Placer County has responded to the latest attempt by Morgan Creel, LLC to gain approval of its development application. In the response the County deemed the application still incomplete. The most significant take-aways from this response are: Missing specifics on what will happen to the golf course and its impact on open space, etc. Desire to keep the banquet facilities operating. Inadequate land use calculations and ratios, especially on the north side.

A copy of the County response is included below:

As always, comments welcome.

An open HOA meeting was held on January 18.  The following are highlights of that meeting.

• The new Board was introduced.  Marge Hutchings, its new January 15 est member was elected President.
• The Golf Course submitted its latest round of answers January 15  to the County’s questions.  Hats off to the Board for posting the document on Town Square immediately.  If interested, you can find it there.  The HOA lawyers are reviewing it.  Our immediate reaction is that many key issues were deferred/sidestepped, numerous easement issues were stated as under negotiation with the HOA (we are aware of none underway).  The issue of commitment to a 9 hole golf course or no golf course was sidestepped as was the inability to operate the banquet facilities without the golf course.  We anxiously await the next chapter. 
• In response to urgings from the community, the Compliance Committee is being reestablished.  Its first meeting was to take place the weekend of January 22.  This is much needed to aid in enforcement of our CC&R’s which make our community unique.
• ARC Committee is in full swing.  17 applications were reviewed and 15 approved.  There was some discussion of the legality of removal of its previous chair.  This further emphasizes getting a clearer understanding of the Committee’s role as an INDEPENDENT watchdog of CC&R’s.  We will have more discussion of this in future posts as there are still misunderstandings and disagreements.
• Landscape Committee reports progress on the Villas greens refurbishment project which is moving along.  The Committee is still seeking new members.
• The Safety Committee is still gathering data and trying to assess next steps with the speeding issue.  The greeters have ben asked to advise guests of our 20mph limit, though we continue to have frequent violations by residents. 
• Roving security patrols have been increased from 4 to 8 hours and will be random on rotating shifts.
• The new rule limiting estate sales was approved after no community comments were received.  It will be published shortly.
• The starting of a newsletter was raised again.  Still no action.  We’re waiting!
• Are painting violations enforceable?  The answer is, YES per Vicky.  This also applies to stained driveways.
• Much discussion centered on the dues increase.  The question was raised: Now that the gates loan is almost paid off, why isn’t this applied to constraining dues?  The anecdotal answer from the board was that costs are also rising fast.  E. g. minimum wage from $10 TO $15.  The board seems aware of the issue, and we are confident it will be considered in future budgets.  The question was also raised as to why dues were decreased last year by the prior board.  No good explanation was given.   Vicky noted the board has authority to raise dues up to a maximum of 20%.
• The latest on the Morgan Creek Lane fiasco:  The remaining four lots finally have plans on file and were approved by the ARC.  No date when construction might begin.

As always, your comments are welcome.

Unlike some other areas, we don’t have abandoned cars on our front lawns, RV’s routinely parked in the street, bright purple houses.  It’s a major reason why most of us moved to Morgan Creek.  We are not yet to this point but are moving dangerously closer.  A recent trend in lax governance by our Boards of Directors is allowing this to happen.  It is eroding our quality of life and will eventually affect our property values.  We need to let them know we care and push for immediate action.

So, what’s the problem?  We have a governing document, the CC&R’s.  We all got a copy when we purchased our homes.  We all agreed to abide by them.  While they can be amended by community vote, they cannot be bypassed or ignored at will by individual homeowners or by our elected Board.  They are roughly analogous to our U. S. Constitution.  Our Board is analogous to the legislature.  It can only make rules that do not conflict with the CC&R’s.  The Architectural Review Committee (ARC) is established by the CC&R’s as their watchdog.  It is roughly analogous to the courts.  Through the application and review process it ensures the CC&R’s are followed.

Recently the HOA Board removed the chair of the ARC for refusing to follow the Board’s request that it ignore architectural guidelines and, specifically the Developers Notebook, in deciding on applications for paving over front yards.  This request was stated in writing by the Board to the ARC. The implication was that the ARC should not be involved in the approval process through CC&R enforcement.  This is totally wrong.  Following the firing, two other key ARC members resigned in protest.

