May 2022 E-Mail Newsletter

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Board of Directors May 2022

May 13, 2022 No Comments
Hello Vistoso Community Association Members!

My name is Gayle Lopez and it is my pleasure to serve as your president.  I wanted to take this opportunity to share a little about myself and the direction of our community.

My husband Bill and I purchased our first home in the Vistoso Hills neighborhood in 2006.  We are both from the Chicago area and upon retirement in 2018 it became apparent we needed more space for friends and family to visit.  In 2021, we moved into our current home in the neighborhood of Honey Bee Ridge. 

Your Board of Directors plans to focus on the following areas:

  1. Attention to Infrastructure – Portions of our community are approaching 30 years old and need attention.  For example, large drainage mitigation projects are needed, as well as repairing the street lights on Rancho Vistoso Boulevard.  Careful financial planning and management is necessary to address our aging community.  Also, our Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs) contain language that is obsolete, confusing, and no longer relevant.  Updating them will require 75% approval by members. 
  2. Increased Transparency – The Vistoso Community Association (VCA) board can and will share more information with community members.  Committee reports and other non-confidential information will be sent to the community along with the monthly meeting agenda so that they can be better prepared to participate in board meetings.
  3. Inclusive Decision Making – The VCA board is here to serve its members.  The “Homeowner Forum” portion of the board meeting has been moved up closer to the beginning of the agenda, so that board members can hear from members of our community before any decisions are made. 
  4. Create a Sense of Community – Definition:  A feeling that members have of belonging, that members matter to one another, and they share a faith that members’ needs will be met through commitments of other members.  Some places I have lived there was that “sense of community” and other places not.  I find places that do, are more enjoyable places to live. I want to help Rancho Vistoso build a stronger sense of community.  I was fortunate to meet some of you at the “Spring Into Summer Community Event”, on Saturday, April 30th.  I hope to meet more of you at other events throughout the year. Do you have any ideas on how to build a stronger sense of community?  If so, please share them by emailing [email protected]

A volunteer organization is only as strong as its volunteers.  We have a great team of board members, committee members, and staff.  Please consider sharing your time and talents helping make Rancho Vistoso an even greater place to live. 

Gayle Lopez

President

Meet your neighbor May 2022

May 13, 2022 No Comments

Welcome to the first article of Meet Your Neighbor. In the spirit of building community, we will be highlighting one of your Rancho Vistoso neighbors and capturing aspects their unique lives that make up the diversity of our community.

Meet Ulla Warner – Vistoso Hills Neighborhood

If you were to sit down and have a cup of coffee with Ulla, you wouldn’t have to worry about finding interesting topics to talk about. Ulla’s perspective on life has been influenced by her international background and multitude of experiences.

Born and educated in Germany, Ulla has been a competitive tennis player, business manager in Germany, a standby interpreter for a Pakistani Ambassador, owner of multiple Baskin Robbins ice cream stores, a travel agent for 35 years, and most recently, a prolific painter and quilter. One of the many fun facts of Ulla’s life is at the age of 18 she was in a Frankfurt bar and danced with Elvis Presley. Ulla will confirm that Elvis was the most handsome man she has ever met!

Ulla and her husband Jim have been living in Rancho Vistoso since 1999, back when the closest grocery store was 5 miles away. Prior to moving to Vistoso, Ulla and Jim lived in Bellevue, Washington for 35 years. She first discovered the beauty of Tucson while attending the opening of the El Conquistador Hotel in the early 1980s.

Working as a travel agent allowed Ulla and Jim to travel extensively, visiting over 100 countries and helping organize world rallies. When Ulla was 65, her and Jim participated in a challenging rally sponsored by her brother that went from Singapore to Heidelberg. Unfortunately, the timing of the rally coincided with the rainy season in Asia and Ulla had to contend with floods and torrential storms. But her most vivid memory of that time – being held up at gun point in the mountains of Laos.

With all this world experience, Ulla will tell you that her favorite place to be is right here in Rancho Vistoso. Why? Ulla relishes in the unobstructed mountain views and tranquility of living in our serene and safe neighborhood. “Lead your life the way you want to,” is Ulla’s philosophy. “We live in America where we can do that. Never take that for granted.”

