Darrell Watson finds it hard to take a simple walk to the park because so many of his neighbors park across the sidewalks, leave trash cans our or erect portable basketball goals on them. Watson uses a walker and carries oxygen, making it harder to swerve into the streets and dangerous because he can't move quickly enough to dodge oncoming traffic.

It was obvious from the first few minutes I drove around Darrell Watson‘s neighborhood in Deerfield Hills that he wasn’t exaggerating about the problem. 

.

.

There were cars, trailers, trash cans and portable basketball goals blocking sidewalks on nearly every street. 

.

.

This is a problem for Darrell, a 66-year-old retired soldier who suffers from emphysema and needs a walker and an oxygen tank to get around. 

Infractions are visible from space! Several examples of cars routinely parking on the sidewalks of Deerfield Hills, near Darrell Watson's home.

All the sidewalk obstacles make Darrell’s morning walks more strenuous than they should be. And it’s not safe for him to detour far into the streets since he can’t quickly move out of the way of traffic. 

A typical sight in Deerfield Hills and other Colorado Springs neighborhoods where many think it's OK to park on sidewalks.

.. 

. 

.. 

Imagine trying to negotiate this sidewalk in a walker. Squeeze between the overgrown bushes and the mailbox, the duck down into the street to get around the basketball goal.

. 

In this case, the basketball goal was in the street. But the trailer made walking a challenge.

==========================================================

IS IT TOO MUCH TROUBLE TO PARK IN THE STREET? is a post from: Side Streets

When you drive into Pastime Place in the Village Seven neighborhood of Colorado Springs, pay attention to the Neighborhood Watch signs on the light pole.

These folks mean it.

Especially Charlotte Mock. She’s been the Neighborhood Watch block captain since 1978.

That is 33 years of watching her neighborhood. At 69, Charlotte remains committed to the program and is as enthusiastic as ever.

On Tuesday, despite heavy rain, she and her husband, Ken, carried on with their National Night Out festivities between downpours.

They dried off their chairs, built a fire in their pit and invited neighbors out to celebrate a friend’s birthday.

Officer Bob Harris of the Colorado Springs Police Department stopped by to encourage the group and reinforce the Neighborhood Watch message of neighbors helping each other to stay safe.

Colorado Springs Police Officer Bob Harris joined residents of Pastime Place on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011, to observe the annual National Night Out, a program to raise awareness of crime and promote the Neighborhood Watch program.

National Night Out festivities are a tradition on Pastime Place thanks to the Mocks. They have been coordinating Neighborhood Watch events three times a year for decades.

They have a Christmas party, a Fourth of July parade and the Night Out in August.

This year they had a dessert buffet and celebrated a neighbor’s birthday. They scrapped a planned sing-along due to the weather.

Kids, adults and dogs get in on the fun during the Fourth of July parade.

A patriotic Ken Mock and the Mock dogs, Merlot and Arubie, got prepared for the Fourth of July parade.

Protecting the neighborhood is important to Charlotte and Ken.

Over the years, they’ve seen the benefits of being aware of strangers in the cul de sac.

Several times they’ve notice intruders and stopped burglaries in progress.

They’ve also seen fringe benefits.

By taking the time to get to know their neighbors, they’ve made new friends.

And the process has opened lines of communication that make it easier for neighbors to resolve conflicts that seem to arise from time to time in every neighborhood.

Charlotte is so commited she has created a little welcome tradition for newcomers to Pastime Place. She makes cookies and introduces herself.

In addition, she gives new residents a map of the street with names and phone numbers of the neighbors to help them get to know everybody.

Charlotte Mock displays a front page from The Gazette Telegraph from Aug. 7, 1996, which shows her leading a sing-along during that year's National Night Out observance.

xxx

xxx

Follow this link to see my 2010 National Night Out column. The blog that accompanied it can be found here.

=======================================================

PASSING TIME WATCHING OVER NEIGHBORS is a post from: Side Streets

I feel sorry for the folks in the modest Mesa Springs neighborhood. It’s boundaries, generally, are Fillmore Street on the north, Interstate 25 on the east, Uintah Street on the south and, eventually, Centennial Boulevard will be its western border once the extension is completed.

And that’s the problem. Mesa Springs has lived with construction turmoil all around it for years.

Mesa Springs is a small neighborhood west of Interstate 25, south of Fillmore Street and north of Uintah Street.

