This page is dedicated to addressing our most common HOA questions, common rule violations, and addressing concerns that repeatedly come up at every yearly annual meeting of the members. Included is some useful info for potential new home buyers.
Q: Is GVHA a real HOA, and is it really just $50 a year?
A: Even though we are a non-common interest development (most HOAs are a common-interest development with common areas to maintain, hence higher dues), we are a real HOA with an architectural control committee chaired by a licensed Architect, and a registered California corporation with filings with the State and Federal Government, with rules intended to preserve GVHA as an upscale North Poway neighborhood and preserve property values. Membership is mandatory for property owners. Our annual dues (AKA: assessments) have been kept low, thanks to volunteers with legal, accounting, technical, and architectural backgrounds living in the neighborhood volunteering to be on the board (we don’t use the services of a paid HOA management company). We also receive income from transfer fees (when a property sells) and architectural approval fees (for exterior painting or exterior remodeling or landscaping) which have also been kept very low. Another reason for the low dues; we have no common areas to maintain and control, or maintenance services to pay for. Our rules are referred to as our “protective covenants”, which may also be referred to in today’s times as CC&R’s (covenants, conditions, and restrictions). GVHA has the legal authority to encumber your property and fine you if our protective covenants rules are not followed. Historically, our homeowners have been compliant to our rules and a mailed “notification letter to comply” is all we need to do. One thing worth mentioning; our low dues are subject to normal inflation/cost of doing business increases; up to a maximum cap of 1% of the appraised value of your lot. We do hope to always keep dues much lower than this maximum amount.
Q: Why were the protective covenants written by Pacific Iron and Steel?
A: The land was once owned by the husband and wife owners of Pacific Iron and Steel (living in the greater Los Angeles area), as a ranch and as a grow area for experimental citrus and avocado types, hence some of our street names; Orchard Gate, Lime Grove Rd., and Ranch Hollow. Like many other semi-rural areas in Southern California in the 1960s; the land owners teamed with a developer (AKA: “Smitty”) to sell the land as lots for single family custom home building, and recorded our “Protective Covenants” in 1968 for the first phase of delevopment; that we refer to as units 1&2 (lots 1-81).
Unit three lot development (lots 82-117) followed seven years later, with slightly refined Protective Covenant rules. The ranch’s original orchard caretaker’s house (a 1950s California Bungalow style house) can still be seen where Martincoit meets Orchard Gate, now used as a modest private residence. To the immediate south is the old produce packing house. Remnants of old fencing (to prevent citrus/avocado theft) can still be seen on the foot-path off Arroya Vista Rd (behind the oak tree to the south) and on the south side of Boulder Mountain, where Lime Grove Rd continued as a dirt service road and connected to what is now the Del Poniente Rd and Northcrest Ln trail.
Q: What are the main restrictions in Green Valley Highlands?
A: Houses must be single story, as viewed from the street, in units one and two. Unit three has modifications to this restriction (for just a few lots), depending on the lot number. Three car garages are required. Houses are for single family use only (No short-term rentals/party houses.) Exterior alterations that will change the appearance of your house or visible yard require a simple architectural approval process (find the form on our website). Other main restrictions are: no farm animals, and no storage of RVs, trailers, boats, etc. Refer to the rules for more details on this. Homes and yards are required to be “in harmony” with the neighborhood (don’t have a trashy looking yard). Waste cans can’t be left out too long, and are to be stored in a screened area, out of view. Signage (like a realtor’s for sale sign) must be small. (These are only the main restrictions, generally stated, posted mainly for realtors and home shoppers unfamiliar with our protective covenants.) Many other restrictions refer to details of home construction and placement on lots, but with the neighborhood all built out, these would only apply in a remodel.
Q: Are satellite dish antennas allowed?
A: This has often been misunderstood. Satellite dish antennas were not allowed when satellite dish antennas were 8′ diameter. The protective covenants were amended to allow modern dish antennas. But regardless, don’t install one in a position that will be unsightly to your neighbors view (within reason).
Q: What utilities are in the neighborhood?