While the firing might or might be allowed on legal grounds, we believe it is completely wrong for the community.  However, the underlying issue is the role of the ARC.  Part of the Board’s rationale in the firing is that the CC&R’s were written in 2002 and are obsolete.  This is completely wrong.  To continue the analogy, our Constitution is over 200 years old, but is certainly not considered obsolete.  The validity of CC&R’s is strongly supported by the State’s Davis Stirling Act, the guiding law for all HOAs.   The ARC is the watchdog of the CC&R’s.  It cannot and should not be manipulated by our Board.  There is a process for the ARC to decide issues on a case-by-case basis.  The Board has the right to overrule it as long as CC&R’s are not violated. The Board does not have the right to control the decisions of the ARC.

This issue has the potential to go well beyond driveway expansion approvals.  So, what are we suggesting?  The Board must recognize the ARC’s independence.  Just as with the U. S judiciary, the board must retain the right to appoint ARC members and Chair, but not the right to fire them if they don’t agree with ARC decisions.  The current ARC chairman must respect the legal role of the ARC, and not be a rubber stamp to the Board’s wishes.

Equally important to ARC independence is the current almost total lack of enforcement.  Although this should primarily rest with our community managers, Associa, the job is not getting done.  We used to have a Compliance Committee, made up of resident volunteers, to assist in pointing out violations.  The current Board, over the last several months has given lip service to bringing this function back. Nothing has been done.  To the Board:  get Associa to enforce the rules (by that we don’t mean just parking violations) or change managers.  Bring back the Compliance committee.

So, this doesn’t apply to me!   Just look around you.  Fences unpainted.  Front yards paved over to produce parking lots (especially on the Pinehurst side) where garages are used for storage, kitchens, or spare rooms.  Front yard landscaping not being maintained.  RV parking in driveways or on the street for extended periods.  The list goes on.  If we don’t act now, we might wind up with the scenario of our opening paragraph.  Write or talk to your Board members.  Ask for immediate action to fix these things.  We have a new board.  Tell them what you want.

Comments are encouraged.  Let us know what you think.

The HOA Board released the following golf course update on November 24:

“Morgan Creek LLC has Mid-January as their new deadline to respond to the County’s comments from Mid-October, which Morgan Creek LLC has not done in a number of key areas raised by the County. All letters and emails that have been sent to the County regarding this project will be shared with the community.”

No further details of the County’s comments have been forthcoming as yet.

By now you should have received your Annual Budget mailing from the HOA. We will be analyzing it over the next few weeks. Though it raises some questions, overall it seems to be a responsible budget. Among the most significant increases are for security and for increased funding of reserves. As a result there will be dues increases, generally between 10-20% depending on where you live. See the mailing for details.

The annual meeting on the Morgan Creek Homeowners Association was called last Tuesday. The meeting failed to meet a quorum for the election and a vote on our IRS status. Therefore, the meeting was deemed closed and to be reconvened via Zoom on December 4. Everyone is encouraged to get their VOTES OR PROXIES in before then so the results can be certified.

The following is a summary of the key issues raised in the Board meeting and open forum that followed:

