When I first started looking here in 2001, I inquired about buy two lots. I was surrounded by lovely, big trees, and I was hoping to preserve some of them. Hammonds and Wilshire could not have been more rude about their resplies to my request.

Now, Hammonds Homes has left the neighborhood for Wilshire to finish up and the newest trend has been to buy double lots, in some of those places that are hard to build on. Buying a double lot takes care of some of the tiny, unworkable lots, where nobody is really interested in building a very tiny floorplan.

I think this is a good alternative to some poor, if not over-intense lot planning, so I'm all for it..... but...

This brings up a few details that I think we should discuss as a neighborhood. I'm sure the Park West HOA board will, but don't expect them to report a word of their deliberations - they haven't done well in past communications and 2002-2003 was one of the worst - the litterally didn't report anything!


So, how should this double lot thing work out ? It's expensive and time consuming to get it re-platted, but the builder could do that - don't expect them to offer. It's messy and it takes a long time, even if it is uncontested.

And then, how does the double lot owner's HOA fees and voting rights work out? Do they pay double fees and get double the votes ? Should their votes be based on the total value of both lots and the house (that's the way I think CCHOA would look at it). Should Park West do the same ?

Another suggestion was to buy the extra lots and turn them over to the HOA, which would allow the home owner to avoid paying property taxes on it. But, then the HOA has to pay the property taxes ? Is that fair? Would the property then become common property, available for eveyone to use? (That was my thinking, when considering the previously undeveloped lots around my own house in 2001 - too late for that idea now).

And, if you buy two lots, can you then place your house anywhere on the lots, of does it still have to conform to one of the lot line boundries ? Would this change the impervious cover rule - allow that new home owner to build a private pool ?

Hey, how about a community pool of our own ? Perhaps the HOA should be lookintg to buy a couple of empty lots. (In Lakeway, Gaines Ranch, and several other communities I visited, neighborhood pools are very popular - they are typically small, deep, and have water features that make them a bit more exotic (waterfalls, hot-tub/spa, lush tropical landscaping, more privacy and more shade.) It's not that the CCR pool is that far away, but it's far enough I don't enjoy walking there and the shade is pretty hard to find.


Anyway, watch for how this new trend develops. Our nieghborhood will be build out soon, and we should start taking a stronger interest in how it shapes up. The developers are going to dash at the last minute, figuring it's easier and less risky to duck out without fanfare, rather than finish up those last details - those empty promises all builders are so infamous for. I think they have done a good job, to date, with keeping the streets clean, but they paid a lot of money in fines, too, when the city had to remind them about violations (Tree abuse, water runoff, silt fences, outhouses, trash accumlation, etc.)



By the way, has anyone received their copy of ANY of the BOD meetinging this year ???? I haven't !!

A Concerned BOD Would Help

When we were looking at Parkwest two years ago and also last year, we were told that the only way to get two lots was to build two houses. That policy has since changed as is evident on the house going up on lots 13 & 14. That great! A bunch of trees are going to be saved. A few decisions concerning empty lots, double lots should be made now... not later. A Wilshire rep has admitted that most of the lots they got from Hammonds are manure. In the long run, all will enjoy a few lots left in the natural state.
While a community pool would be nice, I know enough about pools to know that the cost would be prohibitive. Parkwest just does not and will never have a large enough owner base to spread that kind of cost out enough to make it palatable.
I didn't expect to get a copy of the BOD minutes. When the question came up at the annual, it looked like an exercise of the three stooges or the ''whose on first'' Routine.

By Frank

Park West Pool

I got some numbers to work on for the pool idea. See what you think:

Lot cost: $40,000
Pool $100,000
Misc $10,000
$150,000

Annual costs:
Pool Service: $10,000
Utilities: $3,000
Maint & supplies $7,000
Insurance $6,000

$30,000/year

If you estimate the number of home owners at 150, then the upfront cost would be about $1,000 per household and an annual upkeep fee of $200/year.

I think I counted around 160 lots in PW...

I've never owned or built a pool, so I'm sure there are some hidden costs. I'm not sure what water costs are really like or the cost of a heating bill (I'd hope we could ecconomize with some solar assisted heating).


Anyway, I haven't found the Circle C pool to be much fun. It doesn't have enough shade and it's just not deep enough, plus they haven't got any kind of spa or whirlpool, or similar water features. I personally don't much enjoy the walk over there, either. It just seems like we have enough home to afford a private pool of our own.