Residents, developer clash over style changes

Residents, developer clash over style changes

KRISTYNE E. DEMSKE C & G Staff Writer
Published: December 31, 2008 in the "Shelby-Utica News"

SHELBY TOWNSHIP - Dozens of residents descended on the Dec. 16 Board of Trustees meeting, angered at proposed changes to the condominium development they live in that could bring about a totally different style of housing for the last 15 of more than 150 units. "The board needs to address the residents' fears that this proposal is going to further damage the already shrunken value of our homes," said Mike Grobbel, a member of the board of directors for the condo association and a resident in the development. "Those of us who have purchased a condo in the Manors (at Central Park) bought there on your promise that it was to be a collection of 167 two-and three-bedroom, visually similar, all ranch-style condos."

The township Board of Trustees announced that it would hold off on a decision to approve building modifications to the Manors at Central Park until after a January meeting they're planning between the board, Lombardo Homes and residents of the Manors who are not pleased with how the development is proceeding.....


[read the full article by clicking here]

Board of Trustees Work Session set for Jan. 7th

The Shelby Township Board of Trustees will hold their promised Work Session on Wednesday night, January 7, 2009 at 6:00 PM in the Shelby Twp. municipal building.

The board will hold a discussion concerning the request by Lombardo Homes modify the Manors at Central Park Planned Unit Development site plans (#02-55 PUD-1). The public, the petitioner and several members of the Planning Commission have all been invited to attend and will have the opportunity to speak when recognized during the Work Session.

The Township Clerk will be sending out a copy of the meeting notice in tomorrow's mail to all of those who received a notice of the Planning Commission meeting. I will also distribute a flyer to all homes in the Manors sometime in the next few days.

Board of Trustees pospone decision on Lombardo proposal

Prior to the Shelby Twp. Board of Trustees Regular Meeting at 7:00 PM tonight, the Board conducted a Work Session meeting at 6:00 PM, during which they were briefed on the Regular Meeting agenda items by the various Department Heads. While discussing the Lombardo request to revise the Manors site plan for Lots 1-15, the Board decided that they would not be in a position to make any decision at tonight's Regular Meeting. Instead, the Board wants to have a special Work Session Meeting limited to just this proposal, to which the petitioner, a couple of Planning Commission members and the public would be invited. The petitioner, the Planning Commissioners and the public will all be allowed to speak at this meeting and the Board indicated that they wanted to be able to ask as many questions as needed and to be able to hear our concerns in a more conducive setting.

The special Work Session Meeting will be scheduled for sometime in January and the Board said they would mail out a meeting notice to everyone who had received a notice for the Nov. 24th Planning Commission meeting. I will also post the date, time and place of the meeting on this blog and also distribute a flyer to each door in the Manors.

Instead of holding the planned agenda item tonight, the Board allowed Lombardo Homes and myself to each briefly address the Board. I gave the Board members, the Planning Director and Mr. Lombardo a copy of my prepared remarks and then delivered an edited version of those planned remarks. My prepared remarks can be read in their entirety by clicking here (bolded text represents the edited portions which I verbally presented). During the petitioner's abbreviated presentation to the Board, I heard them say that the Planning Commission had included in their recommendation a "condition of approval that Manors Lot 124 was not included". Here is the Planning Commission's Motion to recommend approval, judge for yourself:



Also contrary to what some people are being told by the petitioner, the Detroit Carpenters Pension Trust Fund (represented by Fifth Third Bank) has no financial interest in Manors Lots 1-15 and the Bank did not request Lombardo Homes to petition for this site plan modification. Sable Realty Ventures is the owner of record for Lots 1-15 and Lombardo Homes likely has an agreement to purchase them that is conditional on receiving approval from the Township Board for the site plan modifications. On March 1, 2008, those lots were forfeited to the Macomb County Treasurer due to non-payment of property taxes by the owner of record. A PDF file containing copies of the notices for the upcoming Jan. 13, 2009 Show Cause Hearing and Feb. 6, 2009 Judicial Foreclosure Hearing on these lots can be viewed here.

Click here to view a web page with the Dec. 16th Board meeting agenda, plus the background information packet that was prepared for use by the Township Board members at that meeting, including the minutes of the Sept. 10th and Nov. 24th Planning Commission meetings on this subject. Here are my prepared comments that I gave at the Nov. 24th Planning Commission public hearing.