Do you have a neighbor we should meet?  Please tell us at [email protected] why you think they would be good to meet and supply the neighbor’s phone number and email address.  Also, be sure to let your neighbor know that you referred them to us. 

Did you know?

May 13, 2022 No Comments

How well do you know where you live? 

Select all that apply.  See answers below.

1. What is the difference between the Rancho Vistoso Planned Area Development (PAD) and the Vistoso Community Association (VCA)?.

a. The VCA is located within the Rancho Vistoso PAD

b. The VCA is the Home Owner’s Association (HOA) for the PAD.

c. A PAD is a large-scale residential, commercial, and industrial development focused on lifestyle, convenience, and quality of life. 

d. All Commercial VCA Members must own commercial property with in the Rancho Vistoso PAD and have tract declarations filed with Pima County designating that the property is part of the VCA.

e. Sun City is within the Rancho Vistoso PAD, but not a member of the VCA.

2. The Vistoso Community Association (VCA) has which of the following responsibilities?

a. Conduct the business of the VCA

b. Build new parks

c. Maintain Common Areas

d. Enforce Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs)

e. Collect Assessments

3. There are 7 members of the VCA board of directors.  These members can be comprised of?

a. home owners

b. vacant property owners

c. commercial property owners

d .apartment owners

e. condo owners

4. How many different types of members are there in the VCA?

a. 1

b. 2

c. 3

d. 4

e. 5

5. What items listed below are common areas or amenities owned by the VCA and its members?

a. 8 pickleball courts

b. 2 tennis courts

c. Street lights along Rancho Vistoso Boulevard

d. Honey Bee Canyon Park

e. Over 6 acres of grass turf

Answers

Question #1

All of the above.  When the Rancho Vistoso PAD was incorporated in 1987, Sun City was purposely carved out of the 7626 acres in the PAD.  Sun City is overseen by its own HOA, but to the same minimum standards as the VCA.  There are ~2500 homes in Sun City.  There are other residential areas within the PAD that have also been excluded from the VCA.  A complete map of the VCA can be found at:

Rancho Vistoso Overview Map – Vistoso Community Association (ranchovistosohoa.com)

Question #2

a, c, d, & e – Per Article 12.5 of our CC&Rs (CCRs-Restated.pdf (ranchovistosohoa.com)) the VCA only has the authority to maintain existing common areas/amenities.  Any changes to common areas would require 2/3 of the membership of each class of members (4739 of 7109 total member votes).

Question #3

All of the above.  Note that the distinction is upon being an owner.  People or businesses that rent or lease property cannot be members of the VCA. This means that they cannot vote in the VCA elections.   In order to be on the VCA board of directors you must be a member of the VCA.  If the property rented is within the VCA geography (e.g., the property owner is a member), the renter has the right to use VCA common areas/amenities.

Question #4

c – There are 3 types of VCA members:  single family (5082 possible votes) *, other than single family (539 possible votes) *, and commercial (1488 votes) *.  The term “other than single family” applies to patio homes, townhomes, condos, etc.  Per Article 3.9 in the VCA Bylaws (Bylaws Amended Restated.pdf (ranchovistosohoa.com)), the 7 board members must be composed of 5 – single family directors, 1 – other than single family director, and 1- commercial director.  * Figures obtained from the March 24, 2022 election results presentation. (2022 Annual Meeting Presentation – Vistoso Community Association (ranchovistosohoa.com)).

Question #5

b, c, & e – Sorry no pickle ball courts, but the Town of Oro Valley (TOV) is building additional courts at Naranja Park.  Honey Bee Canyon Park is within the Rancho Vistoso PAD, but owned by TOV.  Therefore, while VCA members can use the park, it is not for their exclusive use, nor is it maintained by the VCA.  The VCA owns and must maintain the street lights along Rancho Vistoso Boulevard (RVB), the 2 tennis courts in Hohokam Park, and the 6 acres of green grass throughout the VCA.   You may note that other streets in Oro Valley do not have the same density of street lights that RVB does.  These additional lights were part of the PAD requirements.