We again want to express our appreciation for all residents' patience with our recent necessary water mainline repairs. Our 40+ year old pipe system needs a bit of TLC every now and then, but we think we have it under control for now. There is still a small underground leak on Caminito Doha that will need repair, but depending on whether this turns out to be part of our reclaimed irrigation water system or our main potable water system will determine if there needs to be another neighborhood water shutoff again. We are working to minimize any disruptions to our water supply, but will keep you informed if another shutoff turns out to be necessary.
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With the unanimous approval of the homeowners who voted in our recent solar proposal ballot, we are proceeding with the installation of our community solar power system. There are several phases to this project including re-roofing the clubhouse, removal of three encroaching eucalyptus trees, and the installation of the solar system itself. There is no expected interruption to the electrical power to any of our units during this installation, but a few of the parking spaces near the clubhouse will be unavailable during the process, which is expected to be complete by the end of September. Thank you for your patience in this process and for your support to this cost-saving project!
One of the common questions we receive about the new proposed common area solar electricity system has been: "will we use this new solar system to heat the pool?" The answer is, unfortunately not. Here's why:
There are two general kinds of solar power systems. The first uses photovoltaic cells that convert solar energy into electricity to replace the monthly recurring expenses paid to SDG&E. This is the kind of system we propose to add to our community strictly as a way to eventually save all of us the high cost of our SDG&E bills each month. Nothing about our community operation changes at all with this system; it is strictly a way to save us all the ever-increasing costs of electricity without any additional fees or assessments to any of us. The second kind of solar system pumps water (from a water heater or pool pump) through solar panels to heat that water. A few Timberlane II owners have previously installed these kinds of "solar hot water" panels on their own units for their own hot water and it is certainly feasible to consider a hot water solar system to heat our pool. Unfortunately, It is not efficient to use photovoltaic solar panels to create electricity to heat the pool. This would add significant cost and would require a much larger area for the panels than to do this with hot water solar panels. Initial estimates indicate that we would need about a 100K-150K BTU heating system that would require a photovoltaic solar array about three times larger than the proposed system. And, this would not be a cost savings to the community that the proposed solar photovoltaic system will provide. Instead, a pool heating system is a new expense and would need to be approved by the majority of owners. If we wish to heat the pool, a proposal can be made to install a solar hot water system for this purpose and we invite any owners to help research a proposal for such a system. However, this is a completely separate system and proposal from the current proposal for a photovoltaic solar system and the two system concepts should not be confused. Please feel free to ask any additional questions about the proposed electric solar system that you have so that you can feel confident that this is a good thing for you and for our community. We welcome your input and questions. You can address them to De Novo or send an email to timberlane2blog@gmail.com and an HOA Board member will reply promptly. We still need more more owners to vote for this system to gain the necessary approval, so please return your ballot as soon as convenient. If you send an email to timberlane2blog@gmail.com, we'll also be happy to come by and pick up your ballot to save you a stamp, too! We appreciate your support to this plan that will save costs for all of us. By now you should have received an email ballot asking you to vote to approve our proposed solar power system that will replace our $800 average SDG&E bill for our common area electricity (lights, pool pumps, clubhouse, etc.). This week you will also receive a posted ballot in the mail. We are asking all Timberlane II owners to please consider this proposal, cast your vote, and return your ballot as soon as possible (by mail or scan it and email it per the instructions on the ballot). Or, if you like, send an email to timberlane2blog@gmail.com and we will bring a ballot to you at your convenience for you to vote. This is not a secret ballot election as we do with our annual board member election process.