Click here to view an earlier post on this subject, which contains links to a map, the petitioner's proposed models, elevations and site plan modifications, plus the Feb. 27th Planning Commission meeting minutes.

Hold this date

The 2009 Annual Meeting of the Manors at Central Park Condominium Association will be held on Wednesday evening, January 21, 2009 at Utica High School. Sign-in will be from 6:00 PM until 6:30 PM, with the meeting beginning promptly at 6:30 PM.

You will receive a mailing shortly with full details and an agenda.

Dec. 16th - Township Board to decide on the Lombardo Request

On Tuesday, Dec. 16th at 7:00 PM, the Shelby Twp. Board of Trustees will make their decision on the Lombardo Homes request to build two-story units instead of one-story ranch units on Manors Lots 1-15. While this is not a formal public hearing like the Planning Commission held, Mr. Wynn, (the Shelby Twp. Planning Director) assures me that the public will be permitted to speak during this agenda item prior to the Board making their decision.

Click here to view a web page with the meeting agenda, plus the background information that has been prepared for the Township Board members.

This weekend, I plan to distribute copies of this flyer to every door of the Manors with the details about this meeting.

Planning Commission Votes 7-1 for Lombardo

At the Nov. 24th Shelby Township Planning Commission meeting, a public hearing was held on Lombardo Home's request to modify the Manors site plan to permit two story units on Lots 1-15 instead of ranch style units. Click here to read the remarks I gave during the public comment portion of the public hearing. After closing the public hearing, the Commission voted 7 to 1 (with 1 abstention) to forward a favorable recommendation to the Shelby Township Board of Trustees.

From my video recording of the meeting, the motion to recommend approval was made by Commissioner Jerry Moffitt and seconded by Michael Thornton. They recommended approval based on their findings that the proposal is consistent and compatible with the existing Central Park PUD and that their recommendation was subject to the following conditions:
1) the future development of cluster units on Walter and Stebbins Courts will be limited to the Kensington one-story model that was approved with the original PUD
2) the Master Deed for these units (on Manors Lots 1-15) will be modified to insure appropriate yard and exterior building maintenance
3) the petitioner will be limited to offering only five of the six model floor plans listed in his proposal, (excludes "The Madison"); each of the various exterior elevations shown for those five remaining model floor plans will be permitted.
4) patio/deck sizes and appearances will be limited based on a design standard; no patio/deck shall extend more than 5 feet beyond the rear building envelope
5) sidewalks will be provided on both sides of Walter Court to facilitate pedestrian access.

Roll Call Vote:
Mr. Moffitt - Yes
Mr. Thornton - Yes
Mr. Frame - Yes
Mr. Deyo - Yes
Mrs. Hodge - (abstain)
Mr. Kassab - Yes
Mrs. Dearlove - Yes
Mr. Viar - No
Mr. Toia - Yes

I am not surprised by the Planning Commission's decision but I am very disappointed by the fact that the Commission chose to ignore my comments
a) requesting that a condition be included in any favorable recommendation preventing applicability to Lot 124
b) concluding that changes to our By-laws and Master Deed were not necessary to address the yard/exterior maintenance concerns.

I found it amazing that the Commission accepted without question the petitioner's primary supporting data, which was that Lombardo's Year-To-Date sales have been 160 homes, 138 which were single family homes. That data is irrelevant, since the real issue here involves changing the plan for single family detached condos on Lots 1-15 from ranch style to two-story style buildings. The petitioner failed to provide any data showing an increasing demand for two-story homes as compared to ranch style homes.

I also found it amusing that in response to my voiced concern about this possibly being used as a precedent to justify future changes elsewhere in the Manors, we were told by Commissioner Moffitt that their actions cannot be used to set a legal precedent. A legal precedent is different than the planning precedent I told them we are concerned about. As if to make our point, the discussion among the commissioners then focused at length on the details surrounding the ranch versus two-story approvals previously granted on the adjacent Kensington property. To address my concern about keeping their approval confined to just these 15 lots, all the Planning Commission had to do was include a sentence in their recommendation noting that since Lots 1-15 are geographically separate from the remaining Manors lots, the loss of visual/architectural continuity is more acceptable there than it would be elsewhere in the Manors at Central Park. Since they apparently didn't want to add that kind of conditional wording to their recommendation, they could have at least had some public discussion among themselves as to why this change made sense for only those particular lots. If faced with another Manors site plan modification request in the future, then the members of that future Planning Commission could read the Nov. 24, 2008 meeting minutes and understand the reasoning and limited intent behind the prior Commission's recommendation for approving the request.

