Next Meeting & Tree Replacement

Our next meeting, and the last one planned for 2014, will happen Thursday, November 20. We cannot get our regular meeting room, so we will meet at the dining area in the Super Target store on Bloomingdale Avenue. Start time is the usual 7 p.m.

A longtime discussion topic at board meetings is the long-term need to get some of the large oak trees away from our buildings. As they continue to grow, they will encroach ever more on our buildings, and eventually endanger their slab foundations.

That would be bad.

With an arborist and our landscape company, the board has begun a scheduled plan to remove the troublesome trees and replace them with ones better suited to live near buildings. We have narrowed the list of replacement trees to three kinds that stood out for their combination of attractiveness, heartiness in our climate, and ability to thrive close to structures and paving.

They are Dahoon Holly, Crepe Myrtle, Southern Red Cedar and Ligustrum Patio. Scroll down to see photos of each.

We’d like owners’ feedback on which you prefer. You can email board@stcharlesplace or show up in person. We would entertain others not among those three, but those are the ones that our landscaper and arborist recommend. Click on the images to see larger versions.

Crepe Myrtle:

Dahoon Holly:

Ligustrum Patio:

Cedar:

I might not have the correct cedar tree here, because I don't think we'd want them that large, but it's an evergreen and the photo should give you a decent idea.

We would not go exclusively with one kind throughout the community, but rather a mix to give our landscaping variety while having trees that work better close to buildings. This will be a long-term project with the oaks causing the most risk getting priority for removal.

The trees will likely be much smaller than the ones they replace, but in a few years, they will grow and mature into ones that give our community its distinctive look, without the danger of harming the integrity of our buildings.

Again, send thoughts to board@stcharlesplace.us.

Pool Problems

Our property manager informed the board that someone broke the gate at the pool and tampered with with the pool equipment, which partially drained the pool.

This will cost money to fix. Money that we all pay because someone vandalized our property. If you see something suspicious anywhere in the community, you won't only do your civic duty by reporting it to police, you might also save your wallet a favor.

The HOA has invested in a new security system at the pool, which soon will help us identify people who break in and/or do damage in the pool area. Even then, nothing works as well as people caring enough about where they live to keep their eyes open and report what they see.

If you ever see something that looks wrong and wonder why no on has addressed the problem, email board@stcharlesplace.us and ask. It could be that no one on the board or the property manager has noticed the problem.

We Have Private Roads

At the end of this month, workers will install new street signs. We'll get blue ones that indicate that St. Charles Place has private roads. We have one already on Johanna Avenue at US 301. Our builder, KB Home, should have had blue ones throughout the community but did not.

Defining our roads better gives us more ability to enforce our rights. For instance, solicitors claim that the green signs give them the right walk our roads and knock on our doors, because green signs denote public streets. The blue signs, that also state "Private Road" on them, gives any resident something to point to to say, "you are trespassing on private property, and you need to leave."

This takes on more meaning when you consider a recent report by WFLA-TV about door-to-door magazine sellers. These are teenagers that a for-profit company has recruited to knock on your door and tell you that they're earning points for scholarships, or trying to help charities.

They're not. They're trying to sell you magazines, or gift baskets, or something else. A for-profit company has recruited kids to sell you things in what is basically an attempt to end-run non soliciting rules, and to put an innocent face on what is essentially a scam.

That's not the only one. People sell security systems (or say they do), cable and satellite TV, and any number of other things. Some merely aim to case possible targets for burglaries. It's a security issue. The blue private road signs don't do much by themselves. But they are more arrows in our quiver as we defend our community.

We're on Facebook

Just a reminder that you can stay up to date on news about your neighborhood by liking its Facebook page. Find it at facebook.com/StCharlesPlaceHOA.

No one monitors the page 24/7 so if you have questions, the best way to reach the board is its email address board@stcharlesplace.us, or our property manager, John Calcagni, at jcalcagni@lelandmanagement.com.

But two HOA board members post updates to the Facebook page regularly, and it's a great way to stay in touch with what's happening in the community.

Security Cameras Coming

One of the most persistent issues residents voice concerns crime and security. Either luck has favored us, or the efforts we've made to inform people about ways to safeguard themselves and their community have helped protect us, or some combination of the two. We have few reports of crime (knock on whatever wood-like stuff constitutes this table), with the most recent being cars broken into.

Still the board has looked for ways to improve security. Soon, you will see several new things meant to do that.

