FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Letter to Homeowners

from President, Ken Docter

October 8, 2004

To All Homeowners,

THIS LETTER REQUIRES A DECISION BY EVERY HOMEOWNER

PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY – AND NOTE THE DUE DATE

I have previously informed you that we have permits to remodel and expand the decks on the first six of our buildings. The pilot project at Units 169/170 is mostly complete, and several other decks in that group are likely to be built this fall.

We thought that since we had provided TRPA with a full Scenic Assessment, and our buildings and decks are so similar to each other, that future approvals would be straight-forward. However, they now tell us that since there are variations, each building will require a separate approval – thus, each submission could take 6 to 8 months for TRPA and Placer County approvals and a bidding process.

The only alternative that we know of to the above process is to submit ALL deck/railing requests at one time. This is the route your Board of Directors has chosen to take.

This new submission process is a major change to our previously announced process. Since this will now be the ONLY submission to be managed by the Association, the Board has reevaluated our prior thinking on the deck project that all owners in a building should proceed together. With the assistance and concurrence of our architect, we have now resolved that each homeowner may make an independent decision, and that it will not be required for all units in a building to participate.

This new process can, of course, result in owners in a building having different deck sizes, and may raise a privacy concern. For example, owner A may decide to begin the process for approval for deck expansion, and the adjoining owner in the same building, owner B, chooses not to apply. The standard design is to “notch” the deck extension 2’ in from the existing privacy wall, as was done on units 169/170. The “notch” design has worked well for the prototype on 169/170, and will most likely be adequate for most homeowners in balancing the desire for privacy and protection of view. However, should the adjoining owner, owner B, find the “notch” inadequate, owner B can require that the common privacy wall be extended the length of the new extended deck. If owner B is not extending their deck, the cost of extending the privacy wall will be borne entirely by owner A; if both decks are being extended the cost of the privacy wall extension will be shared equally.

Accordingly, the Association needs to learn of your intent quickly so that all interested Homeowners can be combined into ONE submission to TRPA later this fall. This is the ONLY submission the Association will be shepherding. If you have an interest/intent to A) expand your deck and change railings, or B) change your railings only, in conjunction with our program, you MUST be part of this TRPA submission. After receipt of TRPA and Placer County approvals, the Association will schedule construction as rapidly as possible in “groups” of buildings over the following 1 to 3 year period.

Please follow the instructions below:

• Please complete and then mail the enclosed form to Kathy Payne, Director of Buildings, at 201 W. Monte Vista, Woodland, CA 95695, telling her that you want to be included for 1) deck expansion and railing change, 2) railing change only; or 3) no change.
• Your form must be received by Kathy on or before October 30, 2004.
• Should you select choices (1) or (2) above, Kathy will organize an On-Site Evaluation [OSE] by our architect, Scott Ryan, to determine whether your deck modification can be undertaken in accordance with the TRPA rules and regulations and the Chinquapin project guidelines approved by the Board. This evaluation will cost you $250. (This fee is not an Association expense since not all Homeowners will be participating.)
• Scott Ryan will visit your property and then meet with you in person or by phone to advise you how your deck and railings can be modified, and to answer questions you may have. You can then make a decision on whether to go to the next step.

For all Homeowners who then choose to be included in the combined TRPA submission, there will be an additional cost of $3,750 to cover architectural drawings, civil and structural engineering fees, TRPA fees and processing costs, and Placer County fees and processing costs. The cost for a rail-only submittal will be half of the above fee. The deliverables for this portion of the project will be the TRPA and Placer County approvals for your unit. [Decks that have non-standard components (like an extra set of stairs) will be charged a slightly higher fee.]

When the permit process is complete, you will be provided with an architectural drawing of the renovation plans for your decks and railings, along with a copy of the government approvals. You may then choose or not choose to go to the construction step. Should you choose to build, we will require you to sign off in a timely manner on the construction documents in order to stay within our construction timetable.

Following TRPA and Placer County approvals, the Association will let bids/contracts to various construction contractors and schedule the construction as expeditiously as possible. At the point that your building becomes scheduled for the remodel, you will be asked to sign a contract with the Association and provide funds for the construction. Full payment of the estimated costs must be received by the Association before construction commences. The pilot project cost came in somewhat higher than we expected, almost all driven by inflation of the cost of materials, so we currently estimate that a 3 deck condo built this fall will be approximately $37,500-45,000; and a 2 deck building $30,000-37,500 (plus a 15% contingency fee for any remodeling surprises, which, of course, will be returned to you if not needed). The cost of railings only has not yet been estimated since it is dependant on how the railing needs to be attached to the existing structure – but it will likely be less than half of the above amounts.

The owners of Units 163 to 174 do NOT need to respond to this letter, since you already have your approvals. Every other owner needs to respond.

Please send your form to Kathy Payne ASAP and prior to the October 30 deadline. If you have any questions or wish to talk about the project, please contact Rob Reis (E-mail or 650-327-5829) or me (E-mail or 925-258-5544). Emails are preferred.

SHOULD YOU NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE CHOA SUBMITTAL PROCESS TO TRPA AND SHOULD YOU DECIDE LATER THAT YOU WANT TO EXPAND YOUR DECKS, YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR OBTAINING AND PAYING FOR ALL APPLICATIONS, APPROVALS, PERMITS AND CONSTRUCTION AS APPROVED BY THE ASSOCIATION.

Sincerely,

Ken Docter
President

For inquiries please contact the appropriate Board Member or Committee Chairperson.

"Keeping Chinquapin Homeowners Informed"

URL: http://chinquapinhoa.com/presletteroct82004.htm
Last modified: 04/16/13