Unfortunately, since the public comment portion of the hearing was over, I was unable to make these points to the Commission during their discussion.

The Planning Commission's recommendation will now go to the Township Board of Trustees, who will make the final decision on it at an upcoming regular meeting. As soon as I find out, I will let everyone know when this meeting will be held. At the Board meeting, we still have one more chance to voice our concerns and hopefully get a more favorable outcome. You can be sure that I will raise the issues noted above when I speak at the Board meeting.

I doubt that the Township can force us to change our Association's Master Deed to redefine exterior maintenance responsibilities or any other parts of the document unless we as an Association also agree to do so. Furthermore, the wording of the Planning Commission's condition is very ambiguous, to the point that it is almost meaningless, since our Master Deed already defines the Association as being responsible for the yard and exterior maintenance of these proposed units. However, if it appears that the Board is inclined to approve the proposed site plan modifications we can still request that they eliminate the Master Deed condition and also ask them to add language to their motion to make it clear that
a) none of the five approved models can be built at a future date on Lot 124
b) Lots 1-15 are geographically isolated enough to accept the loss of visual/architectural continuity with the other Manors units.

Snow Removal Contract Awarded

The Board has awarded the 2008-2009 snow removal contract to GM Landscaping. Their bid was less than United Lawnscape’s, who has cleared our snow in past years. Also, GM Landscaping has a good track record of clearing snow for other Associations within the Central Park community.

Nov. 24th - Next Public Hearing on the Lombardo Request

I have received information from the Shelby Township Planning Department that the next public hearing on Lombardo's request for two-story units on Lots 1-15 will be held on the evening of Monday, Nov. 24, 2008.

Keep the date open - I will add the time and location to this post as soon as I find out more.

Within the next week or so, we will also be distributing a flyer to each door with the meeting information.

UPDATE - Nov. 20, 2008

Earlier today, a flyer was taped to every front door in the Manors. Please take time to read it since it contains some of my thoughts on this subject which I would rather not share in this public space.

The public hearing will be held during the “Old Business” portion of the Planning Commission’s Regular Meeting, which begins at 8:00 PM in the Board Room of the Shelby Township Municipal Building at 52700 Van Dyke. It is agenda item “SP #02-55 (PUD-1) The Manors at Central Park (Modifications)”.

Click here to view the previous post on this subject, which contains links to a map, the petitioner's proposed site plan modifications and the Feb. 27th Planning Commission meeting minutes.

New Walkways Installed

Here are photos of the walkway project that was completed on Saturday, October 4th.

We installed four walkways just like the one shown. Each walkway consists of (26) 12 inch, colored concrete patio squares which the Association purchased from Prime Landscape Supply in Sterling Heights.

I wish to thank everyone who helped on this project, including Bruce Bouford, Frank Cox, Larry Cybulski, Greg Despres, Richard Hall, Steve Kozlowski, Bob & Chris Linberg, Ray Sobieski, Neil Stevenson and Jim Storhok.

Old Faithful

Under the cover of darkness in the early hours of Oct. 2nd, scrappers stole the water meter, valves and vacuum breaker from a sprinkler meter box on Central Park near Van Dyke. Not content with stealing only the valves on the downstream side of the meter, they also took the valve on the pressurized side, resulting in a 30 foot tall geyser and the loss of hundreds of cubic feet of water. I believe that this meter box is the responsibility of the Master Association and I called it in to K-T customer service for forwarding to the appropriate people. I have confirmed that none of the meter boxes for the Manors sprinkler system were tampered with. Our boxes are now padlocked.

Sprinkler System Winterized

The sprinkler system was shut down and winterized on Wednesday, October 1st. The green pressure tank at the well has been removed and stored inside for the winter.

If you have plants and flowers outdoors, you will have to water them yourselves for the remainder of the growing season.

Please remember to remove and dispose of them immediately after the first killing frost.