Our first security cameras will go up in the pool area. The pool is our primary amenity, and has been an occasional target of vandalism, and people from outside the community using the pool. The outsiders, usually kids, and the vandalism may have a connection. At least I hope that our residents have not used the recently bought chaise lounges as diving boards.

Cameras won't stop misdeeds by themselves. They will deter some people, and they will give us something to show police if someone damages our property.

The board has also discussed, but not decided on, putting up other cameras to monitor our trash dumpsters, where people -- residents and not -- dump trash, furniture, tires, grills, and other refuse outside the dumpsters, which costs a lot of money to clean.

The board, in varying degrees, remains open to using cameras in other places. Some did not want them pointed at any units, though board member John McQuiston (also your humble blog author) says, "you are welcome to point them at my house!"

The board also decided to install an electronic key fob system for the pool that will replace the simple keys we currently use. This will prevent copying, and also help the community better govern pool use. It might also help the HOA collect outstanding dues. According to our governing documents, those who fall behind in dues payments lose privileges to our amenities. If someone's account gets more than 90 days behind, the HOA can disable his or her pool fob.

The board has also gotten bids on the cost of hiring security patrols. Board members at a recent meeting did not offer much enthusiasm for the idea, and our property manager did not express confidence in their effectiveness for the cost. The board also discussed trying to establish a community watch program. Its consensus was that people don't want to volunteer the effort or the time to do it.

This does not close the door on efforts to keep criminals out of St. Charles Place. As I have written before, our best defense is curious and engaged residents who know their neighbors and make it a habit of saying hello to anyone they see.  If would-be criminals see that we notice things, they will look for easier targets where people don't look out for each other.

Have a happy -- and safe -- Independence Day

Uncle Sam looks pretty good for a guy about to turn 237 years old. As we enjoy a day off to celebrate Independence Day, please take care to keep yourself and your neighbors safe. Also remember that our community has 268 homes in tight proximity. Consider your neighbors when you decide how to celebrate. I know at least one who must get up to go to work Thursday and Friday mornings.

I know you can't spit without hitting one of those roadside stands that sell fireworks. A quirk in state law prohibits local governments from banning fireworks sales, even though you can't legally set them off without a permit unless you run a fish hatchery or are a farmer using them to scare birds away from their crops. I swear to God that's true. (It was at the time I originally wrote this post. State law has changed to allow home fireworks displays on certain days.)

Fortunately, no none that I know about in our neighborhood has ever fired gunshots in celebration of any holiday. But a boy in Ruskin still recovers from injuries suffered when a stray bullet, apparently fired in elation, struck him in the head January 1 of last year.

Victory for Now

Hillsborough County Commissioners voted 6-0 yesterday to deny a developer's application to waive the rules for building on the commercial parcel next to us. The developer can come back with another proposal for the property or, as its lawyer threatened, sue the county.

But, for now, we win.

While sympathetic to the Barclay Group's right to develop the property (as were we in our presentation), commissioners heard from us a now common thought among their constituents: People want development that does more than make their communities another in the long line of strip malls that populate too much of our state.

We also tried to impress on commissioners that the unusual proximity between the commercial development and ours meant that the developer had an obligation to build something that was compatible with hundreds of homes so close by.

Commissioners seemed open to changing the Riverview Uptown Overlay District that rules what developers can build in the 4-acre plot next to us, and we'll need to stay involved in any process that could alter the overlay district, and to see what the developers come back with.

This will be one topic of discussion when we have our next HOA meeting next Tuesday, January 22, at the usual location. Time is 7 p.m. Map to the location is below.

River of Life Christian Center
6605 Krycul Avenue
Riverview, FL 33569


View Larger Map

Commercial Development - Your Help Needed

Help us. And help yourself, your quality of life, and your property values.

Regarding the commercial development at the entryway to our community, it the County's Development Services Department supports the developer's request to waive a number of the design rules for the parcel.

The County's Planning Services Commission opposes the request.

The difference could come down to you when Hillsborough County Commissioners hold a hearing this coming Tuesday, January 15, and decide whether to grant the developer's request.

Please call your County Commissioners and let them know you object to PRS 12-0600 and that you support the Riverview Uptown Overlay District. 