It was at Ground Zero for the COSMIX expansion of I-25 and erection of a massive sound barrier wall. That project brought tons of extra traffic down its main drag, Chestnut Street, as commuters seeking to dodge construction went racing back and forth.

Then the neighborhood’s character was changed with the addition of a major furniture store, which also added traffic volume to the area.

On its western edge, it watched as bulldozers began carving in the extension of Centennial and construction of new homes. But that project lurched to a halt leaving the road unfinished and many empty houses.

Now, it’s staring down the barrel of another major project. I call it the Parker Street Shuffle. The city is planning to close Chestnut at Fillmore. If you look at this aerial photo, you see why.

It’s not a simple intersection. It’s a convoluted mess thanks to the entrance and exit ramps of I-25 which converage at the spot.

Further complicating the dangerous intersection is the traffic trying to get in and out of two gas stations and the impact of motorists roaring down the steep incline of Fillmore from the west.

The intersection has long needed to be rebuilt. The entire Fillmore bridge needs to come down, for that matter, and the ramps widened and lengthened.

Anybody have a spare $50 million? Here’s a look at the entire mess from FlashEarth.com.

Didn’t think so.

And the city doesn’t have the $14.5 million it would take to bury Chestnut under Fillmore and keep it open.

But thanks to the one-cent sales and use tax that funds the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority, an extra $6.5 million exists to make changes at Chestnut.

Here’s the preliminary plan: close Chestnut at Fillmore and build a bypass west around the nasty intersection via Parker, which becomes a long cul de sac. It will require buying a couple houses on Parker but the rest of the route will cross vacant land.

This is the tentative design for the plan to close Chestnut Street at Fillmore Street and reroute it west via Parker Street.

The Colorado Department of Transportation bought five houses on Chestnut a few years ago anticipating the eventual reconstruction of the Fillmore bridge.

And today CDOT is negotiating to buy the two gas stations to clear the intersection altogether.

The city expects to announce the date this week of a public meeting on the Parker Street Shuffle. If all goes well, construction could begin in the summer of 2012.

Follow this link to a May 21, 2011, story by Debbie Kelley about the project.

For the Oct. 3, 2010, paper, I wrote this column on Mesa Springs.

Here’s a blog I wrote in October 2010 on the project.

=======================================================

MESA SPRINGS WILL BE DOING THE PARKER STREET SHUFFLE is a post from: Side Streets

You don’t have to burn up gallons of $3 gas to save a few nickels on each fill-up.

Let the Internet do the searching for you. It’s not hard to find the neighborhood gas station with the cheapest gas.

I did a casual search and was surprised at the results I got.

There are a number of sites, from spotter-based surveys that rely on average citizens to report prices, to more sophisticated sites that get their data from credit card transactions.

The survey at Gazette.com is a spotter-based survey.

.

.

.

Perhaps the most user-friendly was MSN.com’s gas price survey site.

.

.

.

Another site with valuable information was Mapquest’s gas survey site.

.

.

.

.

Then I tried GasBuddy.com and it eventually took me to ColoradoSpringsGasPrices.com and this page:

.

.

.

.

.

An impressive site was AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report: 

.

.

.

.

.

Finally I tried GasPriceWatch.com but it’s prices seemed old and not as accurate.

..

===========================================================================

STOP BURNING UP DOLLARS TO SAVE DIMES is a post from: Side Streets

Is Colorado Springs being meanies to the greenies?

.

Some think so after officials told Tim Keenan he had to move his mattress recycling business out of a warehouse behind his rental house on Costilla Street in the Hillside neighborhood east of downtown.

.

Keenan thought he’d found a great new business opportunity when he started collecting old mattresses and stripped them for their metal springs, wood, fabric and foam.

.

With scrap metal selling for $200 a pound, it would be easy to recycle. A recycler in Utah pays for foam. Wood is valuable as firewood. And fabric has a little bit of value.

.

It was win-win. The city is overflowing with old mattresses, officials say. Landfills are overflowing, as well, and mattresses are a huge problem because they don’t compress well.

But Keenan ran into one small problem . . . his A Better Tomorrow Recycling business doesn’t mesh well in neighborhoods.

A homeowners association “got grumpy” when he started stripping mattresses in his garage.

So he moved to a house on Costilla, a busy commercial street east of downtown. The house included a large warehouse in back and seemed perfect for his business.

