President’s Comments – 8.10.21
And a word from our secretary…
Please continue to contact PPM if you have any questions or notice anything that needs to be addressed. People are here all summer and we appreciate your input. As they said in New York City after 9/11, “If you see something, say something!” However, be sure to let the right people know if you notice a problem, versus just expressing your dissatisfaction on social media.
The major concerns seem to be Short Term Rentals and Security. The Board and our Community Management team continue to be focused on these issues.
A word from the HOA Secretary – Matt Cutugno:
I would like to offer as simple an explanation as possible for a complicated situation, that is, Short Term Rentals in Indian Palms. I speak specifically of IPCCA, our community’s largest HOA. A document called the CC&Rs governs what a Board can and cannot do. Our CC&RS place no restrictions whatsoever on Short Term Rentals. For changes to be made (for example, a one month minimum on any rental), an amendment to the CC&R’s must be drafted and voted on by the Board. That document is then sent to all owners via the Secret Ballot process (such as like an annual meeting to vote Board members in). This process comes at no small expense in legal and administrative fees. In addition, STRs are subject to a grandfather clause. Anyone who bought before the amendment was passed is not governed by it under California law (AB-3182-see “grandfathered”). Those homes may be rented for one night or one weekend at a time. In my opinion, rather than fight a long fight, with no result guaranteed, a better use of our resources is to police STRs to demand compliance with our community’s documents and rules and regulations. To do this, we need not only our Board, our Management Company, and our Security Patrols, but perhaps most of all, individual homeowners who care about their community. The owner of a rental property is responsible for the occupants’ behavior. High fines can be levied. If we report transgressions as they occur, we can help guarantee our community’s wellbeing.
Thank you for understanding,
Matt
Short Term Rentals (STRs)
I outlined the situation with the CC&Rs, and Rules in my Comments after the May 2021 meeting and I recommend that report for some background on how we are approaching STR concerns (it can be found on the website).
We are:
• Working with our legal counsel on two CC&R issues: 1) What changes can we make to our Rules under the present CC&Rs to better address perceived problems; and 2) How do we go about changing our CC&Rs to make substantive changes like establishing a minimum rental period or limiting the allowable percentage of rental properties.
• In this regard, be on the lookout (your mailbox) for proposed Rule changes for the HOA and the LSC that address some of these problems. They will be mailed to you shortly for review and comment. The changes include more specificity on permissible off-street vehicle parking; prompt response by landlords if copies of lease agreements are requested; affirming our right to require evidence of authorized use at satellite and the LSC pools, clarifying the landlord’s responsibility to ensure renters are aware of HOA rules and that appropriate steps are taken to notify the LSC of authorized user names and/or to provide the renters with needed keys or other ID; and explicitly saying we have the authority to take whatever action is deemed appropriate if unauthorized users are identified. We state that those who do not provide proper proof of authorized use when asked will be treated as trespassers. We plan to post signs at the LSC pool reminding members that anyone allowing unauthorized people into the pool risks having their own membership privileges suspended.
• We are reviewing our Fine Schedule and Enforcement Procedures to see if we can streamline the process. We reserve the right to take more immediate and severe steps than those outlined in these documents to address urgent or dangerous situations. This is explicitly noted in the proposed HOA rule changes.
Security
We have increased our security efforts and will have Patrol Masters here more often. Their mandate will be in several areas: To name a few, parking enforcement; general rules violations such as loud parties, visible trash, and debris, etc.; checking for unauthorized users at the LSC and satellite pools; suspicious behavior. We also plan to increase staff presence at the LSC pool to augment the efforts of our security staff. For obvious reasons, we do not plan to make details of our security plans and schedule public.
We hope this increased security will make people feel both safer and address some of the behavior problems often associated with STRs.
PLEASE NOTE: PATROL MASTERS is our security company. Allied Security mans the front gate and works for IPCA. We hope to explore a more coordinated security effort for the entire Indian Palms Community with IPCA in the future.
Meanwhile, there are things all of us can do to help ourselves and the community. Call 911 for urgent security issues and trespassing; call Code Enforcement for prompt response to STR code violations or the City of Indio rental complaint hotline at 760-541-4222; let PPM know about continuing STR’s or other problems so they can contact the homeowner (this will only work if you can provide valid addresses); work with elected officials on STR problems; check the website and phone app for the latest HOA and LSC updates (especially LSC changes now that California has “reopened”), maps, meeting minutes, forms, rules, CC&Rs, and so on, as well as links for reporting maintenance needs or other problems. Patrol Masters is available for security problems (non-urgent), but they are not always on site and have limited hours.
Another request that would help with Rules Enforcement: Please advise Nick Evans at PPM if a violation you reported has been corrected. With over 1200 homes, it is hard to know if problems have been resolved. People are more inclined to report problems than good news, but Nick is always pleased to know when things are taken care of. Just email him something like “The problem previously reported at 123 Movie Street has been fixed.” This will give him more time to concentrate on continuing situations.
Useful Information:
Email addresses for PPM:
Shelly Ruegsegger – Senior Community Manager – sruegsegger@ppminternet.com;
Nick Evans – Rules Violations/STR problems/Architectural Applications – nevans@ppminternet.com
Website – hoa-ipcca.com
Phone App – check your App Store or Google Play Store (Android) for Indian Palms C. C. Association or call PPM for assistance in downloading our app. The Mobile App is FREE and is available for download from the Apple App Store for iOS mobile devices and on Google Play for Android mobile devices.
Code Enforcement – 760-391-4123
Patrol Masters – 877-648-0602
Our next regular meeting is September 21, 2021, 5:00 pm, via Zoom. Access details and the agenda will be posted on the website as we get close to the meeting date. Enjoy the rest of the summer!
Maggie Stern, President
For the Board of Directors of IPCCA – 8/10/21