2022 Budget and Assessments

The board has prepared and approved the 2022 budget. Notably, this budget included a $1/month increase to each homeowner’s monthly assessments (dues). Starting in 2022, the new quarterly assessment will be $138 /month ($46 per month). 

A primary consideration for this assessment increase is the incremental increase to common area maintenance costs, such as sprinkler and landscaping which has been affected by the hot dry summer. The 2022 budget also includes an increased monthly contribution to the HOA’s reserve account, which will be used to fund longer term projects such as new tree plantings or monument renovations.

For the past several years, increasing water rates have had a major impact on the budget. In 2022 we expect the water bills to increase by 3%.

Setting up Automated Assessment Payments

Speaking of assessments, we’d like to encourage homeowners who haven’t done so already to set up automated, electronic monthly payments for assessments.

Currently, 60% of property owners are using automated payments.  Automated payments save homeowners the cost of a stamp and provide added convenience.

Our website page for financial information has been updated with instructions and a form to setup automated payments:

Click here for instructions and form for automated assessment payments

Reminder

It is that time of the year when we celebrate different holidays.  We encourage yard and house decorations but want to remind you to remove them in a timely manner.  Thank you. 

FYI

The City of Tempe has ordinances that trees and bushes should not hang over the sidewalks unless there is an 8 foot clearance.  Please ensure that trees that are close to the sidewalks are kept trimmed to allow both bikers and walkers access.  
The city also has an ordinance that all election posters and signs be removed within 3 days of the election.  Please remove all signs from the recent election.  

Longer-term Planning for Common Areas

Our community is over 30 years old, which in itself has introduced numerous problems and challenges for the maintenance of our common areas. For example:

• ​The irrigation systems in the monuments and greenbelts require frequent repairs. Some of the systems will require replacing in 2021.
• Over the past several years, many trees which were planted 30 years ago have died. This summer has been brutal for the trees. Other trees have become overgrown, whereby their roots cause damage to sidewalks or common area walls, or the large canopy causes a nuisance to adjacent homeowners.

In October, the landscape committee met with an arborist and our landscaping contractor to solicit recommendations for longer-term maintenance of our common areas and trees.  Initial findings and recommendations were presented at the HOA’s November board meeting.  The intent is to help the board plan, prioritize and budget for the next 3-5 years. Items under consideration include the following:

• Remove dead, dying or overcrowded trees – This past year, we lost several trees to drought and heat and insect infestation. Several other dead trees are pending removal. Moving forward, the board is considering a more regular and proactive program to periodically remove and replace old or overgrown trees.
• Planting new trees – In the future, the focus will be on drought tolerant trees which don’t require significant maintenance (trimming). To this end, we recently planted 6 new trees in the large greenbelt; more tree plantings are under consideration.  
• Water conservation – Expecting future water rate increases, the board will continue to focus on water conservation. The goal is to water the grass just enough for it to look presentable. However, we don’t water the grass to the point point we get diminishing returns for increased watering.
• Monument renovations – A number of options have been under consideration to improve the monuments’ appearance. A short-term option is to simply add new plants to the monuments; this will add color and fill in gaps where other plants have died. The board has also considered alternatives such as architectural improvements or new lighting.

Trash Container CC&R Violations

Homeowners in our neighborhood take pride in the appearance of their homes, and our neighborhood has a small number of serious CC&R violations. However, a challenging aspect of our neighborhood is a twice per week trash and recycling pick-up schedule. This pickup schedule requires homeowners to be vigilant to place the container on the street just before pickup, then remove them promptly after pickup.

​Our CC&R’s state that trash receptacles should be on the street for the “shortest time reasonable” for collection. For practical purposes, the board has provided guidance to our community management company to enforce the CC&Rs as follows: 

Trash and recycling bins – these should be placed on the street no earlier than the night before pickup and removed from the street the same day/evening after pickup.

The rationale for the above is to try and limit the visibility of trash containers to 2 days (Tuesday and Friday). Without enforcing the CC&Rs this way, there is the potential for trash containers to be visible up to 6 days per week; in other words, there could be containers visible on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for Tuesday pick-up and Thursday, Friday and Saturday for Friday pick-up. The board appreciates these guidelines are somewhat stringent, but has erred on the side of keeping up the overall appearance of our neighborhood.