And everything was fine until his truck broke down and he needed his warehouse to work on the vehicle.

 Mattresses started piling up in the driveway off the alley.

 Neighbors complained. An officer from the city Code Enforcement Agency came out and found the mess.

She also discovered the recycling business operating in a commercial zone. Recycling is 0nly allowed in industrial zones. It had to go.

Keenan is frustrated. Everyone seems to agree there is a huge need for a mattress recycling business. He’s in a building that has housed businesses for years. It’s not a pristine neighborhood. His operation is off an alley and is surrounded by a locksmith, mini-warehouses, a roofing company and more.

But recycling just doesn’t fit, officials say. Keenan has until Nov. 15 to end his recycling activities. He hopes to move to a new warehouse at 2512 Weston Road, just off Delta Drive near Hancock Expressway on the southeast side of the city.

Tim Keenan describes how he strips mattresses, separating their metal springs from their wood frames, foam and fabric in this Oct. 29, 2010, photo

=============================================================================

MATTRESS RECYCLING FLOPS IN NEIGHBORHOOD is a post from: Side Streets

I asked. You answered. Below is what we learned.

I’ve posted two lists.

One is an alphabetical list of 80 or so homeowners associations and their cousins — community, neighborhood, recreation, condo and townhome associations. All are from the Colorado Springs region.

The second file contains a numeric list, ranking them top to bottom by amount.

On the alpha list, I’ve included comments I received in e-mails from you, the source of the information. However, I have not included any names or e-mail addresses.

If you find this interesting, informative, valuable or wrong, tell me. Shoot me an e-mail at bill.vogrin@gazette.com. Then stay tuned.

In the very near future, I will be creating a more formal questionaire about HOA dues. It will ask you to click through the amenities you recieve for your money and even comment on the quality of your HOA.

I’m hoping the database will even include a map feature.

There are two ways to look at the database. You can either read the alphabetical list posted below or follow these links to the list: Alphabetical list and Numeric list

Alpine Glen at Peregrine

38 homes pay $305 master plus $345 to the sub-division or $650 a year

Aspen Leaf Townhomes Condominium Association

20-unit townhome complex with nonthly dues of $120 or $1,440 a year

Autumn Heights Community Owners Association

Dues 223$ per month or $2,676 a year.  This gets you a clubhouse, spa, all lawn care, trash, community watering costs, fence repair, snow removal, road & sidewalk repair, external walls and roof repair, on all townhouses.  Everything inside the walls is your problem.  This HOA is down along Star Ranch road & Broadmoor Bluffs.

Broadmoor Resort Community

$3,360 – gated community above The Broadmoor hotel.

Broadmoor Village

Dues are $260.00 per month or $3,120 per year which covers lawn maintenance, water for the lawn, snow removal, gate and street repairs and just wondered how that compares with some of your research.

Carriages at Charleston Place

80 patio homes with dues of $181 a month or $2,172 a year

Cedar Heights Community Association

$602/quarter (or $2,408 annually) for Lot with House. Dues are lower for a Raw Lot. Dues cover operating costs and capital needs (like roads).

Community at Spring Creek

single-family homes pay $46 per month, or $552 annually for trash pickup, common area maintenance and not much else.

Cottonwood Creek Townhome Association

near the corner of Union and Woodmen currently charges $173 per monty or $2,076 per year. HOA dues include water, sewer, trash, recycling, landscape maintenance and snow removal. We maintain a swimming pool and tennis courts for the homeowners.

Discovery Homeowners Association

$30 a year, plus a voluntary $20 for police protection

Dublin Manor Condominium Association

managed by Haley Realty dues are  $ 2,254 per year or $286.56 per month.  This includes ABSOSLUTELY NOTHING!  No clubhouse, no swimming pool, no security checking the premises, no block get togethers, not even a playground of any sort for the children.  It has been painted one time since 1997.  They mow the grass and shovel the sidewalks

Eagle Rock Neighborhood, Inc.

charges a whopping $10/year HOA due.  For that we get an annual members meeting, which we held just yesterday, a real sense of community, a neighborhood watch and a board of 10 volunteers to address any member’s concerns.

Eagles Nest Homeowners Association

Dues 155$ per month or $1,860 a year.  This gets you commons areas maintenance, lawn care (however, water billing for sprinklers is your cost), fence repair, maintenance of drainages & thru-hood sidewalks & paths, and snow removal.    This HOA is up around the Vindicator & GardenGods zone, north of Intel. 