• The Board asked for Committee reports from the various chairmen.  Hats off to the Board for reinforcing this procedure instead of having Board members do the reporting.  This promotes much better community involvement.  More on this later.
• Landscape:  The bocci court refurbishment is done.  The changes to the putting greens in the villas is on hold because of recent rain.  We have been asking and were promised a copy of the Procida contract for 2022when available.  When asked again at the meeting we were told there now was an agreement and we would be sent a copy.  (This has been done).  The work of the Landscape committee on RFP’s which included extensive improvements in communications and performance accountability, and which Procidia and three other bidders agreed to in their response, were completely ignored in favor of this  ”agreement” containing only a scope of work similar to prior years sole source agreements.  The award action was done unilaterally by the Board without any input or discussion with the Landscape committee.  Two members of the committee, one with over 10 years’ service, subsequently resigned as a result.  We’ll discuss his further in a separate post as part of a disturbing trend in our HOA governance.
• Architectural Review:  The Committee report started out with a general statement that applications received would be promptly processed and a smooth process would be followed.  Only after being questioned by three residents did the chair agree that following the CC&R’s was important and would be observed.  Note:  Three members of this committee have been fired by the Board or quit over the Committee’s role in enforcing the CC&R’s.  This vital issue will be discussed in more detail in a separate post.
• Safety:  Speed monitors have been relocated again.  Speeding continues to be a big problem.  One speeder was clocked at 1 am at 48 MPH.  The committee is looking into a speed bump on Morgan Creek Lane and additional ones on Waterstone.
• Welcoming:  The committee has obtained new custom welcome bags.  They continue to greet newcomers in person at a rate of about 6 per month.
• Golf Course:  No new activity.  A lot of discussion ensued over timely notification of homeowners when new submissions to the County and their responses are received by the Board.  There were complaints of lack of timeliness by the board.  The board committed to release what they could following attorney approval.  It was pointed out that anyone could apply to the County on their own for access to the Dropbox containing these documents.

The question was asked concerning reinstatement of the Compliance committee and the issuance of liens for violations.  Associa assured us that liens were being filed but specifics had to remain confidential.  It was suggested that enforcement statistics be reported to owners in a newsletter.  This led to a renewed plea that a newsletter be started to inform us of all matters of concern.  Thus far, no action has been taken on this.  The Board indicated they are looking into restoring the Compliance Committee.

The question came up concerning citing residents for parking in cutouts while visiting other residents.  The board said it was working possible amendment to the CC&R’s addressing this, a long difficult process.  Clearly something needs to be done in the short term to refine enforcement.  Ball’s still in the Board’s court.

As always, comments are welcome.

The annual Owners meeting will be held at 6 pm Tuesday, November 16 at Creekview Ranch School, 8779 Cook Riolo Road, beginning at 6 PM. The main purpose of the meeting is to elect Directors. There are two openings to be filled. There are only 2 candidates running at this time. Additionally, the Board has asked for proxies to affirm an IRS filing. A quorum of votes is needed to accomplish this. So if you haven’t already done so, please complete your proxy or come vote in person. The proxy can be found on Town Square.

There will be an open Board meeting following the Annual meeting. It will include the usual open forum where owners can ask the board questions and make comments.

We urge you all to attend.

In a letter dated September 14 Morgan creek, LLC provided its response to Placer County regarding its application to develop and sell all or part of the golf course into 79 individual lots. The County was supposed to respond within 30 days. We have not yet seen that response. Here is a copy of their letter together with an aerial photo showing the proposed building sites.

The HOA Board acknowledged receipt of the letter in a posting on Town Square on October 1. For reasons which are completely unclear, it has apparently chosen not to share this public information with the Community. We believe knowledge is power and you deserve to know what is happening when it is happening. Therefore, we will do our best to keep you informed here.

One additional response from Morgan Creek, LLC to the County Planner was sent on September 15. Essentially it accuses the county of not being objective in its application of density guidelines. A copy of that letter can be found here.

The LLC’s responses are extensive and largely superficial. Our major takeaways are: The continued refusal to provide financial information supporting their argument that the golf course is a money loser and not sustainable. The assertion that even without the golf course they should be allowed to continue operating the pavilion as a business within our gated community of private residences. That they have complete access to all easements over the our HOA’s private roads. That environmental issues will all be satisfactorily addressed in the EIR. We obviously disagree and believe our elected Board will continue to make our case to the County at the appropriate times in the process.

There is nothing for us to do now but learn all we call and be prepared to act when necessary.

Come to the annual Homeowners meeting November16 and express your views.

As always, comments welcome.

