Miller: Residential building nightmares in my Paradise Valley neighborhood

After reading the Dezelon article I thought I might have unconsciously written it in my sleep.

I live in a Paradise Valley 85253 gated community with an HOA. Among four contiguous construction sites on my street, one house has taken 7.5 years to build and the homeowners still have not moved in. I won’t reiterate the inconvenient disturbances and safety issues that long-term construction imposes on neighbors which were already described by Mr. Dezelon.

But for your information, you’d have a false sense of hope to think that either your Town Council or an HOA would be your advocate or ally. Homeowners Associations have financial incentives to encourage the building of monster-mansions on undersized, difficult-to-build-on lots.

By engaging an HOA you will only become a receptacle for their lip-service, which circumvents their own numerous declarations, bylaws, articles, operating rules, design and architectural guidelines, various committees etc, etc. etc.

Likewise, if a punitive bond were to be surrendered to the HOA there is no guarantee it would be re-purposed for restoration of unsightly damage to contiguous grounds.

Sadly, these mega-mansions are usually the first ones to be abandoned when the economy takes a dip and they are usually the first that end up rotting on hillside lots to become long-term eyesores.

Unfortunately, these seem to be the new operating standards for developing communities.

Editor’s Note: Susan Miller, a lifetime resident of the Valley of the Sun and 36 year resident of Paradise Valley.