Erindale Townhomes

Erindale Townhomes (off Vickers & Academy behind Bally’s and Taco Bell). The complex is managed by Haley Realty. My dues are $191 a month or $2,292 a year and that covers water, sewer, trash, and all outside maintenance. The dues were $169 last year but took a huge leap due to the increase in water costs. The complex is well maintained and the association has initated some xeriscaping this year but I still wonder if my HOA dues are on the high end, especially since my complex has no ammenities beyond RV parking and a basketball hoop, both in an undeveloped corner of the complex.

Fairways Springs Ranch HOA 

Dues are $174.00 a month and $2,088 a year.  They started at $135 a month when the HOA was in legal dispute with a builder in 2003 . I was told because of legal fees. What is included: snow plowing, snow shoveling the walks leading to our door, lawn care (postage stamp sized yards in the back only), insurance on the outer structure, painting when it’s needed (around every two years) and legal fees.  There is no recreation center, and although we sit on a golf course dues are not included. It is so utterly frustrating I can’t stand it.

Fifteenth Fairway Townhome Owners Association

Near Valley Hi, dues are $125 a month or $1,500 a year

Fountain Valley Ranch  Home Owners Association, Filing 4A and 4B

 We have a five member Association board of directors that looks after all the areas of responsibility.  We have 76 homes  in our association.  Annual dues per home owner is $66.50.  There is also an Association funded Neighborhood Watch Program with block captains in each of four sectors with a Neighborhood Watch coordinator  who maintains a  liaison with the Sheriff’s Department.

Flying Horse Master HOA

$900 a year

Friendship-Crescent-Mesa Neighborhood Association (FCMNA)

Dues are $35 a year for the association of 70 single family properties near the intersection of Fillmore/Fontero Drive and Mesa Road (near Holmes Middle School).  We do not own common property. Activities include an annual picnic, winter party, yard sale, FireWise yard clean up days, and a few social clubs.

Gleneagle North

$100 per year

Gleneagle Filing No.3                                                                       75 homes in the neighborhood, dues are $300 per year. 

Gold Hill I HOA Inc.
Dues: $200.00 per month or $2,400 a year.

Golden Hills HOA

in Rockrimmon, with covenants recorded in 1972.  Dues at that time were $75 per year, and at this time continue at that same rate.  While an effort is ongoing to increase those dues to cover escalating expenses, nothing has been changed at this date.

The dues cover maintenance of the Association common area, which covers slightly over 80 acres, insurance, mowing, community signs,various supplies, several events such as a semi-annual garage sale, a summer event (this year an ice cream social and magician), Halloween Trunk or Treat event, Chirstmas lighting contest and lights in the association park.  A community web-site is hosted plus a newsletter that is mailed 4 times each year.  Attorneys fees are a necessity, especially currently when an owner is suing the HOA claiming ownership of a portion of the common area (that belongs to all deed holders) through Adverse Possession. We have an involved and informed board of directors of 8 people, plus a number of volunteers who assist with many services.

Greencrest Homeowners Association

northeast Palmer Park, pays $30 per year, and dues are voluntary.

Grove at Briargate Townhome Association

Pay $230 monthly dues or $2,990 a year

Hearthwood Townhomes

pay $136.50 a month or $1,638 a year. The property manager is MSI.

Highlands at Springs Ranch

278 houses where dues are $130 a year

Indigo Ranch at Stetson Hills

Dues are $200 a year and that includes around $100 for trash service. Hammersmith Management Co.

Kings Deer Master

King’s Deer HOA is $300 a year. This income from our 531 lots provides the HOA with a full time business office with one employee to manage the HOA business, including covenant enforcement, managing the common area maintenance, records management, finances, etc. The dues also pays for maintenance of our common areas which I estimate at about 60 acres; this includes a sports field and playground. King’s Deer also maintain six nicely landscaped entries into the community.

