The HOA Police are back

[Pepperdog]

The HOA police are back in the Meadows. They are going to go and start "fining" you for every violation. Nice.

Take for example if your RV vehicle behind your RV gate is higher than your fence. Great Idea, why even have an RV gate then as nearly every RV will be higher. If they pull this crap then the residents will just go back to parking them on the street. Are you really going to go back and get everyone to get approval for all the changes in landscaping, front and back, over the last 6 years? Really? What is the point and what is the expectations? I would much rather have RV's behind gates, visible or not than have them on the street.

Oh yeah, these people are going to "clean up the nieghborhood" by going around "fining" people. Like that worked before. The thing is, no matter what you want your neighborhood to be, it will be what the sum of the residents are.
Pissing people off for sport is going to create more problems you guys can imagine. I hope you all have a LOT of time on your hands.

What is really funning though is who is going to go around and "fine" people? The board? Well guess what, you can't sit on an appeal if you are the one who wrote the fine, and you will have to put your name on it in order to verify it. None board members don't have the authority to levy a fine. Oh yeah, but wait, we have our property manager, yeah, she'll do it, as long as she doesn't have to get out of her car.

Yeah let's really build a good community by threatening the residents and encouraging neighbors to put in complaints on each other. HOA police suck. If you got a serious issue then you should act in a reasonable way but threatening to fine everyone is just stupid. Our property value decline has mostly to do with soil issues which has to be disclosed, our location in town and lack of HOA amenities, and the appearance of our common areas than anything the residence are doing. Most people simply want to be left alone.

Seriously, I have to request to use the park and provide insurance and make an appointment weeks in advance? Hey my kids want to use the swing set in January, is it open? Can I book it? I just need 2 swings and a picnic table? Seriously????

No one but Maricopa Residents and guests can use the Frisbee Golf Course? Seriously????
How bout this...Anyone who wants to use the Frisbee Golf Course is now my GUEST. Go for it.

Commercial vehicles? You are really going to go after people who work and live here? Seriously? Someone can't park their work truck in their drvieway? I lived here when every third house was vacant and I would much rather have people living here, owning here and working here than be empty. I am proud to live with people who work for themselves, who have working jobs like plummers, mechanics, landscape companies, delivery people and so on. I am not so arogant to believe that those kind of vehicles should not be parked in our neighborhood. If there are some individual issues that are truly serious then go for it otherwise, leave people alone and let them live.

It is this kind of attitude that caused our community to put up ugly green fences that actually prevent our children from walking to school safely. Other communities make inviting paths to walk through, we build fences and force our elementary school children to walk down busy streets. Go figure.

HOA police: Those who get off telling others what to do. Good Luck. Wanna make a real difference? Keep our common areas looking good instead of the ghetto is has been, and do something to make the lake area south of the bridge attractive.

[geeksrus]

Hey pepperdog, having a bad hair day?

[Andois]

Hey pepperdog, having a bad hair day?

+1

[renosome]

I can see your point on RV's but not on vehicles commercial or not parked on the street with months of cobwebs under them. Or the same vehicle parked at a corner that obstructs your view when making a turn. Also there are homeowners who leave their trash barrels out for 2-3 days after pickup. If you don't like the rules why did you purchase here?

[Pepperdog]

Re: The HOA Police are back
by renosome » Sun Nov 25, 2012 3:45 pm

I can see your point on RV's but not on vehicles commercial or not parked on the street with months of cobwebs under them. Or the same vehicle parked at a corner that obstructs your view when making a turn. Also there are homeowners who leave their trash barrels out for 2-3 days after pickup. If you don't like the rules why did you purchase here?

One at a time:
Commercial vehicles is very loosly defined. A pickup truck with a business name on it could be a commercial vehicle and I don't feel that HOA's can or should restrict some one's job or business that way. It would be a hard one to enforce in court. If you own the vehicle you have a right to park it on your property and the HOA by law, cannot control what is parked on the street, the laws of your municipality cover that. Basically it is not the business of the HOA inspite of what they think.

Abandoned vehicles, i.e. ones with cobwebs under them are again governed by the city laws, report it to the police, they will tag it and if it is there too long they will tickett it a possibly remove it. That is the law. They HOA does not have any authority over that, again it is not their business.

