Manager Spotlight: Landscape and Open Space Manager Nancy Zadrozny

Nancy Zadrozny was hired as an Equestrian Manager on June 19, 2015, and then moved to the Landscape and Open Space Manager position on January 1, 2020. She is responsible for designing, installing, and maintaining outdoor environments.

The inspiration for her to start at this job was simple—the position was open, and she was qualified. As the Landscape Manager, she has developed landscape areas that are both unique and reminiscent of botanical gardens. She ensures the planting is done correctly, thereby reducing maintenance, which is her goal.

Each day is different for Zadrozny. She oversees a team of eight and is responsible for 1,500 acres of open space. She addresses homeowner requests, inspects areas, meets with her crew daily, and schedules the areas that require attention. Half of the crew maintains areas like the parks, including playgrounds, dog parks, and pool areas, while the other half handles all the open space areas. Her department also maintains 17 miles of trails, 1,500 acres of Open Space, and 7 miles of medians, where they have recently embarked on a median restoration project.

New to the Landscape/Open Space department is the vital fire fuel management work, which has not been addressed as a priority previously and now accounts for 30 to 40 percent of their work. Additional funds are now allocated for portions of this work, enabling us to hire specialty subcontractors to help clear our challenging terrain. It’s a comprehensive, multi-pronged initiative designed to reduce wildfire risk within the community. The focus is on creating defensible space around homes and maintaining fire breaks in high-risk areas. There are 50 years’ worth of overgrowth and piled-up deadfall, and it will be a process to get caught up and then maintain these areas. The additional workload this has added to the Open Space staff is being accomplished within the same operating budget constraints as before.

Under Zadrozny’s guidance and vision, the HOA has produced 15 new garden spaces. One of which is Georgia’s Garden, a wedding site near the fire station. This stunning garden was made possible by a donation of $50,000 from Georgia Tranter, a homeowner who has since passed away. Another of her creations is a garden on the hillside above the jacuzzi at the clubhouse pool. They terraced it, replanted it, and staged it with a wine barrel for aesthetics. She did this to add interest and beauty to the pool area by introducing new plants and creating a vibrant garden space.

The two turf reduction projects at the Community Relations Department on Avenel Lane and the San Vicente Park west of the tennis courts were paid for with rebate money. “We put in a natural and mostly native landscape,” says Zadrozny. The grass that required extensive watering to maintain was removed and replaced with low-maintenance native plants and boulders with winding DG pathways. She aims to repeat this landscape palette throughout the community, creating a cohesive look that’s visually harmonious and calming.

Zadrozny’s passion and creativity are evident in her work. She especially loves the landscape design aspect of her job that creates outdoor spaces that blend beauty, function, and harmony with the natural surroundings of SDCE. She also enjoys the artistic design side. She asks herself, “How can I make this look pretty and enjoyable?” She says she has the ability to improve all areas of the association, even one as small as the Hobbit House, which she had constructed out of a tree stump for residents to enjoy.

Zadrozny has been an SDCEA homeowner since 1986 and has raised her 2 sons here.

When she is not working, three things are most important to her: family time, garden time, and horse time. She is married to a wonderful man for 44 years, her kids are grown, and she has 4 fun-loving grandsons. She is an avid gardener and is very knowledgeable about local insects and birds. She gardens at home and has a vegetable and fruit orchard; her property is also equipped with a greenhouse. She is a longtime equestrian and rides her horse through the SDCE trails regularly.

Photo by Heather McGhee.