The Recreation Centers of Sun City West will develop a CC&R department to begin operations July 1.
The move comes following a meeting between PORA officials and RCSCW officials in which PORA expressed an interest to take over all CC&R enforcement, or do none of it. Because PORA is not a mandatory-membership organization, it does not have standing to fine on CC&R violations. The Rec Centers has that authority.
The Rec Centers delivered a notice to PORA officials on April 29 notifying them of the plan to end the current contract on June 30, which coincides with the fiscal year. Waiting longer to end the contract would have resulted in the agreement being renewed for another budget cycle.
As part of that agreement, the Rec Centers has been paying PORA about $60,000 a year and providing membership data updates to PORA to handle complaints about items such as weed growth, fence heights, etc. The Rec Centers handled age-restriction violations and legal issues arising from repeated lack of compliance.
The Rec Centers has requested PORA provide data about historical and current violations to ease the transition and provide continuity on existing cases. Per the contract, PORA will continue to receive and enforce complaints through June 30.
Additionally, the Rec Centers is broadening its relationship with the Organization of HOAs in Sun City West, as that group handles CC&R enforcement on HOA-member properties. OHOA represents about one-third of the rooftops in Sun City West.
Rec Centers’ General Manager Bill Schwind is developing a proposal for a CC&R department within the Rec Centers. That plan will be unveiled at the Board’s next workshop, which begins 9 a.m. Friday, May 10, in the Lecture Hall. As always, the community is invited to attend the workshop.
As a new home owner in SCW will you please tell me what the CC&R Department initials mean and what they stand for.- thank you
Hello Vicki. CC&R stands for Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions. The CC&R Department would enforce the rules and regulations homeowners in Sun City West have to follow.
Vicki, You should have been given a copy of the CC&R’s by your Realtor/Title Insurance agency prior to the purchase of your home. You have 72 hours to read them before signing the purchase agreement. If you don’t like these rules, you can back out of the purchase in that 3 day period. I’m assuming it’s 72 hours (3days) in AZ as it is in WA, but the time period may vary from state to state.
this seems like an excellent move, to centralize the CC&R enforcement process.
Good maybe some progress will be made in getting the community cleaned up.
I think this is a good move.
Not sure what you are talking about. SCW is s beautiful, clean community.
I understood that PORA used volunteers to work their part of the CC&R program. Will the Rec Center do the same or create a new paid position?
Hi Richard. The department is still being formed. It will definitely include paid employees; a role for volunteers is still being considered. Once the department is formed, we will post positions and, if needed, do a call for volunteers. Please stay tuned…
Kudos to Rec Center. Enforcement of the current rules should be a priority as too many people are getting away with running amuck and destroying what the Founder’s envisioned for this community.
Please make a note…. Always explain Acronyms when communicating with Rec Center members. Also watch the jargon.
Meetings with residents is a good idea so is making sure they understand the issues.
Hello Lou. Thank you for your comment and suggestions. For any residents interested in learning more about the issue, we encourage them to attend the Governing Board Workshop on May 10 in the Lecture Hall where General Manager Bill Schwind will present the proposed plan for RCSCW to create a CC&R department.
What time will the workshop be?
Hello Robert. The Governing Board Workshop on May 10 is at 9 a.m. in the R.H. Johnson Lecture Hall.
Will the minutes from the May 10th meeting be posted on line?
Hello Naomi. The minutes from the May 10 Governing Board Workshop can be found in the link below.
http://go.boarddocs.com/az/rcscw/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BBE29L011BF2
Such wonderful news! This is a beautiful community. As a former CC&R review person in another state; I am glad to see more focus on keeping it that way.
I agree, CC&R enforcement is lacking and needs this type of commitment to ensure violations are handled quickly and effectively.
Will you be hiring paid employee’s or taking applications for volunteer opportunities from the homeowners?
Hi Ruth. The department is still being formed. It will definitely include paid employees; a role for volunteers is still being considered. Once the department is formed, we will post positions and, if needed, do a call for volunteers. Please stay tuned…
What will happen if PORA admin approved something that is in violation of the CC&R’s?
Linda, this is difficult to respond to without specific information or documentation. If you have a concern about something that might have been approved in violation of the CC&Rs, please email us at info@suncitywest.com. Thank you.
About time a change takes place in the CC&R program. The Rec Center has been bilked out of thousands of dollars over the past few years. I was a CC&R volunteer at PORA back when the Rec Center offered to pay for CC&R services. I wanted no part of it as I wasn’t in the market for a paying job. Shortly after PORA got funded the CC&R program changed…..The paid employees no longer looked for CC&R infractions, the infractions had to be reported to PORA by an outsider before they took action. Sorry to see such a large sum of our Rec Center money spent so foolishly in the past few years.