Construction at the corner of Van Dyke and Central Park

UPDATED Sept. 18th:

You may have noticed work crews moving earth and making curb cuts at the southwest corner of Van Dyke and Central Park. According to Glenn Wynn, the Shelby Twp. Planning Director, a building for a credit union has been approved for this site and we are seeing the initial stages of its construction. This type of land use is of a much lower intensity than a grocery store and should not cause a large increase in traffic at the intersection. From markings on the curb, it appears that a curb cut is planned on Van Dyke as well as on Central Park. Mr. Wynn indicates that the credit union site plan is available for review at the Planning and Zoning Department. When I get a chance, I will stop by and take a look at it to see what the traffic flow pattern is for the site.

The new credit union will operate under the name of "Genisys Credit Union". It was recently formed by the merger of T & C Federal Credit Union of Bloomfield Hills and USA Credit Union of Auburn Hills. The rumors about a new Kroger store are not true, however, a new one was built a few years ago at the northeast corner of 23 Mile Rd. and Hayes.

While I'm sure we will appreciate a newer, larger and closer Kroger store, this is bound to generate some concerns about increased traffic at that intersection and whether there will be additional curb cuts and deceleration lanes built on Van Dyke so that all of the traffic does not have to use Central Park. Considering how difficult it can be at times to make a left turn onto Van Dyke from Central Park, this new development will hopefully drive the eventual installation of a traffic signal at that intersection.

Sept. 16th Paving

UPDATED Sept. 17th:
The signs announcing paving pertains only to the Kensington Condo development. Moore Ct. and the Broadway loop (East, North and West) will be getting a final top coat of asphalt on the 17th or 18th. The only impact to the Manors will be a temporary closing of West Broadway at Lexington South while the roadway is paved. Manors residents will still be able to park normally and enter/leave via Lexington West.

New Rules and Regulations

(click to enlarge comic strip)

All co-owners should have received a letter by now from Kramer-Triad with an enclosed copy of the new rules and regulations that were recently adopted by the Board of Directors. The cover letter and rules and regulations can also be viewed here.

The cover letter in the mailing also stated that copies of Articles VII and XII of the Association Bylaws were to have been enclosed for your reference but they were inadvertently omitted. The full Bylaws, including these Articles, were included in the "Documents" book that you received at your closing. Rather than incur the expense of an additional mass mailing, if you need a copy of these particular Articles, you can either request them from Kramer-Triad or view them on this web page.

Volunteers needed for a work party

I'm looking for some volunteers who are willing to get their hands dirty with a project that needs to be completed before the snow flies. On Saturday Oct. 4th at 9:00 AM (rain date is the 5th), we will meet on the private access drive that parallels Central Park North. We will be installing concrete patio stones to create four walkways across the median that separates the access drive and Central Park North (the proposed walkways are shown in red on this drawing).

These walkways are necessary to provide a hard-surfaced path for Manors residents on Central Park North to use when setting out their trash during the winter. The Shelby Twp. waste collection contractor only picks up items placed at the curb of Central Park North and after the snow has been piled up by the plows, it can be impossible to safely climb over the frozen piles to get to the curb. We can have our snow removal contract stipulate that paths be kept cleared for use by these residents, but the contractor requires a marked, hard surface on which their crews can use their snow shovels and snow throwers.

The need for these walkways became very evident during last year's harsh winter. Since this project was not anticipated in our 2008 budget, the Board has approved expenditures for the materials, provided we volunteer the installation labor.

We will be installing (26) 1 ft. by 1 ft. concrete patio stones to create each of the 2 ft. wide walkways. We will first have to remove the sod and prepare a level, sandy base before we lay the stones, which weigh about 22 lbs apiece.

If you can help, please contact me by e-mail or phone (they are listed at the right side of the page). We will also need a couple of wheelbarrows and rakes. I will have the materials delivered in advance, so we will only have to move them from from the nearby drop-off point to their final positions.

Proposed Amendment to Central Park PUD

The Shelby Twp. Planning Commission will hold a study meeting on Sept. 10, 2008 regarding a request by the Lombardo Homes to revise the building elevations for the proposed detached units to be built on Manors at Central Park Lots 1-15, which are located on Central Park North between East and West Broadway [map].

The site plan documents that were approved for the Central Park Planned Unit Development (PUD) contain building elevations showing that these lots are to be developed with detached ranch type units with elevations identical to those that have already been built on Manors Lots 16-32 [map].

A request by Lombardo Homes to amend the PUD to permit the construction of detached two-story condo units on Lots 1-15 was tabled by the Planning Commission on Feb. 27, 2008. You can read the approved minutes of that meeting on this web page. Since the request was tabled, the petitioner has the right to come back before the Planning Commission and try again to get a decision from them.

