HRB Meeting Minutes
June 3, 2014
Attending: Steve Cauffman, Sandrine Scherson, Michele Walot, Mike McNally, Jan Fisher, Andrew Herndon, Ron Reid.
New Construction Walkthroughs Prohibited
In olden times, new homeowners could, with prior arrangement, take guided tours of their new homes while under construction. Lawsuits resulting from injury during such tours, and from observations of alleged construction defects, have led builders to strictly forbid such tours. Sorry, folks.
DIY Reminder
Remember to be careful about drilling into walls. They contain wiring, water lines, and gas lines. Stud finders and infrared cameras can be extremely helpful in determining your home’s anatomy prior to surgery.
Upcoming Events
The Summer Solstice Art & Music festival has been postponed, due to an insufficient number of exhibitors.
Earth Day Cleanup Day (Recycling/E-Waste/Shredding/Salvation Army/Mulch) will be held on June 21 at the Community Center
Our first summer movie night will be June 27, featuring Disney’s Frozen. Warning: audience members will be encouraged to sing along with all musical numbers.
Also be on the lookout for:
July 25 — Movie night in the park — The Lego Movie.
August 22 — Movie night in the park (+ campout) — Brave.
Tennis Court Usage
Rules regarding tennis court use were reviewed, but left unchanged. Use is 1st-come, 1st-serve. Timers limit use to 1-hour intervals. The timers are not resettable once started. Residents may use a court for lessons with an instructor, subject to the same 1st-come, 1st-serve policy. Instructors may not hold a resident’s place in line. Residents must be present and waiting in order to establish who is next. Instructors may not use the courts to teach non-UHills residents, and must maintain liability insurance indemnifying ICHA and UC. The possibility of allowing reservations was discussed by HRB, but rejected as too cumbersome, since it might lead to additional confusion on the court.
Soccer Field Usage
Many youth soccer teams hold practices and/or additional training sessions at Gabrielino Park. Since it sometimes gets crowded with several teams using it at once, HRB approved a plan to procure a small pair of goals for Vista Bonita Park, in order to provide a second location where younger players can practice or play informally. It is hoped that this will also alleviate some conflicts between organized games and impromptu walk-on users that have occurred at Gabrielino.
Toastmasters
A resident is interested in organizing a UHills Toastmasters chapter, which will meet in the Community Center. HRB supports this effort.
Monarch Butterflies
An inquiry was received about possibly planting milkweed somewhere in the community to support the local Monarch Butterfly population. HRB proposed that the Meadow Park (along the walkway running down the hill from the community center toward Bonita Canyon, along the water district easement) might be suitable for this.
Solar Agreement Guidelines
HRB has asked ICHA to clarify rules surrounding solar leases, power purchase agreements, etc., as they impact the resale of homes in UHills. The terms of such solar plans vary substantially, but there may be some scenarios in which it is in the buyer’s and seller’s mutual best interest to have an existing agreement transferred, rather than “bought out” by the seller. ICHA is currently researching the issue.
Off-Leash Dogs
A resident was recently knocked down by an unleashed dog near the Knoll. Earlier in May, a leashed dog (with no known prior history) escaped its collar and severely injured a smaller dog, underscoring the importance of maintaining control of all dogs, whether well-behaved or not. Dogs must be leashed throughout the City of Irvine. This includes University Hills, as well as the parks, the nature preserve, and the undeveloped land around us. Our canine residents are fortunate to have a dog park available for off-leash play and socialization. Regardless of your dog’s temperament, flaunting the leash law is inconsiderate and reckless. Residents are encouraged to report violators to Animal Control.
Battery Recycling
Although the e-waste vendor coming to the earth day recycling event on June 21 will not accept batteries, the campus offers a number of convenient battery-recycling programs, summarized here: http://www.wellness.uci.edu/toolkit/april/BatteryRecycling.pdf.