By Alec McCorquodale ? letters to the editor
As an established resident and homeowner at Hidden Valley Lake (HVL), I have been concerned for a long time about the outward appearance of many of the properties here. Too many homeowners have allowed their properties to become cluttered with unsightly possessions, poorly maintained or nonexistent landscaping and in some cases garbage. Chronic violations of our covenants, conditions and restrictions in this area are widespread. A few properties are particularly offensive. It appears to me that our safety and security department is making little or no effort to enforce existing rules. This leads me to question the priorities of the board of directors.
Surely, I should not need to point out that our home values are strongly affected by the outward appearance of our entire community. This is not a problem of a just a few flagrant violators, it is also an issue of a general slipping of standards where one homeowner”s liberties with the rules leads to neighbors doing the same. This leads to a downward spiral of community standards and property values, particularly when enforcement of standards becomes lax or nonexistent.
The Hidden Valley Lake Board is currently considering a change to the CC & Rs to allow garbage cans being stored outside in plain view. I strongly feel that this is a step in exactly the wrong direction, writing into our rules the very kind of problem that is causing our home values and community pride to diminish.
I have also noticed that several of the HVL Board members are currently in violation of the concealed garbage can rule. They are now considering repealing this rule. Whether they agree with the rule or not, they should be conforming to existing standards, especially considering their standing in the community.
I would appreciate the HVL Board thinking more about the community they are pledged to support, rather than eliminating basic standards that they don”t care about or are too lazy to follow.
Alec McCorquodale
Hidden Valley Lake