The first step in the process is a "study meeting" at which the petitioner describes their proposed amendment and the Planning Commission has the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the proposal, however they cannot make any decisions at this type of a meeting.

Following the study meeting, a public hearing meeting will be scheduled for a later date at which there will be a formal presentation by the petitioner followed by public comment. The Planning Commission will then close the public hearing and discuss the proposal and then make a decision.

Representatives from each of the four Associations in Central Park have been invited to attend the Sept. 10th study meeting. I will attend as the representative of the Manors at Central Park Condo Association. Following the study meeting, I will post a message here to let everyone know how the discussion went between the petitioner and the Planning Commissioners. I will also let you know as soon as a date is set for the public hearing so that we can get a solid turn-out like we had on Feb 27th.

UPDATE - Sept. 10th:

I received an advance copy of the materials submitted by the petitioner and I have scanned and uploaded them to this web page so you can see what the petitioner is planning to present at the Sept. 10th Study Meeting.

UPDATE - Sept. 12th:

The petitioner's Sept. 10th proposal was very similar to what was presented back on Feb. 27th, except for the inclusion of a roof height comparison drawing and several more proposed two-story model elevations, for a new total of (10). Send me an e-mail and I will respond with further details about the Sept. 10th meeting.

Back to Once-a-day Watering

The hot dry spell that started back in the third week of July has finally broken and we are seeing cooler and wetter weather. Therefore, as of Saturday, Sept. 6th, the lawn sprinkler controllers have been reset to water once a day during the early morning hours.

According to my rain gauge, here are the recent monthly rainfall totals for the Manors at Central Park:
May - 3.1 inches
June - 4.6 inches
July - 3.7 inches
Aug - 2.8 inches

Just like the Detroit Lions...

.... our sprinkler system zones are going on "two-a-day" sessions!

Adding 20% more time hasn't produced the desired effect, so starting Tuesday, July 29th, each sprinkler zone will run twice a day, six days a week until the weather cools off.

I have reset the Seasonal Adjustment back to 100% and added a second start time that is exactly 12 hours after the first. Each of the controllers start sometime between 12:15 and 3:30 AM/PM and finish up between 6:00 and 8:45 AM/PM. Specific start and finish times for each controller can be found by going here.

Additional landscape watering

I have recently increased by 20% the length of "on" time for each sprinkler system zone so that our lawns will stay healthy during the toughest part of the summer. Except for Controller No. 2, the start time for the first zone on each controller remains the same, but the succeeding zones will start and finish later than the times shown on the published lists that can be found here.

I will continue to monitor our landscaping watering needs and I will scale back the water usage when appropriate.

Disappearing flowers & plants

Residents on Regent and Lexington South have reported that during the first two weeks of this month, someone has been stealing flowers and plants from the mulched areas in front of their units. Some of these were neatly uprooted from the ground and others were in growing in planters, which the thief or thieves also took. These were all taken under the cover of darkness over four different nights. Please keep an eye out for suspicious activity on our streets after dark.

As a result of this, some co-owners have indicated that they wish to replace the exterior light fixture by their front door with one that includes a motion detector. Since these fixtures are common elements, an Alteration/Modification Request must be made out and the new fixture must look similar to the existing one that is used throughout our development. Once I find some comparable fixtures with motion detectors and where they can be bought, I will post the information here. I already know of four co-owners who wish to purchase a motion detecting light fixture and I will be writing up a single Alt/Mod Request to cover them and anyone else who would like to go this route.

UPDATE: Exterior lantern-type lamp fixtures with built-in motion detectors that are comparable to our existing type of fixture can be found at Lowes and Home Depot. I also stopped at the Ray Lighting Center on Hall Road and the House of Lights across from us on Van Dyke and could not find anything comparable.

Lowes carries the Portfolio Wall Lantern, Motion-Activated, Item # 253841. The motion sensor is mounted at the end of the support arm under the fixture and it has independent right and left sensitivity adjustments. It sells for $48.98.

Home Depot sells the Hampton Bay Motion Sensor Exterior Lantern, # 248 593 for $39.97. Its motion sensor is located on the wall plate and it features 2-level accent lighting. When this feature is enabled, the light bulb burns with a reduced intensity that increases to normal when motion is detected. The reduced intensity accent lighting can be controlled to burn for various lengths of time after dusk. If you choose not to enable the accent lighting feature, it operates like a regular motion-activated fixture and the light bulb burns at its regular wattage.

