Pueblo Del Sol Property Owners Association

Welcome to the Pueblo Del Sol Property Owners Association web site. We are a community of 346 properties located in the foothills of the Huachuca Mountains just south of the City of Sierra Vista, Arizona.  Since the PDS POA is no longer a covenant-protected association, the owners may now voluntarily contribute to support the financial obligations for retaining ownership and maintenance of the 77 acres of common areas.  These remain the property of the PDSPOA Corporation, an active Arizona non-profit corporation.  This Corporation is managed by elected Board Directors and Officers who are all volunteers and uncompensated owners in our community.  These common areas are critical to maintaining the quality and property values of our community and consequentially our individual properties, as well as the Community aesthetics and quality of life aspects.  For several years, about half of the owners have recognized the importance of these common areas to the community as a whole and not just to those properties near to the common areas.  They have contributed voluntarily to support the Associaion and we have been able to meet our financial obligations, barely.   Given that only about half of the Owners have been willing to contribute at the start of each fiscal year (July 1st), we have had to suggest an annual contribution of $60.00 but we welcome and appreciate any amount lesser or greater.  Our budget is focused on grounds maintenance (about $7,000), Liability and Property Insurance ($3,000), Taxes ($150), and minor admin costs ($500) for a total of about $11,000 per year.  We ask for much greater support by Owners in our community.  It will benefit all of us.

Thank you,  Ted Pahle, President, PDSPOA

The mission of PDSPOA is to provide services to maintain environmental quality and property values by:

• Providing a common voice for matters that affect the PDS Village One Community.
• Promoting community inclusiveness.
• Ensure the PDS POA retains ownership and control of the 77  acres of common areas.
• Encouraging voluntary participation in maintaining the quality of life and property maintenance standards.
• Encouraging Owners to voluntarily pay an annual assessment to cover all the operating costs of the PDS POA and maintenance of the common areas.

JULY 2023 NOTE TO OWNERS

Annual request for Voluntary Contributions and Support to our Community

Last year’s request for voluntary contributions and support to maintain the natural
esthetics, mitigate fire danger and minimize the vermin population saw 125 owners
support the effort. There were 125 out of 346 owners who contributed $11,996. This
sum along with the $3,857.72 carried over from the previous year was sufficient to meet
all the Association’s financial obligations. The actual costs included Insurance,
$3,648.50; Grounds Maintenance $2,065.01, Administrative costs: 842.91 and taxes of
$100.48. The Association treasurer, Tony Guthrie, and/or Ted Pahle are always
available to answer questions about finances.
The estimated total cost for all the operating obligations mentioned previously for FY
2024 will be $15,000. The grounds maintenance costs have increased steadily over the
years and the effort to find a reasonably priced contractor is a major challenge.
Currently the estimate to do the full common grounds maintenance alone is around
$10,000. Fortunately, there is a leftover amount of $9,402.89 from this past year due to
not finding a contractor to fully address the grounds maintenance. We are delighted to
say there have been some property owners who have taken it upon themselves to
voluntarily maintain portions of the Green Belt along Equestrian and the curtilage along
many of the roadways within Village One. The volunteers have done this at their own
expense and time but we cannot expect them to consistently do this. This is greatly
appreciated by many, especially those who desire to maintain not only the esthetics and
safety of the area but mainly to enhance the value to our community and to our
individual properties. The effort to find a reasonable landscaper continues.
This year a voluntary donation of $50 would greatly assist in the effort to sustain what
has been mentioned previously. Our community has also been fortunate to have
several homeowners who contributed substantially more than last year’s suggested $60
and hopefully this will continue. We gladly accept any amount and whenever you can
contribute.
Please make checks payable to PDSPOA and mailed to PDSPOA, P.O. Box 1551,
Sierra Vista, AZ 85636-1551.
To pay via Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) please use:
Zelle: [email protected] or PayPal: [email protected]
All financial matters of the PDSPOA are visible and posted on the PDSPOA Website
(www.pdspoa.com) under the sub menu Records.
Respectfully, Ted Pahle, President, PDSPOA: 520-227-4116 or 803-7398

NOTE FROM THE PDSPOA President

JUNE 2, 2023

The Community has not heard from me for almost a year but not much has transpired to justify contact.  This note is intended to update you about our key Community issues and overall status.