Kissing Camels

dues for a single family residence in the master Kissing Camels Property Owners Association is $170 per month or $2,040 annually

Knolls at Spring Ranch

298 homes with dues of $150 per year plus a $40 annual special maintenance assessment

La Bellezza at Peregrine

47 homes pay $305 master annual dues plus $275 monthly or $3,300 a year for a total $3,605, landscaping and private street maintenace

Lexington Park HOA

Dues are $125.39 a month or $1,504.68 a year. operated by Z & R Property Mgmt

Mirrillion Townhome Association

Mirrillion Townhomes is a 14 unit townhome complex with dues of $130 a month or $1,560 a year. It’s at the top of 20th Street off of Unitah.  There are three more units in the first stage that are new with plans to build 8 more units shortly, which will probably be set up as condominiums, but will be the same as the townhomes.

Mission Cove Townhome Owners Association

A gated townhome community of 20 units that pay dues of $285 a month or $3,420 a year

Mountain Shadows Community Association

Voluntary master association requests $25 a year

Northgate Highlands Homeowners Association

Dues are $95 per quarter or $380 a year which includes trash pickup, common area maintenance, and administration. We also pay $62 to Wasson Properties which maintains the common area median from Interquest to Northgate along Voyager but not within our HOA community. They do not maintain the street or remove the snow.  The “fee” was recently raised from $37 to $62 under the pretext that the cost of watering was to increase. The neighborhood consists of 321 homes, built from 2001-2007.  The dues cover maintenance and landscaping of all common areas, weekly garbage pick-up (including use of a large wheeled garbage can), insurance, neighborhood community events (advertising for our annual garage sale, movie nights, Sky Sox games, etc) “Yard-of-the-month” awards, “Best holiday lights” awards, “Welcome baskets” for new neighbors, a quarterly newsletter, all community governance (yes, this means covenants are enforced!) and the small salary paid to our very competent Administrative Assistant.

North Range at Springs Ranch HOA

 Springs Ranch has about 11 separate HOAs under one master HOA. This is where it gets complicated:  
 Some 511 home comprise North Range, one of the separately managed HOAs, and our dues total of $130 a year.  North Range is presently charged $40 per home as our portion of the master association maintenance (SRMA). So our management company attempts to collect $130.00 from each home (can we say the economy stinks and foreclosures abound ?) and sends $40 of that sum to SRMA, leaving $90.00 to North Range for all other expenses: Management, insurance, maintenance and repair of the 5 easements that lie within North Range, newsletters and homeowner info, etc.
  North Range at Springs Ranch HOA, Inc is managed by Courtney and Courtney and pays in full each year the SRMA portions as they become due regardless of state of our internal finances and needs. We post online, send budget reports with each letter that invites all homeowners to the Annual Meeting, post and openly welcome any homeowner to the regular meetings, and enforce the CC&Rs to maintain the value of the area.
 

Old Broadmoor Road Condominium Association

50-unit condo complex where dues are $250 per month or $3,000 a year (Manager: Courtney & Courtney) which includes structure insurance, exterior maintenance of homes except decks which are owner’s responsibility, lawn care & maintenance, and trash pickup weekly.  I am amazed that some HOA residents do not know more about their HOA Budgets, etc.  They should attend meetings or run for a Board Vacancy or ask for a copy of their budgets to learn about where their money is going and why.  They need to know about escrows for future expenses, and many other items.

Parkside at Mountain Shadows

$107 per month or $1,284 a year.

Peregrine Master

$305 a year for the master association which counts 850 homes. Three sub-associations bring the total in Peregrine to 1006 homes.

Pinecliff Homeowners Association

$30 per year voluntary dues, 30-year-old neighborhood of 600 homes

Pinon Glen HOA

across Pinon Valley Road from the Rockrimmon Post Office.

We have 72 homes in our development, and our dues are $165 a month or $1,980 a year. When the development started 10 years ago, dues were $120, then $150, and about 3 yrs. ago went to $165. 

 For that we get:  All yard maintenance, including water for the sprinkler systems, trash pickup, snow removal, all maintenance for the exterior of our homes which will eventually include roof replacement.

 The HOA has recently done mud-jacking of driveways and sidewalks that needed it, and replacement of concrete where needed.  We have a small clubhouse with a full kitchen which can be used by anyone if the event is open to all residents.

Pinon Springs Condominium Association

located off Picturesque Circle in Village Seven. Dues are based on the square footage of condominium design. The largest unit pays $239 per month or $2,868 a year; next in size pays $225.00; $215; $208 and the smallest which is a nice ranch style is $156 or $1,872. These are current rates having gone up on November 1, 2008. This was a 10 percent increase.

