The Silence of the HOA Part 3

The HOA spent $4825 on a maintenance plan, which includes spending for $40,897 in plants and straw, that was understandably rejected by the City.  The HOA president signed the agreement to create the plan on December 16, soon after the apparently secret December 15 meeting.

The bulk of the submission was a large document called the Landscape & Irrigation Operation and Maintenance Manual (pdf).  <Note: Because this document is bloated beyond 100 MB, it will download from the Google Drive folder associated to this website.>  It is 348 pages of existing documents that I could have put together in 15 minutes.  After the introduction, pages 4 – 14 describe maintenance.  Amazingly, the next 234 pages are simply pdf manuals of the irrigation controllers.  The next 100 pages are pre-development landscape plans that the City approved for the creation of the Sky Ranch development.

The HOA submitted the document in response to a notice of violation from the City for the deplorable condition of the landscape that is now in violation of code.  The notice of violation instructed the HOA to submit a plan of corrective action.  Set aside the 334 pages of irrigation control manuals and the year 2006 landscape plans approved for the development.  That leaves the maintenance described on pages 4 -14.  Those 11 pages are from the contract between the HOA and the landscape company.  Huh?  Submitting a contract that you have not enforced is not a plan. 

The HOA also submitted a 56 page document (pdf) that consists largely of photos of a few areas around the community accompanied by a list for plant and straw.  I put the information into the table below.  I use the correct spelling of straw wattle, while the HOA contractor repeatedly spells it waddle.

The City has explained to the HOA that ALL of the slopes of the development must be maintained, as well as flat areas.  In this new HOA plan that has been rejected by the City, the scope of work is described, “To address areas adjacent to right-of-ways…”  In previous HOA meetings, one board member said that there is no budget for the slopes.  Another director said that the issue is “homeowner perception.”  The HOA needs to adjust its perception.