ASSOCIATION STATUS:  We remain an Arizona Non-Profit Corporation in good standing and have filed the required annual Arizona Corporation Commission documents, fees, and information.  We have paid all tax obligations to the Federal, State and County assessors.  The same original Board of Directors remains committed to oversee the Association and the work of the President, Vice-President and Treasurer as well as the Grounds Committee.  Now that the Covid dangers are greatly reduced, we will once again start holding open meetings of the Board.

FINANCES:  During July 2022 and for several months thereafter, our owners voluntarily submitted contributions for our very limited financial obligations to maintain and protect our common areas as well as very minor administrative requirements.  We received a total of $11,996.00 from a total of 125 Owners, or just 36% of our community owners.  Despite the low response numbers, the amount of money collected and a small carryover from the prior year was sufficient to meet our FY 2023 costs which end this coming June 30th.  This was possible because many owners submitted more than the suggested $65.00 annual contribution.  Any amount is greatly appreciated.  We had several contributions of $300.00 and many of $100 and $200.   Sadly, the maintenance of our common areas and other obligations once again fell on the shoulders of 36% of the Owners while all others benefited greatly at no cost to them.  Please recognize that maintaining the ownership of the common areas and keeping them in good condition benefits every single property owner and their overall property values.  We should strive to keep our 346 properties and common areas as attractive as possible to retain high property values, aesthetics, and to ensure we remain a top choice in Sierra Vista for new owners to purchase here.  Tony Guthrie, as PDSPOA Treasurer, continues to manage all your funds and makes all payments when due.  He has been diligent, accurate, and exceptionally conservative to ensure no waste or loss of funds.  We owe him thanks for sticking with this responsibility.  He submits a monthly Treasurer Report which is then posted on the PDSPOA Webpage.  However, he will not be able to be Treasurer much longer so we are looking for a volunteer to perform this task.  Our call for voluntary FY 2024 contributions will be sent out shortly in June.

COMMON GROUNDS.  As indicated in a previous email to the community, a small group of Owners of the Grounds Committee headed by Lorna Sills, has continued to oversee the physical maintenance of our Common Areas.  They do great work but face the challenge that what used to cost us a couple of thousand dollars a year now costs us four or five times more.  A second challenge they face is finding a fair-priced and bonded lawn service and one that is willing and able to take on the difficult task of cutting the entire length of the north-south grounds parallel to Equestrian Avenue.  Several Owners have taken it upon themselves to use their own equipment and time to cut smaller portions within their capabilities.  We thank them for their efforts that benefit all of us and save us money.  The Fry Fire District has also been a great help with their efforts to reduce fire fuels in our Common Areas by cutting and chipping vegetation.  We owe them thanks also for their efforts.

COMMUNITY STATUS.  We have just experienced several years of incredible property value increases within our community and an amazing speed of sales, often just days after listing.  The word is that this will level off or possibly decline as interest rates increase.  Also, several previously vacant lots have brand new houses on them.  We have also noted more school buses active in our community which is indicative of younger families being attracted to live here.  Please drive slowly on our streets as kids and pets are more prevalent now and during the summer months. Except for a very small number of properties, our community looks great and is still a top-notch village.  We are a residential zoned community so conducting an actual commercial business (i.e., manufacturing process, non-resident employees, client traffic, showroom, material and heavy equipment storage, etc.) on a property can be a county zoning violation.  This type of activity gravely damages the property values of nearby homes and the overall community.  This does not apply to Home Occupations (i.e., working out of your home) which are now very common.  The absence of CC&Rs now eliminates any authority by the PDSPOA to prevent these commercial activities.  We now depend solely on pride of ownership and respect for neighbors which remain unfaltering characteristics of the PDSPOA Village One.

COMMUNICATIONS:  To reduce costs, only a few notices per year will be mailed to the Owners.  We will depend more on the use of emails to keep contact with Owners, especially for emergencies, alerts, pet losses, etc.  We work hard to update our email listing which is only used for this purpose. Please bear with us if we have errors or omissions.  Send us changes or corrections.  We no longer receive notifications of property ownership changes.  Contact me if you are a new Owner and wish to be included in our roster.

ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUE:  We still have some individual property files (architectural and owner folders) if you wish to obtain these for your records.  They are available at my house (3722 E Shawnee Drive) if you wish to collect them.  Call me first at (520) 227-4116 to make sure I’m home.

Sincerely, Ted Pahle, President, PDS POA

May 30, 2023

[email protected]

NOTICE TO OWNERS.  SEPTEMBER 2021

A NOTE FROM PDSPOA PRESIDENT. SEPTEMBER 2021
Hello to all our neighbors in the Pueblo del Sol Village One Property Owners Association. This
is just a quick note as part of this newsletter being mailed to all owners as well as those owners or
renters who live in our community, but we have no record of who they are. We hope everyone takes
a few minutes to read this newsletter.
We had the hottest summer here in decades and the wettest monsoon in many, many years.
All on top of the ever-present Covid-19 pandemic and its variants. Almost two years of facing
something most of us never expected to impact our lives in our peaceful community. Sadly, too many
people have been sick, and some have passed away. We mourn all of those we have lost.
The exceptional wet season has turned our community green again which we all love to see,
except for the mosquitoes that came with it. This means we have extensive vegetation growth in the
common areas of Equestrian and the Wildlife Preserve. We will cut the grass soon after it dries a bit
more to facilitate mowing by our contractor. This is the last year our reliable and cost-effective
mowing service will be in operation, so we are looking for a replacement service. We want to thank
and acknowledge that some of the owners living near the Equestrian greenway have been
themselves mowing regularly at no cost to the Association. However, some areas are just too difficult
for owners to mow due to terrain or obstacle features. We need to continue having a professional
service which is unfortunately our single biggest expense.
We want to thank those 78 owners (out of 234 owners) who have so far voluntarily contributed
to the maintenance and protection of our common areas. Since July 1, most voluntary contributors
have paid the recommended $60.00 for FY 2022 (July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022) but quite a few have
generously contributed much more, up to several hundred in some cases. They all appreciate and
understand how important it is to our community to retain ownership of the lands that add greatly to
the quality of life and overall property values of our homes. At the present time, our homes are selling
like hot cakes. Many in just days after listing, and a high price we have never seen before. Part of it
is due to the fact this remains a high-quality community worthy of significant investment. We are also
seeing several of the homes built in the early 70’s and 80’s being totally refurbished and upgraded.
These are also bringing high prices. Some previously empty lots are now with brand new homes. All
of this indicates we remain a premium choice for future buyers. It behooves us, despite no longer
being a covenant protected community, to band together to support our very small community’s
financial needs. In the past two years, with only half of the owners voluntarily contributing $60.00
annually we have met our bare bones expenses. If everyone contributed, we could simply survive
financially on $30.00 per lot. The other half are getting a free ride and benefit. I wish we could
convince the recalcitrant owners to pay something. To do so benefits everyone, not just those that
live near the common areas. Contribute by check to: PDSPOA, PO Box 1551, Sierra Vista, AZ
85636.
Lastly, this remains a single-family residentially zoned community. This means that the county
is responsible for maintaining these zoning standards, which allow home occupations but does not
allow true commercial businesses being operated out of our homes; with employees, commercial
traffic, manufacturing activities, signage, and noise and pollution emanating from these prohibited
activities. However, we have discovered that the County Planning and Zoning Inspection department
is highly undermanned and very seldom has any time to independently monitor such violations. They
do investigate complaints from residents impacted by these illegal activities. The PDS POA, no
longer has the authority or enforcement power to prevent these activities. The previous Covenants
were a deterrent to these activities. Although the covenants were extended by a wide vote of the
majority of PDS POA Owners, the vote was the subject of a court challenge by three (3) owners
based solely on a procedural error made in the acquisition of owner votes/signatures. That
permanently killed our covenants and our formal property owners (HOA) legal status. We are now on
our own to individually practice or disregard basic good neighborly practices and lifestyle. Overall, we
are doing very well because we have a strong and respectful community of owners and renters.
However, there are 6-10 properties whose owners/tenants have a total disregard for their neighbors
and are conducting activities that are detrimental to their immediate peace and property values. This
includes commercial activities as well as disrepair and lack of maintenance of their properties. This
may likely impact the ability to sell a property adjacent to a business or derelict property or greatly
reduce the selling price. This was the case recently in that an empty lot was to be purchased by a
local builder to build a beautiful new home. However, the adjacent lot was in serious derelict
condition that to protect the value of the new home being built, they also had to purchase the derelict
property. The builder has since rebuilt and refurbished it. Had the builder not been able to acquire
and rescue that property he might have scrapped the purchase of the lot. Good story for both
properties and neighbors in the end, but this may not be the same result in other cases.
The PDSPOA continues to exist as an Arizona nonprofit corporation, albeit it is no longer a
true HOA with covenants. The PDSPOA corporation is legally the owner of the common areas and
responsible for their maintenance, insurance, and taxes; about $9,000.00 per year plus very minor
admin expenses. We remain an Association of owners who voluntarily sustain the costs. The Board
of Directors and Officers that were last elected by the owners under the old covenants remain in
place. We are now bare bones but have managed to get half of the owners to sufficiently fund our
needs. Please check the PDS POA webpage (www.pdspoa.com under Records) to keep up with the
financial status of the PDS POA. Every month we post the Treasurer’s Report that accounts for all
income and expenses.
Also, please review the various links on the PDSPOA website to County and State fire
prevention advice web sites. Excellent guidance to protect our homes from fire. It won’t be long
before we are back in dry season.

