Log in

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

CC&R enforcement in Sun Cities proves complicated

Arizona law, community rules shows some evolution

Posted 10/25/21

Like other Arizona residents living in homeowners or other associations, Sun Cities residents live under a list of rules called covenants, conditions and restrictions.

You must be a member to read this story.

Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.


Already have an account? Log in to continue.

Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here

Otherwise, follow the link below to join.

To Our Valued Readers –

Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.

For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.

Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.

Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.

Sincerely,
Charlene Bisson, Publisher, Independent Newsmedia

Please log in to continue

Log in
I am anchor
SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

CC&R enforcement in Sun Cities proves complicated

Arizona law, community rules shows some evolution

Posted

Like other Arizona residents living in homeowners or other associations, Sun Cities residents live under a list of rules called covenants, conditions and restrictions.

These rules govern what homeowners can and cannot do with and on their properties. The CC&Rs supplement the ordinances of the community in which the HOA is located. Since the Sun Cities are unincorporated areas of Maricopa County, the county ordinances govern those communities.

But cities, towns and counties do not enforce CC&Rs in specific HOAs as in most cases they go beyond the scope of municipalities’ ordinances. In addition, each HOA’s CC&Rs are different.

These rules and their implementation can be confusing for new residents unfamiliar with the HOA process, and even long-term residents.

This is especially true in the Sun Cities, communities of between 27,000 and nearly 40,000 residents. In addition to the Sun City Home Owners Association, which enforces CC&Rs for single family homes, there are 384 condominium associations in Sun City and more than 200 in Sun City West.

“The average association size is 25-30 units. The largest is 100-plus,” Jerry Walczak, Condo Owners Association of Sun City board president, explained in an email. “The smallest is four units!”

While 90% of condo association CC&Rs are similar, and closely match the CC&R enforcement authority in each Sun City community, there are some difference. The enforcement agency in Sun City is SCHOA and in Sun City West it is the Recreation Centers of Sun City West.

“The Arizona Condominium Act gives the ability for each association to enforce compliance through violation notices and fees, including attorney costs,” Walczak stated.

In Sun City, associations requesting assistance in enforcement is less than 1%, according to Walczak.

“I have been at the COA for nine years and have not heard of any association asking for help from SCHOA,” he added.

Much of the confusion of CC&Rs could be cleared up with a single set covering all homes for the respective communities.

“I think the biggest plus for SCHOA is one set of CC&Rs and a standard that the organization follows year after year through their enforcement department,” Walczak stated. “Condos have ‘new’ boards yearly in many associations and most associations do not have continuity.”

There are also no enforcement departments in condo associations that follow the same rules and regulations year after year.

“Documents do not change, but people do and everyone interprets somewhat differently,” he added.

Sun City West residents have seen a change in the enforcement agency in the last several years as RCSCW took over that chore. At one time the rec centers shared the responsibility with Property Owners and Residents Association, with RCSCW paying PORA about $60,000 per year and providing membership data updates to PORA to handle complaints about items such as weed growth, fence heights and others. Rec centers officials handled age-restriction violations and legal issues arising from repeated lack of compliance, according to a press release.

Ralph Johnson, PORA board president, stated in an email PORA did not have the ability to initiate legal action when all other enforcement efforts failed.

“The layout of the bylaws of Sun city West vested the legal authority to pursue violations solely with the Recreation Centers of Sun city West to file a lawsuit against the property owner,” he stated in an email.

After a number of years sharing the responsibilities, it was deemed to be more administratively prudent and efficient for the rec center to perform the entire CC&R function,” he added.

“SCHOA could complete the entire cycle of taking legal action, which was the difference between our two organizations,” Johnson stated.

CC&R enforcement in both Sun Cities is complaint-based, although compliance officers can investigate issues they see while in the field dealing with others. RCSCW utilizes one full-time lead and three part-time employees while SCHOA has three compliance officers, one for each phase of the community. Both agencies send three notices to alleged violators requesting compliance. If they are not cleared up after the third notice other measures, including legal action, can be implemented.

When it took over the enforcement, RCSCW inherited more than 400 open cases, according to James Riley, CC&R Department manager. In early October there were 28 cases in stage 1, 10 in stage 2, six in stage 3 and eight that are escalated or at the legal level.

“We resolve about the same number monthly,” Riley stated in an email.

SCHOA officials in September took in 471 new violations, closed 348 and still have 623 open violations on the books, according to Tom Wilson, SCHOA compliance manager. Monthly reports at SCHOA board meetings indicate this is a typical example of the cases handled by the Compliance Department.

RCSCW has an annual budget of $141,000 for its CC&R enforcement department, according to Riley, while SCHOA spends about $100,000, according to Wilson.

While residents may find CC&Rs confining, they exist to help residents enjoy a good lifestyle and keep property values high, according to CC&R enforcement officials.

“The goal is to keep Sun City West as a premier retirement community,” Riley stated. “Keeping properties properly maintained also results upholding and increasing property values.”

Without CC&Rs, Wilson stated Sun City would cease to be Sun City as it is known now.

“The property values would go way down and we would most likely loose our age overlay, which would open Sun City to anyone with children that want to live here,” Wilson stated.

Sun Cities residents have an example of what can happen if the community standards are not upheld. Youngtown was an age-restricted community before Sun City. But because town officials did not enforce that age restriction as much as necessary, the town lost the age overlay in 1998. For a period of time thereafter, the community took on a different makeup in age diversity, property values and crime level.

“CC&R compliance is paramount,” Walczak stated “Look at Youngtown.”

While Youngtown never regained its age restriction, town leaders, including Mayor Mike LeVault and a succession of like-minded council members, improvements have given the town a more positive impression in the region.

News Editor Rusty Bradshaw can be reached at rbradshaw@newszap.com or follow him on Twitter @SunCitiesEditor.