In our post following the HOA open meeting September 21 we promised a follow up to the issues raised by the Landscape Committee when we had more information. Open forum discussion centered around residents complaints about Procidia’s not being proactive in maintenance, especially in the Villas, and being slow to respond to owners requests. Examples were cited. So this is what we found:

In August two long standing members of the Committee resigned in protest. Among their several concerns raised in their resignation letter here’s what stands out:

• The Board tasked them with preparing a request for proposals (RFP) and soliciting bids to do the landscaping work for our neighborhood. The RFP replaced an open ended work order based scope of work, issued originally in 2005, with a well written one which contained performance based terms. After considerable work by the Committee and the bidders, including Procidia, they obtained four bids. The incumbent, Procidia, was the second highest. The Committee prepared a Power Point with their recommendations for presentation to the full Board. They gave the Board a copy but were never allowed to make an in person presentation. Without further communication it appears the Board has decided to simply renew the existing Procidia contract with increased prices. However, numerous attempts by us to obtain the full contract or it’s status have failed. This certainly merits further information as to why the Board chose the direction they did and, if not too late, a revisiting of the decision with full transparency.
• Why does this matter? The Procidia quote 2022 is $242, 180 ($188,940 plus $53, 240 for extras such as irrigation and trees). This is about 20% of the HOA’s total annual budget. The Committee recommended further negotiations with both Procidia and, with their recommended vendor, Bright View. The Board chose not to pursue this. It’s our money so it matters how it is spent. It is our community so it matters how well it is maintained.

The above brings up a much broader and important issue. That is, how should we best take advantage of the energy, knowledge and dedication of those who have volunteered for each of our committees. Earlier in the year at the Board’s request, the Landscape Committee and the Architectural Review Committee worked on developing charters. This was an iterative process resulting in approval of both by the Board. The charters have the committees reporting directly to the Board and spell out responsibilities. However, this reporting seems cursory at best. They are rarely, if ever allowed to present their work in person to the community or the Board. Instead, at open meetings reports are typically given by Board members. They are not allowed to attend or report at Executive meetings. In fact, it seems to us all meetings should be open with, perhaps, a small portion closed to discuss personnel or legal issues where needed.

So, we are suggesting that the Board:

• Use the committees as they were intended. Listen to them. This is especially true of the Architectural Review Committee, created by our CC &R’s and tasked with enforcing them, just as our U. S. Constitution protects our Federal form of Government. CC & R’s protect our community’s environment, something we all signed onto when we bought our homes.
• Allow committees to make their work public at meetings wherever possible for the community to see.
• Eliminate “Executive” sessions to achieve maximum transparency. This does not mean an owners comment session every time.

We just held our election. With two seats open and only two people nominated, it is too late this year to use the ballot box to express our concerns. However, we urge all of you to let your representatives know your feelings on the subjects raised here. Get involved. It’s your community! It’s your money!

As always, comments are welcome.

FYI, the following note from the HOA Board was posted today on Town Square.

“Morgan Creek LLC (the golf course) responded back to Placer County with more complete information on their application on September 15th. The County is now preparing a response to the golf course regarding the most recent information received from them. The County has until October 14th to respond to this information. The Board will let you know what the County response is as soon as the Board is informed.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors”

The process continues.

At Tuesday’s HOA meeting it became clear residents continue to be cited for parking in the cutouts while visiting friends, a violation of the CC&R’s. This is a big problem and has been ongoing for a very long time. The board commented they were looking at changing the CC& R’s, a long and difficult process.

Here is a simple effective solution requiring only administrative action. All residents have parking stickers with numbers. These numbers are tied to a residential address. If the roving enforcement person is equipped with this simple lookup table he/she can quickly determine where the potential violator lives. If it is within a few blocks of the “offender”, cite them. If not, ignore it and move on.

The look up information can be provided by putting an up to date list on a secure Associa list published on a website accessible at the cottage or by cell phone to the enforcer; alternatively, by providing the greeter cottage with a printed list updated regularly. The enforcement person can either have phone access, carry a copy or obtain it by phoning the cottage.

This process only requires a directive by the Board to Associa to get it implemented, no further studies or delays. Far fewer complaints will be logged freeing Vicky to concentrate on the important stuff! Let’s do it.

What do you think?