A: All our utilities are underground. Cox is the only cable provider. You don’t need a dish antenna installed if you choose Cox for cable service. A complete Cox phone/internet/TV package can be pricey. The webmaster has found that just subscribing to Cox preferred high speed internet, then (via a Smart TV or Firestick) subscribing to Amazon, Netflix, HBO, SHO, and Sling for TV and movies, and losing the old home phone costs less than a Cox bundle. The other providers are DIRECTV (using a modern dish antenna) and AT&T for internet and phone. However AT&T is reported to have much slower speeds than Cox internet in GVH. Some homeowners have TV service with DIRECTV and internet with Cox.
Q: Is getting home/fire insurance difficult in Green Valley Highlands?
A: It can be. Our advice: call several carriers. It took the webmaster three years (and four companies) before he found one that had a good, complete policy at a reasonable price. It would probably not hurt to bundle your home insurance with your auto and umbrella policies, to receive a discount and possibly reduce the chance of cancellation.
Q: Regarding fires, when one the last time the area had a burn?
A: On October 29, 1967, in a Santa Ana wind driven fire that started near Ramona airport. A home immediately east of our present day GVH neighborhood (on Acorn Patch Road) was destroyed by the fire and was rebuilt shortly after.
Q: Is Green Valley Highlands a quiet neighborhood?
A: Yes. (We need more families with kids!) The main reason is that we are almost like a gated community, with one way in and out. This also worries us about evacuation in a fire, (see the next question).
Q: Why can’t the City add some emergency access gates to evacuate the Neighborhood to the West? Like where Orchard Gate almost touches Glen Circle.
A: This is a question that comes up at every annual members’ meeting after a wildfire has happened in our state. It’s a good question, it seems like it could be so easy to answer, but board members have repeatedly got the same answer from the city and fire dept. on this idea: Pushing the issue amounts to some foot-work, getting bounced back and fourth between City Planning and Fire, lots of community support, and an assessment to our yearly dues for private planning, construction, and maintenance. It’s best explained in these attachments, that were presented to the city, most recently in early 2019:
emergency exits statement from city fire marshal august 31 2011
evacuation route response from city fire 2019
If anyone in our association would like to take this task on again, please let us know! Past board members have approached the city and fire dept. several times, and have documented the encounters twice. As a start, it would require full neighborhood support, approval of Green Valley Glen’s HOA, and likely a landowner in Green Valley Glen to deed some of his property to the city for the gate and connector road.
Our short answer now, in a wildfire, is evacuate early. It may save your life!
Q: I have some issues about my neighbor’s trees blocking my view, (and possibly being fire hazards too), and/or an unkempt yard in my view:
A: Please talk to your neighbor as a first step. An often successful alternate method; offer to split or cover the cost of trimming tree(s) or shrubs, or cleanup to return your view, if necessary, assuming you are the beneficiary of the view. This has been the most successful method in the past, and was recommended by past boards (Reference March 1, 2012 meeting minutes). After talking to your neighbor, our board can step in as an arbitrator if needed. Our protective covenants do have some rules regarding trees and views and yard general appearance, more so in units 1&2 (because of a clause in it’s fourth amendment) than unit 3. Some trees are protected, our city must permit the removal of “Native Trees” listed here:
tree removal form for native trees
Q: I’m a homeowner on Wild Holly, (or Lime Grove, or Arroya Vista), and the trees in the canyon are blocking my view to the West. What can be done about this?
A: Unfortunately, the bottom third of lots #80 and #81 were designated as Native Habitats in the mid 1990s, (without much community input) along with areas within the Green Valley Glen HOA (like the Eucalyptus tree forest in the canyon, which is outside of our HOA), and much of Boulder Mountain to our south. Private property owners can clear these areas, but would have to spend some money for land mitigation, best explained here:
More information about the Native Habitat areas are here, along with maps:
Here’s a picture of the Native Habitat area between Arroya Vista Road. and Wild Holly Lane. Most of this land is outside our HOA.
If your view (or fire danger) is effected by one of these areas, offer the affected property owner’s to pay a portion for the clearing and Poway’s mitigation fees.
Q: Do I really need to get my building/landscape improvement projects HOA approved?
A: If it changes the appearance of your home or yard from the street or nearby lots, or if it’s a project mentioned in Section B of our Protective Covenant Rules; yes. It’s easy to do (within our HOA), and approval will protect you from future complaints from your neighbors, and will avoid having a disclosed HOA non-compliance issue stated during the escrow process when you (or your estate trustee) sells your home.