Parking on a corner that obstructs that view is being parked illegally. Again call the city.

Ask your nieghbors to bring in their trash cans. You are making my point for me. So many people want to get HOA's involved in controlling other people's lives when it is simply not necessary. I liked Christian Price's approach: HOA's are not there to settle dispustes again neighbors, they exist to deal with neighborhood problems.

In other words, if you got a problem with a neighbor then deal with it yourself. If you have a community problem then bring it to the HOA. One person complaining should not control the neighborhood.

As to why I bought here was because it was a friendly neighborhood place with lots of families. It is obviously clear that so many of the HOA rules have not been enforced for sometime (just look at the landscaping) so to try and do it now is ridiculous and petty.

[OneConservative]

I agree about not having commercial vehicles in the driveway that sit for weeks upon weeks but not for commercial vehicles that move each and every day. I dislike seeing large trucks sit on the street day after day, too.

I do think that a HOA manager that actually does their job by going around and enforcing the rules is admirable. Our property manager rarely gets out of the office to enforce anything. There are trucks and trailers that have been sitting in the street for months. Can't say if they are getting violation notices or not. We were told that if we wanted to complain, that we could fill out a form and that the offender would be contacted and given our name. Great community relations will certainly result, right? NO. I've seen a dumpster in the driveway of one property in our community for over 2 years. The home is reportedly owned by FANNIE/FREDDIE MAC. Routinely there are trash and recycle barrels left out for days and days but when a few green weeds popped out while we were on a 3 week vacation earlier this year, we got a notice of violation. The HOA rules and regulations are just as effective as the enforcers choose to enforce. In our community, it is obviously who do you know, if it is infraction of the week or if someone is screaming about it.

[Not Done Yet]

Pepperdog, may I suggest that both of us keep our comments within our own Community?
From your post--The HOA Police are back--it's clear to see that you object to those who want to keep their Community as planned. Have a good day!

[Pepperdog]

Pepperdog, may I suggest that both of us keep our comments within our own Community?
From your post--The HOA Police are back--it's clear to see that you object to those who want to keep their Community as planned. Have a good day!

The above is a blatant misrepresentation, or you don't read so good. I want the HOA officials to address the needs and wants of the community and not be an overbearing burden to the Homeowners. HOA governance is dictated by the community not just one person's views.

This thread was an opinion and unlike you, it is not a crusade of one person trying to be the neighborhood tyrant.

When you continue to make public comments as you do you will eventually get a reaction. Seems to me that you just don't like what I have to say.

[Not Done Yet]

Pepperdog, may I suggest that both of us keep our comments within our own Community?
From your post--The HOA Police are back--it's clear to see that you object to those who want to keep their Community as planned. Have a good day!

The above is a blatant misrepresentation, or you don't read so good. I want the HOA officials to address the needs and wants of the community and not be an overbearing burden to the Homeowners. HOA governance is dictated by the community not just one person's views.

This thread was an opinion and unlike you, it is not a crusade of one person trying to be the neighborhood tyrant.

When you continue to make public comments as you do you will eventually get a reaction. Seems to me that you just don't like what I have to say.

Pepperdog, I expected too much when we purchased our Maricopa home in 2005. If everyone honored the terms and conditions of the purchase agreement they signed, it would have been wonderful. But all too often, that was not the case. The Community has changed along with the Country. I will sign off now, as it's not worth the effort at this time to fight that change.

[AZCoyote23]

As a general comment.............................If anyone in Maricopa Meadows would like to have a conversation and speak about any issues, please email Eric Schmidt at mmbodschmidt@yahoo.com.

Pepperdog-

You are commenting about rules put in place under Christian and just resent out. The park may be reserved for a party, sports practices, etc. Not to use a swing, that's outlandish. The Frisbee course from day one has said residents and their guests. Why you ask. It is done for legal protection against insurance claims of non-residents. Say a guy visiting from Phoenix falls down and breaks his leg, it was done while playing at his own risk since it is posted for residents. Nothing new here, just the HOA trying to protect the homeowners from additional costs from possible law suits and then higher insurance costs. The increased fine levels were put into place at the Oct 2012 meeting with residents commenting on the new fine policy, before a vote took place by the board. The specific reason that RV's in the back yard was added, was due to the CCR's not allowing them in yards period. Common sense would make you believe that if there is a double gate (AKA RV gate) that it is OK to park one back there. The board put a mechanism in place to allow for a common sense approach to the problem.

