Morgan Creek, LLC this week submitted a revised Project description for the proposed golf course development. The revision keeps the same number of lots to be developed on the North and South sides, and adds a 9 hole executive golf course. It also proposes to keep the existing pavilion business and fast casual restaurant. The following is a copy of the revised Project Plan.

This change probably makes the plan more palatable to the County and, perhaps, to some of our community. Since their submission is per SB330, our options to oppose it are severely limited. However, if they choose not to follow through with the golf course, we have a strong case for not allowing them to continue to operate the pavilion.

For those of you unfamiliar with SB330, although passed in 2018 in the name of more easily expanding affordable housing, it affects all housing and severely limits the County and its residents’ ability to prevent development. We have enclosed a document summarizing SB330, as well as an analysis prepared by Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger, LLP. explaining the effects of its implementation so far. Disturbing bedtime reading.

None of this is expected to happen soon given the slow permitting process and the recent slowdown in the housing market. As usual, comments are welcome.

On November 1 our community transitioned from our administrator, Associa, to a new provider, FirstService Residential. A meet and greet was held around the Villas new putting green on November 9. It was an opportunity to get to know the First Service staff. The event was pretty well attended.

Our new Community Manager will be Machelle Gardner, email machelle@fsresidential.com. Her assistant is Lauren Ostrander, direct phone 916-527-6160 and email lauren.ostrander@fsresidential.com. For routine matters they ask to be contacted through the central customer care number, 800-428-5588. For now they will be based at the Walerga cottage. That number is still the same, 916-474-5627.

The annual meeting was held Tuesday, November 15 at Creekview Ranch School. Only two board members attended and a third briefly via Zoom to have a quorum. Three board seats were filled, two by new people and the third by Lorenzo returning. Since only three people ran there was no need for a vote count.

The business meeting was brief. Highlights follow:

• The FirstService staff, Machelle and Lauren, were introduced.
• It was announced a member of the Landscape Committee, Mike Permenter, passed away. The board acknowledged his hard work and contribution to the community.
• Compliance: FirstService will take over this responsibility since they have a much stronger technical ability to do the job. Machelle announced there is no need for homeowners to be angry when the receive notices. They want to work with owners to resolve issues. The goal is to keep values up, and make this a pleasant place for all to live.
• IRS Resolution: An explanation was given for the need to vote on tax treatment. Proxies were being tabulated.
• Landscape Vendor RFP: A new RFP is being prepared for next year’s landscape contract. This was delayed with the transition of management companies. We consider it vital that this be done for next year and that we not simply renew Procidia’s contract again with little control and accountability. NEW BOARD TAKE NOTE!
• The next open HOA meeting is planned for December 15.

As usual, comments are welcome.

The HOA Board will hold an open meeting on Monday, October 17 at 4pm via zoom. Please note the new time! The link appears in the agenda below. The purpose of the meeting is to approve the draft 2023 budget which should have been approved at the last meeting. Time will also be allotted for an owners’ open forum.

Anyone wishing to attend is welcome to do so. A copy of the meeting agenda that was posted on Town Sq is enclosed.

An open Board meeting was held 9/20 at Creekview Ranch School. Highlights follow:

• There is nothing new to report on the Golf Course status. The second preliminary application continues to wind its way through Placer planning,
• There will be an election November 15 to fill 3 board seats. Three applications have been received. Your vote is important. Stay tuned for details.
• The The treasurer’s report revealed that we still have unfunded reserves of $446,434. The plan is to gradually continue to reduce this to zero. The new budget being developed includes increasing the roving patrol from 8 to 16 hours per day (Side note: There were questions raised about what the marching orders are or if it is necessary. The Board needs this clarified to the community.). To cover these and other costs of doing business the Board plans gradual dues increases each year. Next year the principal changes are:
  • Community – $241, a 2.35% increase.
  • Villas – $278, a 3.65@ increase.
  • Lake – $305, a 3.71% increase.
• The Compliance Committee is in full swing, A full neighborhood survey has been completed and letters sent out as needed. Repeated or ignored violations are being referred to the Board.
• The ARC continues to review applications. Twenty seven were submitted since the last meeting. 16 were approved and 9 denied. The welcome committee is now including architectural and landscape change application forms in the welcome bag to be sure newcomers are aware that changes need approval. The ARC is still reviewing paint colors for the Villas.
• A new RFP is being prepared for landscaping.
• Homeowner access to the pedestrian gates after hours is still being reviewed. FOB’s are the front runner for $5,000. Question was; is it worth it?
• The safety committee continues to monitor speeding. They plan to survey the neighborhood to see if it is still a major issue, and if signs have helped.

