Other Frequently Asked Questions
Why should we build the Club when we still don’t have high speed internet and poor wireless service?
Like the Covenant Club, those are important community assets and the Association Board is working those issues right now. A contract for high speed internet is expected to be signed in November 2015. And plans for improved wireless are expected to be in place by the Association prior to March 2016. No significant cost for either project is expected as the Covenant will own these rights and will either improve them with external investment or lease the rights.
Shouldn’t we be spending money on water for the golf course?
The Association Board has earmarked funds for studies on how the golf club can become self-sufficient with regards to its water needs. The Golf Club Board is currently working with SFID to explore their options. But spending significant CEF (Community Enhancement Funds) on recycled water for the golf course is incredibly expensive (estimated cost of $18 million) and does not satisfy the needs of the majority of HOA members. In fact, less than 25% of the HOA are members of the golf club.
Should we have a pool when there’s a drought?
Swimming pools are not the water wasters as some believe. Researchers indicated that pools use about the same amount of water as drought tolerant succulents. It was estimated that to initially fill and maintain a community pool for three years is roughly equivalent to the amount of water used on the RSF golf course in 1-2 days.
Parking?
The Design Subcommittee hired a Parking Engineer and conducted usage needs studies. After a 6-week study, they estimated county requirements at 85 additional spaces to handle Covenant Club traffic. Current parking spaces on the golf and tennis campus number 195. In all, satisfying county requirements would require approximately 280 spots. The current Covenant Club design has approximately 300 spaces (50% more than currently on the golf and tennis campus), with equal or greater per car area, and with better overall flow.
The ongoing parking study currently shows a low utilization of 27 spaces and a high of 190. When complete, the study will have logged 9 months of utilization.
Rural character?
Maintaining our rural character is extremely important. This is recognized equally by the Design subcommittee, the current Association Board as well as by the early members of the Covenant, as seen in the original master planned documents of the Covenant which included swimming pools (1945). That same plan also included other amenities that 1945 Covenant members felt enhanced the community as a whole without destroying the rural character of RSF, such as riding stables and tennis courts.
How will noise levels change compared to the current noise levels?
Noise abatement is of paramount importance to the Design Subcommittee. An acoustic engineer is on the team and will be conducting more specific tests once the design is complete.
What is the Community Enhancement Fund (CEF)?
Should we use Community Enhancement Funds (CEF) to build or maintain the Covenant Club?
The CEF can indeed be used for the Covenant Club. The CEF is governed by types of use in its Enhancement Policy from 2012, most notably: “Expenditure of funds to renovate, enhance or improve Covenant resources…” Legal reviews in both 2014 and 2015 by separate counsel, as well as CPA review, substantiate this position.
Why do golf and tennis leadership seem so against the Covenant Club when their membership is split?
Uncertain. Golf and tennis members (including both current and past leadership) are part of the Association Board, the Covenant Club Committee and all three subcommittees (Design, Membership, Finance). Despite disputed survey results sent independently by the golf and tennis boards, all Association Board, subcommittee and community-wide votes concerning the Covenant Club have passed.
Further, the Golf Board originally sought and paid for the ClubMark consulting firm that recommended a health club, pool and casual dining. So, the conflicting messages from the golf and tennis leadership and their membership is difficult to understand.
Why would I support this if I have no intention of using it?
Preliminary research showed that such facilities are some of the most heavily used in top communities, oftentimes by those initially unenthusiastic. According to the Club Managers Association, a 2014 national survey showed that 93% of clubs adding health centers, casual dining and pools enjoyed significant jumps in golf and tennis membership. Association members who do not join may still gain tangible benefits, such as increased property values, and intangibles, such as community togetherness.
Like the Covenant Club, those are important community assets and the Association Board is working those issues right now. A contract for high speed internet is expected to be signed in November 2015. And plans for improved wireless are expected to be in place by the Association prior to March 2016. No significant cost for either project is expected as the Covenant will own these rights and will either improve them with external investment or lease the rights.
Shouldn’t we be spending money on water for the golf course?
The Association Board has earmarked funds for studies on how the golf club can become self-sufficient with regards to its water needs. The Golf Club Board is currently working with SFID to explore their options. But spending significant CEF (Community Enhancement Funds) on recycled water for the golf course is incredibly expensive (estimated cost of $18 million) and does not satisfy the needs of the majority of HOA members. In fact, less than 25% of the HOA are members of the golf club.