 Al Higginbotham - 813 -272-5740 (Our District Representative)
Kevin Beckner - 813-272-5730 (Countywide)
Mark Sharpe - 813-272-5735 (Countywide)
Ken Hagen - 813-272-5725 (Countywide)
Les Miller - 813-272-5720
Victor Crist - 813-272-5452
Sandra Murman - 813-272-5470

You can also write a letter to County Commissioners asking them to reject the application. Send it to the planner with Hillsborough County Development Services that is leading the review of this application. Her name is Isabelle Albert. Her email is AlbertI@hillsboroughcounty.org.  Again, be sure to refer to application number is PRS 12-0600.

If you want details about the developer's plans, and why they're bad for St. Charles Place, find background here, as well as a copy of the letter I wrote to commissioners. Read more details on this page.

Strategy Session Tuesday

Several HOA board members (perhaps all of them) will meet at the pool area Tuesday, Janauary 8, at 7 p.m. to plan our approach to convincing county commissioners to deny a waiver of development rules for the parcel of land next to our property.

If you live in the community, you are welcome to attend, even if you cannot appear at the hearing itself, which happens at the county building in Tampa the following Tuesday, January 15.

The board believes that granting the waiver for developers of the land between Dartmouth Hill Road and US-301 would do great harm to our community. We believe the rules in place (the Riverview Uptown Overlay District, if you want to do some research on it, or just look through previous entries on the blog here for details) allow the developer plenty of latitude to develop the land in a way that honors its right to develop it, while protecting the rights of the people who have to live in very close proximity to it.

We have some ideas already on a multi-pronged strategy that will illustrate our story for commissioners. But if you have something to add, even if it's simple silent support, please join us.

HOA Meeting Tuesday About Commercial Development

Our first HOA meeting with the new board of directors happens Tuesday at River of Life Christian Church on Krycul Ave. The address and a map appear below if you're not familiar with the location.

The primary topic of discussion figures to be the planned development of the land adjacent to our community between US-301 and Dartmouth Hill Rd. As we've mentioned before, the developer has submitted an application to Hillsborough County Commissioners to waive the development rules. It wants basically a blank slate to build anything it wants there, regardless of its injurious impacts to the 268 homes in our community.

The board opposes the waiver application and the board is trying to organize a group of people to attend the application hearing January 15 in Tampa. The developer will have a group of people on its side, and a crowd opposing its application that shows up in person could carry a lot of weight with county commissioners who must decided whether to grant the waiver.

If you're on Facebook, board president David Hey created an event there where you can sign up to go.

Yes, emails and letters sent help our cause, too. But the strongest statement we can make is to appear in person. The hearing happens at 9 a.m. on a Tuesday, which makes it difficult for many people who must work, but considering the damage to our property values if a 24/7 gas station goes in right next to us, please consider making every effort to attend.

If you need a refresher on the issue, this page offers some background about what the development rules are, and why the developer wants relief from them.

And this page has more details, and a copy of the letter that I wrote in support of the current rules and against the waiver application.

River of Life Christian Center
6605 Krycul Avenue
Riverview, FL 33569


View Larger Map

Trying to Unscramble Eggs

The headline overstates the problem, but the board had to postpone tonight's scheduled HOA meeting because it was not sure that we had secured the usual meeting place. The venue has had a change in its administration and the person who used to approve our use of the room has left, and we're trying to arrange either another date at River of Life, or find a new place to meet.

Of course this happens right when we're coming up on the most important meetings of the year -- our budget meeting, and our annual meeting. We've been lucky that a former board member and present fellow owner goes to River of Life and had arranged for us to use one of its meeting rooms at a deep discount.

She's checking to see if we can meet there one day next week. We're also looking at the Riverview Civic Center, a county-owned facility that is farther away (about 1.5 mi. from us), but also inexpensive to rent. If we have to go elsewhere, it will cost a lot more.

The efforts to sort this out and find a meeting place have begun. As soon as we have something set, I'll let you know.

Clarification

Feedback from fellow board members about my post below alerted me to a need to make clear whose voice this blog represents. While I created it for the benefit of our community, I did so on my own.

Over time, as people looking for news and information about our community found this site, it grew into the de facto web site for the community. I'm glad it became a useful resource for people, and I've taken time to upgrade its functionality to make it a better tool for us.

But this blog has never been officially approved, sanctioned or controlled by the St. Charles Place HOA board of directors. I have written every word of this blog, and I am solely responsible for its content. I have always had the disclaimer on the site that says it includes opinions independent of the board's, and I have moved it up higher on the right-hand column of the page to make it more prominent.