As much as we all would like to think that everyone will keep their property as nice as yours, it does not happen. You took to a public forum to express displeasure with the HOA, other send the board and property manager complaints about their neighbors breaking rules and having a yard that makes their street look like crap. The emails that I get say that not enough attention is spent on violations. I know that there are split opinions on the violations, but MOST of the residents that speak up do not feel enough is done to enforce the CCR's. Remember that if a resident keeps they property looking nice they will not ever see a letter, and if they slip up it is a warning letter not a fine.

We have already made some big strides forward in the past year, but please contact me with your ideas to make the Meadows a nicer place to live. I talk to different residents and take their ideas back to the board. We have some ideas on the table that I think are really good. You will notice that the trash and brush in the wash has been removed and a lot more turf is being converted on the hills. We have a lot more turf to change over. There is a plan for basketball courts and tennis court in the main park in the near future, as well as creating a walking path with benches on the west side of the property (planned for further out).

[Pepperdog]

Eric you are full of it, again. I brought this to a public forum AFTER talking with you about HOA issues. You do not hear from the majority of residents, just a few with an ax to grind. You have a very bad habit of dismising those you don't agree with.
The majority of residents just are not interested in you or the way you run the HOA and would prefer to be left alone as they are not a problem. If you got neighbors dealing with problems the DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM, don't make it everyone's issue.

You getting money from the banks quarterly or still just waiting for the close of escrow?

BTW Why are the bunkers still full of water. It's been a week now.

It's nice to see that the waterfall is greener than the grass....again....not.

Again Eric, take care of the REAL HOA issues, like the Mayor did.

[AZCoyote23]

You getting money from the banks quarterly or still just waiting for the close of escrow?

BTW Why are the bunkers still full of water. It's been a week now.

It's nice to see that the waterfall is greener than the grass....again....not.

Again Eric, take care of the REAL HOA issues, like the Mayor did.[/quote]



What does that first line mean????? The bunker is full of water because there is no need to pump it out at this time of year, if it were summer and we were dealing with mosquitoes then it would have been pumped within 72 hours.

I'm sorry that with the years of neglect on the landscaping that it can not be up to your standards immediately.

Please talk to the past board members including the Mayor about the ugly green fences that actually prevent our children from walking to school safely. They must have been the REAL HOA issues that were handled before I was on the board.

FYI- I do not know who you are, I may have spoken to you last in Jan 2012 at the Frisbee party, but it is funny how you make reference to me and what I do with out knowing me. Try actually having a conversation with me and show up when these decisions that you do not like are being discussed at open meetings. While you are at it talk to the Mayor, he might give you a little insight into the back story when he was president.

I do not have any issues with my neighbors, so the changes in policy do not affect me personally, the changes I voted for were to improve the community. Members of the board should be looking out for the best interests of the community, not just one group or individuals with an axe to grind. That is not good policy and does not make sense.

The funny thing about you saying that I dismiss other views is that I do not set policy or make any decisions on my own, the majority rules on the board. I also have taken back ANY opinions that I'm given about the association to the board. So the point does not make any sense.

As far as things in the Meadows go, the board will continue to fix problems from the past and add new amenities, so if that is in conflict with your idea of where the community should go then show up. Be involved in the community, instead of being a negative voice.

So what are the REAL HOA issues in your view that the ENTIRE board needs to focus on....................................... again I have provided a way for you to contact me.

[Canuck]

We just bought a place in Maricopa (not in the Meadows) but I know that when we did purchase we read the rules and I would really hope that our HOA will enforce those rules. To argue that the rules should not be enforced makes no sense, or even more illogical "please only enforce the rules I agree with".

I hope our new community enforces the rules, makes changes as circumstances dictate (provided these changes reflect the will of the community) and are willing to make the tough decisions so that neighbors aren't pitted against each other. My concern about moving into a residential area like those in Maricopa is more with the behaviors that DON'T get dealt with (eg incessant dog barking).

It's ironic that there is another active thread about another community NOT enforcing their rules. Put me in that camp.