Future scoping workshop: Developed Landscaping

Sunland Division 17/Sunland North “Future-Scoping” Workshop— Developed Landscaping

June 18, 2020
Zoom Virtual Meeting, 3:00 – 4:00 pm

Background

The second Sunland Division 17 (Sunland North) long-range planning workshop was held on Thursday, June 18, from 3:00 to 4:00 pm. The topic was the developed landscaping adjoining and between our units. This workshop is part of a series intended to solicit ideas from the community on how to balance the present and future demands for the Association’s time, funds, and volunteers. Landscaping encompasses expenditures (of time and funds) within the context of affordable assessments, needed set-asides for Reserves, and operating funds that have to be spent on other issues such as exterior maintenance, insurance, etc. The purpose is to start thinking about the future, 3-5 years out, and where we want to be as a community. No decisions are made at these workshops, and all ideas are encouraged.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions on group gatherings, the workshop was held via Zoom video conference call. Owners were invited via email, as well as announcements and discussion at earlier Board meetings. The established format is to keep these sessions to just one hour, as a focused yet reasonable time commitment from participants. There were seven participants, including three board members. This was a smaller than anticipated turn-out, possibly related to owners being hesitant about the Zoom video call format, people not reading their email, or possibly needing an additional reminder on the day of the call.

Introduction

As discussion leader, Board Secretary Lawrence Charters displayed a bar graph illustrating the Association’s significant annual landscaping expenditures. Costs have steadily increased over time, in part because of the increased number of units each year; increased labor costs for the landscaping contractor, including mandated higher minimum wage and worker safety measures; and the more challenging landscape maintenance requirements of the newer units in Mt. Baker Circle. Additional increased costs are expected moving forward because of the landscaping originally installed by the builder: trees planted too close to units, driveways and sidewalks are getting too big and will need to be removed; aging trees and shrubs and whether to replace; and a problematic irrigation system the Association inherited from the builder.

Comments

Comments from participants, not judged or evaluated, in roughly the order in which they were offered:

• Value of living here is that things are well-maintained; both building and landscape maintenance need to be done well;
• We’re currently in year one of a three-year contract with our landscape company. They have been our landscape maintenance company for many years, are very familiar with the community, and were the low bidder when we solicited proposals last year;
• Cost is one issue, but in smaller, off-the-beaten-track community like Sequim it can also be hard to find someone to even provide the services you’re looking for (like landscape maintenance), and not necessarily as competitive of an environment as you’d see in major population centers;
• Like much of the HOA’s work, landscape maintenance is managed by community volunteers; the cost of landscape maintenance needs to acknowledge their time and goodwill, as well as the dollar cost expended;
• It’s possible for two neighbors to split a volunteer position, as is currently being done for Landscape Coordinator: one person is lead during the summer, and a partner neighbor takes over in the winter;
• Last year ten trees had to be removed because they had been planted close to buildings and had grown too big, and more will need to be removed in the future; it’s expensive and generally, nobody likes to lose a tree, but cheaper than repairing concrete or siding or roofs or gutters;
• Up to five sprinkler heads per month are having to be replaced; if damaged by the landscape contractor, they replace at their own expense;
• The overall goal should be low-maintenance, drought-resistant plantings, to help hold down costs;
• Our community has a beautiful park-like setting; harmonious appearance and uniformly attractive;
• The CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions) do not specify what standard of landscaping is required, depends on available budget and Board decisions;
• People like the serene, tidy, park-like appearance of the community;
• Per Division 17 Rules & Regulations, Appendix B, owners can at their own expense change landscaping with advance permission; but individual plantings then require owner maintenance and this responsibility becomes a problem when not communicated to subsequent buyers as part of the real estate transfer (“chain of custody” issue);
• Per Division 17 Rules & Regulations, Appendix B, landscape areas within “enclosed” patios must be maintained by the owner, and this responsibility becomes a problem when not communicated to subsequent buyers as part of the real estate transfer (“chain of custody” issue);
• Need to clarify in Rules & Regulations, Appendix B, whether “enclosed” areas, which become owner responsibility, not HOA’s, means just gated, or whether also includes partially enclosed patios;
• There’s lots of info in the Association’s governing documents and on the Sunland North Website about landscaping, who does what, how to flag needed service or request permission to make changes, but people don’t seem to read it;
• Would quarterly “new owner orientation” sessions help people absorb and understand information and processes better (initially overwhelmed when moving into a new community)? Maybe seasonal email and newsletter reminders, as well as an “owners’ update session” at the change of each season (blend with something social, like wine & cheese?);
• The HOA is not a hired service, it’s is a collection of neighbors helping each other for our shared benefit; landscape maintenance needs to be kept affordable, and people need to help keep costs down; important to manage expectations;
• Related note: Volunteers are not employees; they are neighbors donating their time and expertise;
• To reduce costs, could HOA establish some minimum level of maintenance it provides—possibly even reduced from the current level—with the option for owners to undertake more at their own expense, as long as consistent with better- articulated HOA guidelines and with Association permission? (as was allowed with bark application this year);
• There have been volunteer “work parties” of neighbors who picked up trash along the highway bordering Sunland North, cleared weeds out of the space next to the RV park, planted flowers and repainted the entrance sign, etc., which helps hold down what would otherwise be increased landscape maintenance costs;
• Maybe pathway next to RV Park should be replaced by lawn, easier to maintain if just needed to be mowed;
• Some people want to maintain on their own the shrubs and trees near their unit; so far that has worked okay, as long as people have the tools and seem to know what they’re doing (so they don’t damage a tree or shrub that the Association then needs to pay to replace);
• Mt. Baker area is particularly challenging because builder put units so close together— makes it harder for the landscape contractor to maneuver; developer also used a large amount of bark in that area, which will require regular replacement (vs. lawn that would just be mowed);
• Bark is a major cost; current Association policy is to set aside funds every year in order to accumulate enough to apply every 3rd year; had been planned for 2020 but was postponed until 2021;
• Bark application would be done in February by the landscape contractor, during what is otherwise their downtime; but need to commit earlier for the contractor to schedule labor;
• Per landscaping contract, most shrubs and trees are trimmed in January, when they are dormant, and fast-growing shrubs are trimmed a second time during the summer;
• Some shrubs have to be trimmed prior to repainting (too close to homes);
• Winter heather seems to have been trimmed wrong time of year, eliminating anticipated winter color;
• People (including the developer) shouldn’t plant lavender, it gets woody after a couple of years and needs to be removed;
• Maybe there could be an annual landscaping inspection team, like there is for exterior maintenance, to document landscaping issues that need attention;
• Combined landscape maintenance costs are a big Association expense, but annual budgeted amount not unreasonable compared to what one would pay on their own individually;
• A suggestion that bark in Mt. Baker circle be replaced, at least in part, with low-maintenance ground cover.

Lawrence thanked the participants and promised notes from the session would be made available on the Sunland North Website, for planning purposes and future reference.

Many thanks to Barbara Broomer for her notes and photo of the meeting.