Both fixtures have a maximum bulb rating of 100 watts and the sensor on the Hampton Bay model is advertised as having about a 30 foot range.

However, several resident's experience with both models shows that when installed and set at the maximum sensitivity adjustment, the sensors detected motion only in the 4 to 6 foot range. This is probably due to the narrowness of the front porch and the "tunnel effect" created by the front bedroom and garage exterior walls.

A single Alt/Mod Request was submitted on behalf of (10) co-owners and it has since been approved. All ten co-owners should have received a copy of it in the mail by now.

No pain at this pump!

Our new irrigation well is now operational and pumping water nightly to the sprinkler zones on the berm along the west side of our property. The well is located at the base of the berm near the corner of Lexington North and Regent Streets. The Board plans to enclose the well equipment with a screen of arbor vitae evergreens so that it cannot be seen from the neighboring units or the street.

Previously these zones along the berm used municipal water but since our water and sewer bills were our largest single budget expense in 2007, the Board decided to invest in the well because it will immediately reduce our operating costs and it has an attractive payback period.

The well water has a high iron content that can cause staining on buildings and sidewalks, therefore we do not intend to use it for watering any landscaping other than on the berm.

Landscaping

Last week United wrapped up a week's work of work on our landscaping to bring it back into a neatly manicured condition. Beds were edged and new mulch was applied throughout the property. A half-dozen dead trees were removed and replaced, along with more than 20 shrubs. Also, numerous bare and low spots in the lawns were filled-in with topsoil and seeded. While it isn't totally perfect, we are getting closer to the ideal and more work will be scheduled for this fall.

To enable the new grass seed to germinate and the new shrubs to thrive, I've added a 5 minute additional mid-day sprinkler cycle. However, the new shrubs and trees probably need an occasional deep watering that the sprinkler system cannot provide without drowning the other landscaping. Therefore, it would be greatly appreciated if you can take the new shrubs and trees that were planted near your unit "under your wing" for the next couple of weeks and give them an occasional long drink from your hose.

Our On-site Contractors

The following contractors are paid by the Association to perform various services for us and you can expect to see their trucks being regularly driven and parked on our streets:

• Allied Waste Services - collects refuse and recyclables using separate trucks every Tuesday
• Eradico Services - outdoor pest control, responds to service calls submitted to Kramer-Triad
• H2O Irrigation - sprinkler system maintenance, responds to service calls submitted to Kramer-Triad
• United Lawnscape - a work crew mows and edges the lawn every Monday from April to October, plus additional work as required.
  

Other commercial vehicles you can expect to see on our streets include UPS and Fedex delivery trucks (which should be stopping at occupied units) and those belonging to the builder's various contractors (which should be stopping at units that are under construction).

Please be observant for vehicles that appear to be cruising through our streets without a legitimate business purpose. They could be looking to illegally dump refuse on a vacant lot or into one of our contractor's rented dumpsters. Also, many local subdivisions have had their sprinkler system water meters and shut-off valves stolen from the meter boxes so they could be sold for scrap. Only H2O Irrigation Inc. and Trost Irrigation Inc. are authorized to open our beige meter boxes while working on our system.

If you see any suspicious activity, please try to get a description of the vehicle (and its license plate number if possible) and contact the appropriate authorities.

Changes to the Sprinkler System

With the recent installation of sprinkler zones and sod at ten new units, the sprinkler controllers have had to be re-programmed. Because of the added zones, I have had to move the start times earlier and where possible, I have selected the start times so that the last zone on the controller will finish by sunrise so that they don't interfere with our early risers who are out and about then. You can read more about the new settings, plus the latest on the well, by going here.

From that page and the others it links to, you can tell that I've spent considerable time documenting the entire sprinkler system so we will all know how and when it operates and where to go if the water has to be manually shut off due to a broken part in the system. I've also been working to identify and fix sprinkler heads that are stuck or buried so that the system will operate as it was originally intended.

If you spot a problem with a sprinkler head or an unwatered area, call me first at 726-0317 and I will come over and take a look at it. If I am unable to fix the problem myself, I will then submit a service request to Kramer-Triad who will contact H2O Irrigation to perform the needed work.

