. Keep this number handy. We know it may sound impossible, but Dave does not live at his office, and calling his direct line on a Saturday morning for a sprinkler line break will not get it fixed. Management Specialists, Inc. has a community manager on call at all times, and is instructed to respond to all calls within 15 minutes. Don't call the wrong place!
Lake Rules: Remember, the lake has non-potable water in it. It is not meant for swimming (Ugh!). It is also not meant for wading, fishing, ice-skating or dog exercising. And again, the lake and the water in it are owned and managed by the Roxborough Village Metropolitan District. Questions concerning water depth, treatment, use and in- and out-flow are handled by them. Do not contact your HOA or Management Specialists, Inc. for questions in this regard.
Board Position Opening: A board position is soon to be opening on your Board of Directors. This position requires attendance at Board meetings held approximately once per month for up to two hours, some iniative in handling projects and events, and a strong sense of community involvement and pride. If you are interested in applying for this position, send a letter stating your qualifications to Dave Lynn at MSI (address in this newsletter).
Pooch Poo Prose:
Just your doggy and you
And your doggy does What all doggies do
Be a good owner
A real trooper
And make good use
Of your doggy doo scooper.
(And don't forget to pick up on common land as well.)
Doggie Woes: There are still numerous complaints coming in from homeowners that several owners are allowing their dogs to bark on a regular basis. It is the pet owner's responsibility to keep their dog happy so they are not barking constantly, annoying neighbors! If pet owners refuse to address the issue, they may receive a letter and a fine, as well as a visit from the Douglas County Animal Control. If you are a pet owner who leaves your dog outside all the time, it is your responsibility to provide appropriate shelter, food, water and other necessary items to keep your pet happy and occupied.
Committees Need Volunteers: There are a number of committees needing volunteers at this time. The Architectural Control Committee can use members to decide on private property improvements, and the Social Committee can use members to host community-wide events. If you would like to volunteer, contact a current board member or Dave at MSI.