I usually avoid mentioning my name, not for the sake of anonymity, but only because I want Google searches for me to take people to my professional web site instead of here. But come to any HOA board meeting (I've never missed one) and you'll find me, happy to discuss anything you read here, or any issue confronting our community.

John

They Want a Gas Station

They want a gas station in the commercial plot next to our community. That's the takeaway from a presentation representatives from Barclay made to the HOA last night. That's why they want us not to contest their request for a waiver from the guidelines in Hillsborough County's Riverview Uptown Overlay District.



Boiled down to it simplest terms, the Uptown Overlay District plan calls for buildings to sit up against US-301 road with parking behind them. This would virtually eliminate the possibility of a gas station going in that parcel. There are a tiny number of gas stations in the entire country where the pumps are behind the building, not visible from the road. While the developer could still put one in while conforming to the Overlay District plans, it is highly unlikely.

The reps from Barclay didn't explicitly say they intend to put a gas station there, but they want the option, since that maximizes their profit from the property, not to have the buildings up against the road, and have the parking between them and US-301, like every other strip mall.

The very thing the Uptown Overlay District plan hoped to prevent. (Read the plan's details here.)

Among residents at the meeting, the opinion not to support the waiver request was unanimous. The board did not seem to like the idea, either. But the board did not decide. It wants feedback on whether we can mount enough protest — either in person, or by email and letter — to persuade the Hillsborough County Commissioners to stick with their plans and reject the waiver request.

Some board members fear that the commissioners will side with the developer and want to explore negotiating with Barclay. Their thought is that it's better to get a gas station with nice landscaping as a buffer between it and us, than getting one with only a fence or a wall separating us.

Your humble blog author believes that a gas station going in that space is our worst-case scenario. Whether it has nice landscaping or not matters little, and thinks we should rally residents and unit owners to urge the commissioners to refuse the waiver request.

Let your board members know your thoughts. Do you want a gas station in that plot, or not? Are you willing to fight to keep it out? Your effort could be as simple as writing a letter of protest, but you also need to write to your board members at board@stcharlesplace.us.

Developments in Development

Our next HOA meeting is next Tuesday, September 25. A representative from the developer that wants the county to waive its planning rules for the parcel next to us (between US-301 and Dartmouth Hill Road) wants to speak to the board.

It is not set in stone that he will attend, but if he does, you might want to hear it, with the understanding that nothing he tells us is legally binding, and that any plans he might share with us will likely bear little resemblance to what actually gets built there.

A board member has unearthed a signed agreement between our home builder, KB Home, and the owner of the parcel that appears to grant easement rights to our roads. This would grant the developer the right to build entrances into the commercial development from Lake St. Charles Blvd. and Johanna Ave.

This adds urgency to our campaign to press Hillsborough County commissioners not to grant a waiver to its planning rules for the Riverview Uptown Overlay District.

You can help. As I wrote back in June, you can write a letter to the Board of County Commissioners asking it to reject the application. Send it to the planner with Hillsborough County Development Services that is leading the review of this application. Her name is Isabelle Albert. And her email is AlbertI@hillsboroughcounty.org. The application number is PRS 12-0600.

You can also send comments or testimony to either Hearings@HillsboroughCounty.org or by regular mail to:

    PGM - ZONING HEARING SECTION
    PO BOX 1110
    TAMPA, FL 33601

You do not need to be a homeowner to do this. If you live here, this is your community, too.

Here is the letter I'm going to send. You're welcome to use that as a template for what you write. It will mean more if you use your own words, rather than simply copying and pasting this.

Board of County Commissioners

c/o Ms. Isabelle Albert
Hillsborough County
Development Services Department
20th Floor
601 East Kennedy Blvd
Tampa, FL 33601

RE: PRS 12-0600

Dear Commissioners:

I own a home in the St. Charles Place townhome community in Riverview, and I ask that you reject the application PRS 12-0600 to waive the development standards within Section 03.20.00 (the Riverview Downtown - Uptown Overlay District) of the Land Development Code. Our tightly-packed community of 268 homes sits next to the planned development site and I fear that approving the developer's request will damage the quality of life and community, as well as home values, of my neighbors and me.

When I bought my home, it was explained that development would happen in that spot, so I understand that. But I also understand that county planners worked with citizens for more than a year to create a long-term development plan to help distinguish the Riverview Community from the miles of suburban development that line US-301 to its north and south. County Commissioners approved the rules. If we couldn't keep the green space in that parcel, being part of a downtown offered the next best thing.