Pleasant Valley Neighborhood Association

$20 annual dues, 600 homes, 150 members

Raintree Springs Association

Raintree Springs is a complex of 28 buildings with four townhomes in each building near Academy and Flintridge. Our monthly dues are now $154 or $1,848 a year, but are tentatively scheduled to increase to $161 next calender year or $1,932 a year. With that income we are maintaining a swimming pool and buildings that are approximately 35 years old. Dues include water, sewer and trash removal charges for the entire complex. Since I help put together the annual budget each year, I of course feel that we are keeping the dues as low as we possibly can, and still be able to maintain the complex.

Raven Hills Homeowner’s Association

Dues are $60 per year and cover mowing of a neighborhood park and other common grounds and maintenance of a playground

Ridgeview at Stetson Hills Master HOA

dues are currently $121 annually (just barely over $10 monthly).  Services include maintenance of the Common areas (landscaping, snow removal, trash removal, utility bills, fence replacement and staining, and so on, Property Management (billing, assistance with Covenant enforcement, infraction notices, etc…), Legal fees, a quarterly newsletter, maintenance of a web site, and some other miscellaneous items. 

Saddleback at Newport Heights Townhome

A 48-unit townhome complex with dues of $191 a month or $2,291 a year

Saddleback Townhomes

 at the corner of Austin Bluffs and Templeton Gap) dues are $185 a month or $2,220 a year, we don’t have any amenities like clubhouse, pool, playgrounds, etc. but do have substantial, park-like landscaping which costs us about $2000 a month year round PLUS snow removal extra.

Sanctuary at Peregrine

60 homes with annual dues of $305 master, $1,224 annual to the sub association or a total $1,529 plus $135 snow removal fee

Smoketree Townhomes in Briargate

Dues are $145 a month or $1,740 a year. No pools, no tennis courts, no annual parties, no playground.  Our dues include maintenance of common areas, repainting/paving the drives  

Stepping Stones HOA condos

north of 21st and Uintah, dues are $180 per month or $2,160 and include: water, management company fees, lawn maintenance/mowing, snow removal and sidewalk shoveling in winter, trash pickup, condo building insurance, roof repairs and general maintenance.

Spires Drainage HOA 

Dues 25$ per month oe $300 a year.  This was the original Spires area development company, for upper Cheyenne Mountain, and is now converted into a standard HOA.  They maintain & lawn care the commons areas (mostly like flag-lot corners), and are supposed to maintain the two-to-four large drainage system, which deliver & control flood waters from the mountain.  At present, they also have an ACC Architectural Control Committee which screens new house plans, and approves all major landscaping and external house modifications or changes.  This group still maintains liability insurance, and legal cover, for any future damages due to drainage failures.  The original Spires Development Corporation is now defunct & extinct, and only exists as an insurance entity, until their legal-liability time expires, in roughly 4+years. 

Spring Grove Homeowners Association

the Spring Grove subdivision is located between Hwy 115/Spring Meadows (E & W sides) and Lake Avenue and Cheyenne Mountain Boulevard (N & S sides): townhouse or so-called row-houses, they havet partial common walls with neighbors – dues are $970.70 per quarter or $3,886.80 per year in HOA dues.  The principal elements of that amount comprise the landscaping, water costs (which went up significantly this year, thanks to CSU’s new water rates), road maintenance, snow removal and the night guard at the gate.

Spring Lane Homeowners Association

the 83 homes on Dawn Break Loop southeast side of Valley Hi Golf Course bordered by Chelton and Afternoon Circle are $70 per month or $840 a year, unchanged since they were raised from $65.oo in November 2006.  For that, members receive snow removal from Dawn Break Loop and all the cul-de-sacs, lawn maintenance, trash pickup,  and street maintenance.

Springs Ranch Homeowners Association

dues are $100 per year which is unchanged in 10 years 

Stonebridge at Cedar Heights

$3,133 annually

Stratton Pines

$3,600 annually

Stratton Preserve Estates

$2,208 annually

Sundance at Greencrest

dues are $2,280 a year to service 34 units. We have no clubhouse or pool. These dues cover everything outside the units, including the private street

Sweetwater Ridge Homeowners Association

Our dues here are $225 a month or $2,700 a year. We have 21 homes here finished & 23 vacant lots.