Thanks again to Joe Sanfillipo for taking copious notes in our absence.

As always, comments welcome!

In a recent posting on Town Square the Board of Directors announced a new management company will iake over from our current one effective November 1. the new company, FirstService Residential, has more than 40 years experience in community management according to the post.

it is not known at this point whether this rather sudden change is the result of financial considerations, service issues, or a combination. The new managers will be sending out an introductory letter later this month.

we look forward to getting more background information at the upcoming open Association meeting. Meanwhile, here’s a warm welcome to FirstService Residential.

An open meeting was held via Zoom on July 19. We are unsure why this was a Zoom meeting and believe doing so, and not in person, makes it less effective and interactive. What do you think? Please leave your thoughts below via comments.

The following are highlights of the meeting. Special thanks to Joe Sanfillipo for taking notes for us. Following the highlights we are providing information on the latest golf course development, the filing of amended preliminary application to the County for development.

The Safety Committee is still doing speeding surveys. While interesting (Apparently their presence helped on the North side but made no difference on the south.) they continue to suggest/pursue speed bumps in spite of our prior agreement with the fire department not to install any more as a prerequisite for gates approval. We suspect fines will be the only thing that might make a difference. Cars continue to drive in through the exit gates. Consideration is being given to wrong way spikes to stop this. Work continues on finding a way to allow residents access to pedestrian gates after hours, likely by issuing FOBs.

The Welcome Committee greeted 12 new residents. The Committee would like to include a list of community activities in the welcome bags (e.g. Bocce, bridge, wine tasting).

The Compliance Committee has inspected all homes and lots over the last month. Corrective action letters have gone out. Not all corrections have been made as it can be a slow process.

Work has commenced with legal consul on a phased approach to updating our legal documents.

The front yard hardscape rule was voted on and passed. 5 homeowner comments were received, but not discussed.

New dock guidelines rules were voted on and passed. 2 owners commented.

There will be an upcoming election for three Board seats. The HOA is seeking applicants.

The issue of Procida’s failure to prune trees in the Villas was brought up. Also there is concern over not hiding Villa’s garbage totes as required. It was suggested that shrubs be planted on side yards, possibly at owners expense, to help concealment.

A need was identified to repair the trellises around the bocce court. this has never been maintained. It should become an action item for the Board.

Golf Course Update:

Morgan Creek, LLC has submitted a new preliminary application to Placer County under SB330, this time to develop 68 lots from the existing golf course vs. the previous 79. The new application removes 11 lots from the north side. In doing so, they have included language to make it appear they are conforming to the existing community’s CC&Rs and making it sound like it would part of our community. Looking at their new plot map our speculation is they are trying to minimize the need for road easements from us by removing road access from Edenbridge and moving their entrance closer to the Vineyard gate. They still need our PRIVATE roads! Removing the Edenbridge access may create a problem for the fire department which typically requires at least two points of access for new developments. This move also may provide a bit more open space.

They continued to argue the golf course is a money loser. The County has previously challenged them to prove it with documentation, e. g. audited financials. We’ll see.

Our legal team is reviewing the application in detail and is expected to comment when done.

Below is a copy of their submission for those of you willing to dig deeper. Happy reading.

As usual, your comments are encouraged.