Now someone, probably for the sake of another gas station, wants to erase not only the hard work of county planners and Riverview residents, but the unspoken agreement all of us in St. Charles Place made when we bought our homes. If you approve this waiver, we could lose the chance to make Riverview a distinctive community, built with thoughtful plans and original charm, that will bring higher quality development, and ultimately more tax revenue for the county.

I urge you to stand for the county's long-term plan for the Overlay District, and reject PRS 12-0600.

Sincerely,

John McQuiston

At the last HOA meeting, someone mentioned that one of the e-mail addresses above did not work. I sent my letter to both of them and neither of them bounced. If I can verify that either one does not work, I'll update this page to include only the one that does.

Plumbing Emergency

Update: The plumbers did not shut water off today. They could not find the proper valve to stop water flow to do their needed fix. They will try again tomorrow (Thursday), again from 12-2 p.m. Apologies for the inconvenience. They are trying to minimize the impact on us as much as possible.

Apologies for the short notice. We just learned about this. A plumbing emergency will require that water to the entire community shut off between 12-2 p.m. today. If you can, please alert neighbors who might be affected.

Garbage

It appears that normal Monday garbage pickup did not happen because of the holiday, and the dumpsters are close to full. If you can wait until Wednesday to throw out your trash, that will keep it from overflowing.  Waste Management normally empties the dumpsters on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Commercial Development Coming

The parcel of land in front of our community, sandwiched between US-301 and Dartmouth Hill Road, is under contract to a developer. A representative of the Barclay Group has asked to meet with the HOA board "to discuss how we can work together to ensure the harmony and success of the development," he wrote in an email.

The board is not yet sure what that means. It is trying to learn what the community's rights are based on the property lines and previous plans for the parcel filed with Hillsborough County. It is zoned commercial, and original plans included a bank and a gas station, but a developer could put any kind of commercial business in the space.

To be clear: The HOA cannot stop the development from happening. But we might have some leverage in how it impacts our community. This will certainly top the agenda at the HOA's next meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, March 27.

If you own a unit in the community and have thoughts to share, bring them to the meeting.

Architectural Review Forms

We had an incorrect link to the Architectural Review Application that has now been repaired on our Architecture Review Committee Guidelines page.

Apologies for the inconvenience.

Find Your Main Water Shutoff Valve

Do you know what this is? Or where to find it? Here's why you need to know:

We had a resident tell us recently about a burst pipe that flooded her upstairs bathroom and damaged her kitchen ceiling. What made the problem worse is that she could not find the main water shutoff valve. This is the valve that cuts off water to the entire unit — specifically for emergencies like this.

The shutoff valve will be outside your unit, inside a covered plastic box. It may also be covered by mulch. Dig around near your driveway or walkway until you find it.

While the affected resident also notified our property manager and asked that the landscapers make sure that they make sure all the shutoff valves are uncovered, the issue there is that the landscapers probably don't know where the valves are, either. Even if they uncover them, the next mulching could hide them again.

But you can protect yourself. Take a few minutes to go outside and find your shutoff valve. It could save you a ton of headache later.

Trespassers at Our Pool & HOA Meeting Tonight

UPDATE: Lightning knocked out power to the church where we are scheduled to meet tonight. Right now, the plan is to meet outside then decide what to do -- postpone the meeting until Thursday or wait until next month to meet.

It's summer. Kids are hot, they're out of school and even ones who don't live here are cooling off in our pool. Beyond the trespassing when they jump the fence, they have also damaged the pool area and the cabana. What can we do?

That will be one discussion topic at our HOA meeting tonight. Sometimes the offenders are residents under 16 there without their parents, as required under community rules. Often they are kids who don't even live here but find our pool a convenient place to play.

We could buy a new, stronger, taller and harder-to-climb fence. We could hire security guards to monitor the pool. We could buy a video surveillance system. Those are some the ideas bandied about so far. What do you think?

It really is an important element in the community's quality of life, whether rule-abiding residents feel uncomfortable going to the pool because of rowdy kids. Or residents who live near the pool who can't sleep because people are there after dark, when the pool is supposed to be closed.

Also, should unit owners be allowed to install storm shutters? And some residents have reported problems with ants. The board will consider what measures beyond the usual pest control it needs to take.

The meeting happens 7 p.m. at the usual location -- River of Life Christian Church, 6605 Krycul Ave., Riverivew.