Community Relations: Homeowner Update

The Community Relations Department (CRD) has been busy partnering with homeowners. Understanding that owners have a personal stake in their property and seek a quality of life through the protections built into the governing documents, the department’s primary objective is to provide inspections and corrective measures and facilitate the operations of the Environmental Control Committee with processing project applications.

The CRD team conducts regular inspections, including routine items such as trash cans and parking, Property Reviews for a more in-depth look, and Escrow Inspections. With only one inspector on the team, we cover a lot of ground.

For the first time this year, we started tracking easement maintenance separately. Previously, this was grouped with landscape maintenance. With the increased attention on fire abatement and educating owners about their responsibility to maintain their easements, it made sense to separate this number into its own category. The goal is to keep the easements clear and safe.

Since the start of the year, CRD has issued 70 notices for easement maintenance. The easements are a portion of a homeowner’s property that the Association has reserved for access. This means the property still belongs to the owner but needs to remain accessible to the membership and be maintained in accordance with the governing documents. This maintenance includes trimming plants, shrubs and trees that can prevent access through the easement. Plants should be kept at 4 inches or less, and trees trimmed to maintain a 13-ft. 6-in. clearance from the ground.

To see the easement for your property, check out the Horse Trail Map, available on our website, or check with CRD.

CRD is ready to help with questions and guidance; contact us at CRDdept@sdcea.net or 760-789-8747.