The meeting was held as a hybrid in person and Zoom meeting. Approximately 30 homeowners attended in person and 17 via Zoom. The following are some of the more important issues discussed:

• Golf Course: Morgan Creek LLC missed their deadline of May 11 to respond to Placer County’s questions. It is unclear what this means to the application moving forward. If their application is actually a submission under the new SB330 (by no means a certainty!) it’s uncharted territory. We don’t know why the deadline was missed. In any event no action is contemplated by us or the County unless or until Morgan Creek LLC makes a move.
• We are beginning to clean up our act. The newly formed Compliance Committee has inspected all homes. Letters are going out and liens are being filed, 4 last month. There were 36 hearings before the Board. The ARC received 47 applications with 40 approved. As a result of compliance letters sent to Villas residents for driveways and garage doors, a significant number of people have responded with action. The area is looking good.
• Safety: An investigation has started into how to allow homeowners access through pedestrian gates at night. A FOB most likely. They now lock at dusk for security. Speeding data is still being gathered and possible actions to make people aware are being analyzed.
• Homeowners expressed considerable frustration over not receiving compliance letters before fines are assessed. This is completely unacceptable. The Board committed to investigating this and, for the future, coming up with a better system (e. g. selective use of return receipt mail.).
• The docks proposed rules are going out for comment again. The original was confusing in its wording and, by clerical error, failed to include a diagram. The HOA will not pay the costs of the second mailing.
• A new proposed rule for hardscape (e. g. driveway expansions) will be circulated for comment. This should go out this week.
• Tony Domenici resigned from the board. As elections are coming up in November, the Board decided not to appoint a replacement.
• The question was raised as to the intent of the Board to compete the landscaping contract which Procida holds sole source. An attempt was made last year to compete it but due to budget timing, etc. it was decided to reissue the existing contract. This must not repeat.
• The question was revived as to whether, in view of continuing rapid rise of water rates, we should revisit possibly digging a well to feed the lake. This is now serviced by American Water, $98,000 budgeted in 2022!
• The Board approved a request from the local Girl Scout troop to set up a little library box in Parkstone Park on the south side.
• With the installation of the new putting greens in the Villas, a vast improvement, it was observed that some people are using them to practice chipping and thereby destroying approaches. “NO CHIPPING” signage was suggested.

As always, comments are welcome.

Morgan Creek LLC (golf course owners) apparently have missed the latest deadline to respond to Placer County for their development application. We’ll find out more next week, but on it’s face is appears to be good news. It could be clerical error (unlikely), or simply a recognition of the changed building environment with developers concentrating on build-out of owned land, and reluctant to commit to new projects. We’ll see.

There will be an HOA open meeting this Tuesday, May 17 at 6 pm at Creekview Ranch School. The meeting will also be carried via Zoom. Details of location and Agenda follow:

It’s your community.. Please try to attend/participate!

The HOA Board announced an open meeting to be held today, March 15, at 6 pm via Zoom. Our apologies for this late notice but the meeting was only announced 4 days ago on Town Square. Why it is a Zoom meeting, and not in person, was not revealed. The following is the meeting notice including the Zoom link.

Please attend.

Last Monday Bonnie Gore sponsored a webinar update concerning construction plans and activities in West Placer and Roseville. If you have the time we encourage you to have a look at the replay available here.

The meeting lasted about 40 minutes. The major takeways:

Morgan Creek LLC’s project was listed as proposed. Alex Fisch, the County Planner put a name to it. It is now called Morgan Crossing. He stated that he expected to have an environmental impact report (EIR) available for circulation and comment in late spring/summer. This was a big surprise given that the back and forth between the LLC and the County seemed to indicate it wouldn’t be started until the County approved the project. Something for our Board and attorney to investigate.

Of general interest is the vast number of projects comprising tens of thousands of homes that are either already approved or in construction. The meeting was full of specifics.

Also, lots of commercial projects are approved for our neighborhood including the Baseline Marketplace at Fiddyment and Baseline containing lots of specialty shops and retail. The commercial area at Fiddyment and Pleasant Grove has also been approved including two Grocery stores yet to be identified.

Special thanks to Bradley Scates, one of our followers, for bringing this meeting to our attention.