Otherwise, our community is doing well.

Respectfully,
Ted Pahle
President, PDS POA
PS. The PDSPOA Shed at the Fire Station was removed and sold so if you want your property files
let me know. (520-227-4116). We are always grateful for the services and protection from the Fry
Fire District and the Cochise County Sheriff Department and their personnel.
PPS. The PDSPOA has announced that a neighborhood yard/garage sale will be held on November
13 between 7.30 and 12.00. Yard sale signs will be put on Rte 92 entrances. We will announce in
the local paper prior to the sale date. Owners need only to put up a sign near their mailbox or affix a
balloon to indicate you are participating in the sale and inviting buyers to stop and peruse your items.

NOTICE:  Please open these links to read previous (June 2021) (Click here to see the Message) and (December 2020) messages to All Owners. (Click Here to see the Message)

NOTICE:  ALL RESIDENTS ARE INVITED TO REVIEW THE MONTHLY TREASURER REPORTS.  THESE GIVE A DETAILED LISTING OF INCOME AND EXPENSES DURING THE FISCAL YEAR (JULY 1, 2021 TO JUNE 30, 2022.  IT WILL CLEARLY DOCUMENT HOW YOUR VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS ARE USED TO MEET THE BASIC OPERATING COSTS OF THE PDS POA.  WE OPERATE ON A BARE BONES BUDGET TO COVER THE COMMON AREA MAINTENANCE, ITS INSURANCE, AND TAXES.  VERY MINOR ADMIN EXPENSES ARE ALSO COVERED.  WE URGE ALL RESIDENTS CONSIDER MAKING A VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION TO ENSURE WE HAVE SUFFICIENT FUNDS EACH FY.  ANY AMOUNT IS WELCOME.  AT THE PRESENT TIME WE HAVE RECEIVED FUNDS FROM ABOUT 40% OF THE OWNERS, WHICH IS LESS THAN LAST YEAR.   WE ARE SHORT OF A COUPLE OF THOUSAND DOLLARS TO MEET THIS FY COSTS.  MAINTAINING THESE COMMON AREAS IS OF VALUE TO EACH AND EVERY OWNER AS THEY ADD SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF OUR COMMUNITY.  JUST IMAGINE IF WE HAD TO GIVE UP THESE 77 ACRES TO THE COUNTY OR TO A CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION AND THUS LOSE CONTROL OF WHAT THESE ACRES ARE USED FOR.

 NOTICE:  The FRY Fire District, the Department of the Interior, USDA Forest Service, the National Fire Protection Association,  and University of Arizona, have provided valuable information about protecting your home from wildfires.  We urge you to make your home “defensible” by the fire crews so it is not a dangerous tinder box that threatens lives and your and other’s properties.  Please click here to see this information. Also check the national website of FireWise USA that specifically addresses preparations for homes subject to wildfires.  (Click here)

The Association has two e-mail accounts, [email protected] and [email protected], as contact points for the Association.    Contacts page for PDSPOA officers.  Our new PDS POA phone number is:  (520) 263-7786.