Toscano at Flying Horse

$6,000 a year

Townhomes at Rockrimmon The Residents

Our dues are currently $210 per month or $2,520 a year. The dues were $115 per month when I moved in June 1993. The complex has a clubhouse with pool, hot tub and game room, office and maintenance area; two tennis courts, not very much visitor parking a

Valley Hi Condominium Association

48 condos in four buildings catering to seniors, 55-years and older paying $212 a month or $2,554 per year 

Victoria Village at Colorado Springs Homeowners Association

$141 a month or $1,692 a year

Villages at Peregrine

49 homes pay $305 a year to the master HOA and $190.46 a month or $2,285.52 a year

Village Seven Homeowners Association Master

$250 annual dues

Villa Sierra Condominium Association

Our community at 1100 Fontmore Road is comprised of 200 units, one bedroom, two bedroom, and three bedroom.  Most are either 2 or 3 bedroom.  When the charter was first drawn up over 30 years ago, the dues varied according to the size of the unit.  Thus our fees currently range from $137 to $285 a month or $1,644 to $3,420 per year.  This covers water usage, insurance on the units, maintenance of the properties including the common areas, grass mowing, landscaping care, snow removal.  We have two full-time maintenance people plus some occasional part-time persons.  Also we have a guard on duty 24 hours a day at the gate.

Villas at Log Hollow

part of the Broadmoor Resort Community Association. A townhome community consisting of 41 units.  Our dues are $495 per month or $5,940 a year and cover insurance, yard maintenance, snow removal, and manned security at the front gate.

Wagon Trails Recreation Association

Dues are $250 a year, include pool, splash park, wading pool, tennis court, basketball court, green space, social events including movie nights, barbecue dinner, ice cream social for 948 homes.

Windjammer Community

dues are $75 per quarter or $300 a year for trash w/total recycling, maintenance of common areas, 2 yearly roll-offs, and scheduled private security patrol.  It also sponsors our yearly yard sale.

Windjammer Pointe Townhomes

Near Valley Hi Golf Course, dues are $130 a month, increasing $5 in November to $1,620 a year, 65 units, small playground, basketball court, couple picnic tables

Wolf Ranch Owners Association Master

Dues are $22 a month or $264 a year and includes trash pickup

Woodbridge Townhome Owners Association

64 units on 10 acres off Broadmoor Valley Road built in 1981 with dues of $265 a month or $3,180 per year

Woodmoor Improvement Association

Dues $209 a year, 2,967 residences, administrative staff of 3 fulltime and 1 part time accountant, one barn, ACC, common areas covenant protection and forestry, over 2,000 acres, 51 miles of roads, 7 fulltime public safety staff patrol 24-7

Woodmoor Park Townhomes

$125 a month or $1,500 a year, pays for snow removal and trash, no amenities

HOA DUES – where do your dues rank? is a post from: Side Streets

Size, when it comes to neighborhoods, doesn’t matter in Colorado Springs. At least not in conversations about protecting character and unique qualities of the places people live.

The City Council declared on Tuesday that small, unique areas within larger neighborhoods can be identified as their own little entities and are worthy of being protected from incompatible development projects.

Want to see it for yourself? Go to www.Springsgov.com and go to SpringsTV where you will find the council meeting waiting for viewing. Select “Item 12 – Horizon View” to fast forward to the Rawles Open Space Neighborhood’s appeal hearing.

                                    Or follow this link and when the media player pops up, under “View” drag down to “File Markers” and drop down to “ Item 12 - Horizon View.”

 It’s fascinating viewing for neighborhood enthusiasts.

Dave Munger, pictured left, president of the Council of Neighbors & Organizations, an umbrella group for all Springs neighborhoods, asked the simple question: What is a neighobrhood and who decides?

The answer may have surprised some.

Led by Vice Mayor Larry Small, left, the council gave a clear answer: Size doesn’t matter when it comes to protecting the character of neighborhoods.

Tiny pockets of homes, like the Rawles Open Space Neighborhood, are distinct from the larger neighborhoods that most would recognize. In this case, the Mesa Neighborhood Association.

The council’s declaration is significant because it shielded the Rawles group from a modern, five-house subdivision proposed on five acres in the area.

The developer, Dr. Kristine Hembre, left, told the council she considers the Rawles Open Space an “eyesore” that she intended to improve by building her houses.

Read more about it below in my April 26th post.

=============================================

SIZE DOESN’T MATTER after all is a post from: Side Streets