Should we have a pool when there’s a drought?
Swimming pools are not the water wasters as some believe. Researchers indicated that pools use about the same amount of water as drought tolerant succulents. It was estimated that to initially fill and maintain a community pool for three years is roughly equivalent to the amount of water used on the RSF golf course in 1-2 days.
Parking?
The Design Subcommittee hired a Parking Engineer and conducted usage needs studies. After a 6-week study, they estimated county requirements at 85 additional spaces to handle Covenant Club traffic. Current parking spaces on the golf and tennis campus number 195. In all, satisfying county requirements would require approximately 280 spots. The current Covenant Club design has approximately 300 spaces (50% more than currently on the golf and tennis campus), with equal or greater per car area, and with better overall flow.
The ongoing parking study currently shows a low utilization of 27 spaces and a high of 190. When complete, the study will have logged 9 months of utilization.
Rural character?
Maintaining our rural character is extremely important. This is recognized equally by the Design subcommittee, the current Association Board as well as by the early members of the Covenant, as seen in the original master planned documents of the Covenant which included swimming pools (1945). That same plan also included other amenities that 1945 Covenant members felt enhanced the community as a whole without destroying the rural character of RSF, such as riding stables and tennis courts.
How will noise levels change compared to the current noise levels?
Noise abatement is of paramount importance to the Design Subcommittee. An acoustic engineer is on the team and will be conducting more specific tests once the design is complete.
What is the Community Enhancement Fund (CEF)?
- The CEF was previously known as the Open Space Fund, established in 1984, whose goal it was to purchase undeveloped, adjacent parcels to the Covenant that would serve as a development buffer to maintain the Covenant’s rural character.
- Originally, 2 cents out of 14 cents per $100 assessed home value went toward the Open Space Fund. Several years back, this was bumped to 2½ cents out of the 14 cents per $100 assessed value of HOA dues (17.9%) going toward the Open Space Fund. Dues are set in accordance with Prop 13, which locks in assessed property values at the time of purchase.
- Osuna was purchased in 2006 for $11.9 million using Open Space Funds, along with a loan.
- With this purchase, the Open Space Fund was depleted in its entirety with ensuing years of partial Open Space funding used to service Osuna debt.
- In 2010, the Open Space Fund was renamed the Community Enhancement Fund (CEF) with the express purpose of enhancing or improving covenant resources and funded at the same funding levels as the previous Open Space Fund.
- An Osuna parcel was sold in 2013 for $1.6 million. At the insistence of HOA members wishing to sell the property, the remaining Osuna property was assessed in 2015 at less than half of its original purchase price.
- The current CEF stands at just under $7 million, growing at just over $1 million per year.
- Recent CEF uses include: exploration of alternative water sources for the Golf course, repair of trail fencing along golf course, playground at ball fields, feasibility study for Covenant Club.
Should we use Community Enhancement Funds (CEF) to build or maintain the Covenant Club?
The CEF can indeed be used for the Covenant Club. The CEF is governed by types of use in its Enhancement Policy from 2012, most notably: “Expenditure of funds to renovate, enhance or improve Covenant resources…” Legal reviews in both 2014 and 2015 by separate counsel, as well as CPA review, substantiate this position.
Why do golf and tennis leadership seem so against the Covenant Club when their membership is split?
Uncertain. Golf and tennis members (including both current and past leadership) are part of the Association Board, the Covenant Club Committee and all three subcommittees (Design, Membership, Finance). Despite disputed survey results sent independently by the golf and tennis boards, all Association Board, subcommittee and community-wide votes concerning the Covenant Club have passed.
Further, the Golf Board originally sought and paid for the ClubMark consulting firm that recommended a health club, pool and casual dining. So, the conflicting messages from the golf and tennis leadership and their membership is difficult to understand.
Why would I support this if I have no intention of using it?
Preliminary research showed that such facilities are some of the most heavily used in top communities, oftentimes by those initially unenthusiastic. According to the Club Managers Association, a 2014 national survey showed that 93% of clubs adding health centers, casual dining and pools enjoyed significant jumps in golf and tennis membership. Association members who do not join may still gain tangible benefits, such as increased property values, and intangibles, such as community togetherness.