Sod at new units

I spoke with Tom at the sales office today and he informs me that remainder of the sod installation at the two new units on Lexington North and Lexington West will be completed after the construction of decks at the rear of those units. Deck installation is scheduled to begin within one week.

03 July 2008 UPDATE: The decks were finished earlier this week and the remainder of the sod was laid today.

Update - Mulching, edging, etc.

Due to recent weather conditions, United will be starting their work on Tuesday, June 17th rather than on Monday as originally scheduled.

We had a visitor today

The Goodyear Blimp is in town for this weekend's air races on the Detroit River. Today it was spotted over our neighborhood at around 12:30 PM and I just happened to have my camera handy.

Deck and Stamped Concrete Maintenance

I have updated this web page which has information regarding responsibilities for maintaining your deck and stamped concrete, plus information about the types of products available that will match their original, common appearances.

A link to that web page is located in the "Useful Links" section at right and will always take you to the latest version of that page.

On a related note, I have gathered information regarding the exterior paint colors that were originally used on all exterior wood trim and front entrance doors. While the Association is responsible for maintaining the exterior paint on our units, there may be circumstances where a co-owner wishes to touch up nicks or scratches or needs to paint something they have received approval to add or modify. Contact me and I can provide the information you will need to match the existing paint colors.

Mulching, edging, etc.

Ryan Dorner (Kramer-Triad) informs me that United will be working here at the Manors during the week of June 16th to perform the much-needed bed edging and mulching, plus the planned replacement of deciduous trees (mentioned in a previous post) as well as planting of annuals and other work.

Sprinkler system operating days & times

Updated May 21st at 6:45 P.M.
Updated information is shown in italics and strikethroughs.

All of the sprinkler system controllers are now up and running and almost all of the stations zones are now functional. Most of the non-functional zones have been shut off until broken spray heads can be replaced (a service order has been submitted).

I have a key to all of the controller boxes (except for the one which controls the zones for the units on Central Park North, which uses a different key that I am still waiting for). so I can make adjustments to the station zone settings as needed. If you notice a broken head gushing water, call me and I will disable the affected station zone and submit the service request to Kramer-Triad. If I am not home, please leave a message and I will get to it as soon as possible.

The controllers have been re-programmed to water on Tuesdays through Sundays. The controllers will begin watering at around 4:00 A.M. on those mornings. There will be no watering on Mondays (to facilitate the landscaping service).

A Sprinkler System Settings link has been added to the "Useful Links" section on the right where you can look up detailed information about each controller's stations (zones) and watering times. So far, I have only documented Controller Nos. 6 & 8, but I will be adding the others in the days to come.

The controller boxes are each equipped with their own rain sensor, which will cancel a watering program that is
a) already in progress (shortly after it detects the start of rain)
b) about to start, if the sensor detects that it is raining or if it has not dried out yet from a very recent rain.

After the sensor had dried out, the sprinkler controller will automatically initiate the next regularly scheduled watering program. Therefore, if you do not see the sprinklers running at their regular day and time, it's most likely because the program has been canceled by the rain sensor.

When the weather gets warmer and drier, I will add a second watering program in the afternoon. This cycle will probably start around 4:00 P.M. and run only on Tuesdays through Fridays. I will post the details here when I add the second program.

Monday is our new day for lawn service

I just learned this morning that for the 2008 season, United will be cutting and edging our lawns on Mondays (the previous two years it had been done on Fridays).

Names and addresses

Thank you for all of the positive feedback I've received so far about this blog. One suggestion I received was a request to add a list containing the names and addresses of all co-owners.

Rather than compile and maintain such a list on my own, I have added some "Useful Links" to the public information that is available through the Shelby Twp. Assessing office's Property & Land Search database. This information is updated within days after a property sale, so it is always current. Click on one of the "Co-owners on ...." links and it will give you a list of all the properties on that street, along with the names of each co-owner. Note that the list is spread across multiple pages - you can either click on the page numbers at lower right to navigate the complete list or click on the "Printer friendly version" link at upper right to see (and print) the entire list for that street. The properties are listed in street address order and if you click on the Parcel Number link for a property, it will open up the complete record for that parcel, which includes the assessment and sales data.

I have also added a link to ZabaSearch, which is a free people/public information search engine. By entering a first and/or last name, plus the state, this search engine will return all publicly-available information for that name, including phone numbers (if available). The information returned by ZabaSearch is not as current as the Shelby Twp. assessing data, since it can take 18 to 24 months for a new address to show up in their results.