Q: How are the HOA rules enforced?
A: The board does not patrol the neighborhood looking for minor infractions, like some HOAs. But we do monitor the things that reduce property value to our community. We also rely on homeowners to report violations, by letter or email to the board members. The more homeowners that report the same violation against the same property owner can give the board more clout to address the issue.
Q: Are the streets part of the HOA’s responsibility?
A: No; should there be an issue with a vehicle parked on the street too long and not used or moved, you can call the Poway Sheriff at (858) 513-2800 and they will deal with it. If there’s a street maintenance issue, submit a service request to the City of Poway here: https://poway.org/270/Service-Request
Q: How do City, County, State, and Federal regulations effect our Protective Covenants?
A: Short answer; they will likely override our association’s rules. We can’t force someone to keep their lawn green when there’s a water shortage and price increase, and can’t deny an installation of solar panels, or ADUs, however we can control the ADU’s design (see comments below) per California AB 670. The city of Poway does have requirements for ADU’s which closely align with our requirements. Refer to this handout below as well as the link to Poway’s Municipal Code:
Poway ADU Handout_Updated 1.2022
https://www.codepublishing.com/CA/Poway/#!/Poway17/Poway1708.html#17.08.180
Regarding ADUs, our rules might still apply for setbacks from the street and property lines for additional structures and installations (depending on the lot), and the architecture & construction, roof and exterior surface finishes would need to match the primary house on the lot. The primary house, if modified for the ADU, still needs to comply to our covenant requirements, as does the garage (three bays). These are all considered legal “reasonable restrictions” allowed by California HOAs. It’s best to consult our architectural committee chair first for questions about ADUs (he’s a professional architect and great ADU resource) before going to the city building and planning dept., as recommended by ADU companies. Also, you can refer to our definition of “Ancillary Buildings” in our protective covenants. For or against them, our short answer about the possibility of mass ADU proliferation in GVHA; it’s unlikely, due to costs involved and the unique shapes and topography of our hillside lots, including several of our lots being in a high fire zone area, which may affect the proposed ADU’s setbacks. Additionally, we are not a close walking distance from public shopping needs and transportation. Read the article here for more information in regards to ADUs and /or lot splitting:
SB 9 L A Times September 17 2021 (after bill was approved)
Regarding SB9 lot splits; the city of Poway does NOT allow lot splits in RR-B and RR-C zones, which includes all our neighborhood, and/or in high fire severity zones, which include about a third of our neighborhood. Refer to this handout:
Poway Senate Bill 9 Handout_12-30-21
Q: It’s hard to find volunteer HOA board members, so should we continue to have an active HOA?
A: Yes! Other neighborhoods around us have dissolved their HOAs, which has lend to unsightly front yard RV, boat, and trailer storage, front yard and week long street-side trash can storage, front yard walls being built right up to property lines, junk car storage in front yards, and even hoarding junk in front yards. (We all drive by these properties outside of Green Valley Highlands.)
The fiery end of the Green Valley hoarder house on the evening of June 17, 2023. (No one was hurt, the structure is a complete loss.) Green Valley is said to have once had a HOA with rules similar to ours.
“Trash can city”, seven days a week, along Stone Canyon Rd., a non-HOA neighborhood.
Q: What if I don’t want to pay dues, or follow HOA rules?
A: Regarding dues; it’s only $50 a year. Costs have been kept low by our volunteer board members performing their civic duty to maintain our corporate/association structure. Billing for dues is performed annually; a bill is sent to your home or billing address on file, and you are expected to pay upon receipt, which helps our Treasurer immensely. Billing may happen at different times each year, depending on our volunteer Treasurer’s workload at their regular job. An overdue bill may show up on our Treasurer’s report in our meeting minutes and financial reports, which are visible to the association homeowners (per our by-laws). Any escrow, bank, or loan company can request access to dues payment information; it’s a common inquiry to our HOA. Regarding rules, they are in place to maintain the value of everyone’s property, and after several notices of violation, ultimately, an encumbrance can be put on your property. It would be rare to have to do this in GVHA, but all HOAs have the authority to do this.