Dan Sturmon
Center Pointe Neighborhood
This month’s article is written by Dan Sturmon, the Vistoso Community Association (VCA) Secretary and Architectural Landscape Review Committee (ALRC) Chair.
The Architectural Landscape Review Committee (ALRC) is responsible for recommending and monitoring common area maintenance and improvement issues that support the mission, values, and strategic goals of VCA. These recommendations are aligned with and support enforcement of the Conditions, Covenants, and Rights (CC&Rs) and Design Guidelines, along with the adopted paint colors and plant list of the Vistoso Community Association (VCA). The committee helps keep our neighborhoods looking the way they were intended and why many people purchase property in Rancho Vistoso.
The role of the ALRC is so vital to maintaining our neighborhoods, that it is the only committee mandated by Arizona law and must be chaired by a member of the board of directors (BOD). This committee advises the BOD how to invest in infrastructure such as landscaping, park amenities, painting of common area walls, etc. A major objective of the BOD this year is to invest more in aging infrastructure and the ALRC’s recommendations are vital when dealing with a community approaching 30 years of age.
In addition to overseeing maintenance of community infrastructure, the ALRC also oversees homeowner and commercial member property improvements. Since January 2022, the ALRC has reviewed (approved or denied) over 258 homeowner improvement requests covering an array of projects from backyard pool construction to needed exterior residential /business painting.
The ALRC is currently updating the Association’s Architectural and Landscape Design Guidelines to make it more user-friendly, and comply with current state and federal regulations. The landscaping criteria for residential/common areas are being clarified, along with more accurate description of approved community desert plantings.
In mid-2021, the ALRC created a Parks and Landscape (P&L) sub-committee. The purpose was to provide additional focus on parks and common areas, allowing the balance of the ALRC committee to focus on residential and commercial properties.
While the VCA Reserve Study leads the association in determining when to replace park amenities, the P&L committee is actively engaged in reviewing and recommending to the BOD the type of playground equipment and furniture that should be purchased. The VCA is investing $170,000 this year in new equipment and furniture at six park locations: Big Wash, Sunset Ridge, Wildlife Ridge, Woodshade Trail, Vistoso Heights Lost Coyote Trail, and Mesquite Crest Lost Coyote Trail.
Another P&L committee priority is to complete design plans to renovate the Rancho Vistoso Boulevard four entry monuments with an emphasis in implementing water conservation measures.
The ALRC consists of volunteers from the community and are seated annually by the BOD. It meets the second Wednesday of the month at 3 PM. The P&L sub-committee meets the first Thursday of the month at 3 PM. Please join one of our meetings to learn more about how we support the Rancho Vistoso community.