Status - Site Plan Modification #02-55, Manors at CP

The Shelby Twp. Planning Commission held a public hearing on Feb. 27, 2008 regarding Site Plan #02-55 (PUD-1) The Manors at Central Park; Site Plan Modification. The petitioner, Lombardo Homes, was requesting a modification to the site plan to permit two-story detached condo units on Lots 1-15 of the Manors at Central Park instead of the previously-approved one-story detached condo units.

After hearing from the petitioner about his proposal and then from the many residents of Central Park who spoke in opposition to it, the Planning Commission tabled the request. The Shelby Twp. Planning Director told us there would have to be a study session with the petitioner and Commission before the matter could come back to the Commission and that a representative from each of the four Associations in Central Park would be invited to attend the study session. The ball remains in Mr. Lombardo's court and so far, he has made no attempt to request such a study session.

Lawn repairs and tree replacements

United Lawnscape has been hired to fill and repair numerous low spots in lawns throughout the site after our sprinkler zones are up and running. These low spots have been marked with white spray paint. United will avoid mowing these repaired areas for a few weeks until the grass has been established. They will then resume regular mowing of these spots. Your understanding and patience are appreciated.

There are additional low spots near front yard water shut-off flanges that are above grade. These flanges will have to be reset so they will be flush with the finished grade. The surrounding low spots and lawn will then be repaired after this work is completed. Depending on favorable cost estimates, we hope to have this work completed by fall.

We have also contracted with United to remove and replace (6) dead deciduous trees that are scattered throughout the site. This should also happen shortly after our sprinkler system is functional.

We will also be contracting with United to plant numerous evergreen trees on the berms in the northwest quadrant of the site to replace dead and missing trees. This work will be scheduled for later this summer to insure that we receive a full warranty and that the sprinkler zones on the berms are functional after the switch-over to our new well. This work will cause additional lawn damage in that area, so we are deferring any repairs to existing lawn damage in that area until after the evergreens are planted. We trust that you will understand that this work is being deferred so that it can be done with the minimum costs to the Association while providing the best warranty protection we can get.

Sprinkler System Start-up

The water meters for the sprinkler system zones were installed on April 25th. H2O Irrigation Inc. began work the following week to test each zone and make necessary repairs to broken heads. During this process, Shelby Township inspectors red-tagged two of the meters and stopped all work until we made changes to the valve arrangements on our side of those two meters. Those changes were made on May 8th and H2O is scheduled to return on May 12th and 13th to complete the start-up work.

Due to the insistence of the Shelby Twp. water department that we revise valving that had already passed their inspection in 2004, we have incurred additional work and expenses that have delayed the system start-up by more than a week. The sprinkler systems should be functional by May 14, 2008.

A well has been drilled at the base of the berm near the intersection of Regent and Lexington North. Once completed, this will be used to supply irrigation water for the grass and trees on the berm in the northwest quadrant of the site. This will result in a significant savings on our municipal water billings.

2008 Lawn & Landscaping Maintenance Contract

In early April, United Lawnscape was awarded a competitively-bid contract to perform the following services for 2008:

• Spring and Fall clean-up
• Mowing, trimming and edging turf areas
• Bed weeding and edging
• Ornamental shrub trimming
• Turf fertilization

At an April 21st meeting we had with the United account manager, it was pointed out that they made the first fertilizer application on April 17th, which was then followed by the Spring clean-up on the 18th and 19th. He admitted that the fertilization should have occured after the clean-up and that they would give us an additional fertilization.

At that meeting we also discussed the fact that they had already cut out and replaced most of the lawn sections that had been damaged over the winter under their snow removal contract. We pointed out that we still had not received our water meters back from the Township and therefore our sprinkler systems would not be operational for at least another two weeks. We also gave them a list of ten sprinkler heads that had been damaged by their plows. Under their snow contract, we are allowed to hold back a portion of their payment until all repairs are made to our satisfaction. The United account manager said that they would repair the sprinkler heads and then replace any lawn sections that failed to thrive.

We are in the process of getting cost estimates for a work order to apply new mulch to the beds throughout the site. This work is not part of United's 2008 contract and will be handled separately. When the work order is approved, I will let everyone know in a separate post here what the estimated start date is so that you can remove any planters, landscape lighting, etc. that might be in the way.