Our HOA Board of Directors have unanimously given approval to this proposed solar system. Here are a few FAQs about the proposed system: -This system will replace nearly all of our annual common area electrical usage and will pay for itself in about 5-6 years. After that time, the portion of your monthly HOA fees that are used for SDG&E expenses will be reduced by about $60 per household annually, which will directly benefit all of us. -This proposal does not increase homeowner costs at all. We will pay for this system using our existing Reserves Account funds and this “loan” will be paid back directly from the cost savings of the SDG&E bills. The Reserve Account balance will still remain high enough to cover all projected expenses during the payback period with extra money for unexpected expenses. -All the photovoltaic panels will be flush-mounted on the clubhouse roof and will not significantly affect the aesthetics of our community. -The HOA board received and considered multiple proposals from different solar companies and chose the proposed system based on its aesthetics, power efficiency, cost, reputation of the company, and 25 year warranty on all system components. -Three existing eucalyptus trees on the south and west side of the clubhouse will be removed and replaced with more visually attractive trees that will not shade the clubhouse roof. These three trees will need to be removed even if the solar project is not approved because their roots are encroaching on the sidewalks and clubhouse foundation near them. -Some owners have asked if this system will allow us to heat the swimming pool. Unfortunately, no. This system will only supply enough electricity to replace current common area electrical use. Besides, using photovoltaic solar electric heating for pools is not cost effective. A “hot water” solar system for pool heating can be considered in the future, but would require a separate owner approval process. We again want to thank all our wonderful neighbors on Caminito Doha who endured the 100+ temperatures during the emergency water shutoff in early July. This shutoff was caused by a water main break caused by high water pressure in the community’s water distribution piping that took a lengthy process to repair. The repairs have been holding for a month now, but in order to prevent future breakages of this type, we will be installing a water pressure regulator in this main line that feeds all of Caminito Doha. This work will require another period of water shutoff to the entire street, but we will work hard to minimize the time it will take before water can be restored. We will be giving all residents a notice on your door as well as an email notice several days before the shutoff. We advise residents to consider filling a bathtub with water prior to the shutoff so that you can use it to fill toilets for flushing until water service is restored. We will also have free bottles of drinking water available at the clubhouse for all residents during the outage. Also, by law, the pool area will be closed during the water shutoff because the restrooms in the pool area will not be operational. We will post signs about this during the shutoff.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be asking each owner and resident if you would like to be part of our new community notification texting service. Once you provide your mobile phone number and opt in to receive text messages, we will use this service to keep our community up to date on emergency situations when they occur (such as the unexpected water shutoff last month). This service will ONLY be used for unusual or emergency notification purposes and will never be used for promotional purposes or everyday announcements. We hope that you’ll consider this service and find it of value.
You may have noticed that our parking space lines and the parking bumper addresses have been recently repainted so that it is easier for guests to know which spaces are available to them and which are reserved for residents. If your reserved space did not get painted, it was due to a vehicle parked there when the painters came by. In this case, you can contact Management De Novo and request your bumper and parking space to be painted.
Whether it is because of the new painted markings or not, we have noticed a reduced number of residents parking in designated Guest spaces and we want to thank everyone for being considerate to our rules on the use of these spaces. If you are unsure of these rules, you can find them in our “Rules We Live By”. During recent days, our pool water temperature has been in the mid-80s and the water is great! Please take advantage of our pool area to relax and share with friends and family during the summer. Also, we ask everyone to remember the key pool rules:
- Open hours are from 8am to 10pm daily (no after hours use) - Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult at all times while in the pool area - No glass bottles, pets, or loud music are allowed in the pool area - Children under 5 are not allowed in the spa. - Children still in diapers must wear swimming diapers or other waterproof diapers - There are showers in both the men’s and women’s restrooms for your use before entering the pool or spa. - Do not wedge open the pool gate or restroom doors. If the government inspectors happen to come by when this is the case, they will close the pool area to all (yes, this has happened to us in the past!) - Only small pool toys are allowed in the pool and only when in immediate use. - The maximum number of users of the spa is 7 and the maximum number for the pool is 40. We really appreciate the support of all owners by voting for our solar power system to supply the electricity needed to power our common area uses. It really will be a cost-saving system.
And, several homeowners have asked if they can also install their own photovoltaic solar power systems on their individual units. The answer is: yes! Once you have a solar proposal that meets your needs, just complete an architectural request form and submit it for approval. We'll get your system approved quickly and you, too, can start taking advantage of the sun's power for the electricity in your home. SDG&E recently announced that they propose to raise electricity costs in San Diego by another 28% over the next four years, so "going solar" makes even more sense than ever! The summer heat is on and our community kids are still out of school for a few more weeks. So, we ask everyone to please slow down and adhere to our 10MPH speed limit while driving on Doha and Agadir. We've recently had a number of speeding cars on our streets that endanger kids, dog walkers, and all of us, especially this time of the year. Of course, the speed limit is the same all year round, so please respect the limit and ask your guests to do so, too. Thanks!
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October 2021
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