Can the Recreation Center clarify if the CC&R dept housed in PORA is infact under the Recreation Center’s direction for enforcement? Your press release previously stated PORA has no enforcement capability. Blame is being placed on the wrong entity (PORA) and the Recreation Center should own up to this if this is true.
Hi Kathie. Thank you for your question. The relationship and responsibility for enforcement is confusing, but please don’t interpret any of this to mean either group is being blamed for anything. Sun City West’s master CC&Rs state PORA or RCSCW “may, but shall not be obligated to enforce these restrictions upon receipt of a written request from the owner or owners of one or more lots covered hereby. PORA, Rec Centers, or any owner, shall have the right to enforce, by any proceeding at law or in equity, all restrictions, covenants, reservations, liens and charges now or hereinafter imposed by the provisions of this Declaration…” Because PORA is a voluntary membership organization, there are legal questions about whether it can place and collect fines on residents who are not members of PORA. Our arrangement had PORA doing the beginning enforcement, and if fines or legal action were required, it was elevated to us since we are a mandatory membership organization and have standing to fine. We paid PORA to do that initial enforcement, so in that respect it was under our direction. But PORA was responsible for the employees, procedures, etc.
We need to change some of the rules. I hate going out front and looking at my neighbor back yards and looking at there Junk all over there back yard. We need to change the rule on back yard sheds. With no fences in SCW you drive around and see everyone’s stuff. it’s time for a change, get out of the dark.
Good call, Rec Centers. We have homes that are poorly maintained, yards sprouting with weeds, abandoned materials, and, if PORA is unable to enforce our policies, then the Rec Centers must. Too much is sliding by and areas of SCW are blighted. Good luck!
Will this department address residents who (could) be labeled ‘hoarders’? There are some homes where items are stored/stacked on front porches and over-flowing from carports in plain site. Could this not promote rodents who come to take refuge in boxes?
Hi Marcia. Every case is different so we can’t give a specific answer. If there is a CC&R issue then it would be included. If there is nothing violating the CC&Rs but it is a safety issue, it might be handled another way. An initial investigation would provide the appropriate direction.
My husband is president of our HOA and his policy is first try politely talking to your neighbor to see if the issue can be resolved before throwing them under the bus with a formal complaint. It won’t be 100% effective and it takes guts but hopefully more people will give it a try.
There is a property on the corner of Stardust & 132 that is a disgrace as is one on BLUE BONNET with 2 old cars parked & any RATS….the whole property is referred to by many neighbors as the “RAT HOUSE” The owners have ignored all correspondence to clean up the property & the house is in state of disrepair….from where we once lived, this would be a condemned property…why not here???? These properties devalue the whole of SCW
Hello Julie. Thank you for coming to us with this concern. At the moment, please direct this situation to PORA as they oversee CC&R until June 30. The Rec Centers will handle CC&R starting July 1. If this is still a problem come July 1, the Rec Centers will have a CC&R page where you can fill out a form detailing the entire situation.
If you live in an area that has HOA, you must report to that HOA first. They may then go to OHOA if they need further information/directions.
Bringing the complete CC&R department under the Rec Centers is a good idea. Hopefully the CC&Rs can be accessed by the members via their computers since millions were spent on a new Rec Centers computer system to make things easier.
I was told over a year ago that it was being looked at/worked on. All that has to be done is add a check box in the members data base to authorize read-only access to the approved electronic CC&Rs.
I wholly support the Rec Ctrs taking the lead on this critical program. PORA was not equipped to handle it. Riley will be a good director. Good luck!
Maybe now we can standardize the C C & R s to eliminate all the confusion as to which part of SCW they apply to. It would define them once and all and make it easy for enforcement and simplify the understanding for home owners.
When you take over the CC&Rs would you please pose them digitally in the newsletters?
Hello Linda. With there being 100 sets of CC&Rs, we are currently discussing the best way to make them available. A summary of common CC&Rs are available in the New Member Packet:
https://suncitywest.com/imagesNew/pdfs/memberpacket.pdf
How does one apply for this committee?
Hello Gini. Thank you for your interest in wanting to apply but all openings for the CC&R department have been filled.
Hello- We are new to SCW. We read our Annexation CC&Rs and went to PORA to ask questions regarding the CC&R rule that there must be 15 shrubs or ground cover material in the front yard and 10 in the back yard. We were told at PORA that this rule only applied initially after the home was built 22 years ago. PORA told us that this rule no longer applies. We have already proceeded in altering our landscape. Will the Rec Centers honor what PORA told us or will they be counting shrubs? Thank you.
Hi Patricia. That rule no longer applies so yes we will be honoring what PORA told you.
I have written CC&Rs for a town in Washington State on a Planning Commission for a number of years and last month bought a home in SCW. I understand the process and know the details of not only the CC&R’s that are written but how they are successfully applied. If a position on your board is ever available I would like to be considered. Thank you for your time