Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 18

THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2010 D3 Metre News, 602-444-NEWS (6397) metronews aCacizonarepublic.com KINGMAN 7 yeais of conflict over HOA leaves Dreamland Villa bitter AROUND ARIZONA GOODYEAR Governor of Nevada threatened; man held A 63-year-old Arizona man previously convicted of killing more than 500 trees in an upscale Las Vegas community has been arrested after authorities say he threatened Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons about the case. Gail Powell, a Nevada Department of Public Safety spokeswoman, says Douglas Hoffman, of Goodyear, was arrested March 19 by Arizona authorities on a felony warrant stemming from rambling letters sent in 2007. Police: Mom passed out, left kids to roam A Kingman mother is in custody after deputies found her passed out and her three childen running the streets. Mohave County Sheriff's deputies went to the residence of 26-year-old Angela Marie Smith and arrested her involving felony child neglect and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Deputies found Smith's daughters, ages 4, 5 and 6, wandering the streets Wednesday. Wire services play on my side of the street," said Ford, who was not on the board when the HOA was formed. Dreamland Villa was among the Valley's earliest retirement communities. Its block homes were built in 17 tracts from 1959 to 1974. It had no frills and no common areas, but the voluntary club offered many typical senior amenities, including three swimming pools, a shuffleboard court and a clubhouse.

Nearly eight years ago, the club's board recorded new deed restrictions requiring all homeowners to pay annual assessments and special assessments for "recreation, health, safety and maintenance." Several years after that, the club began placing liens on the properties of people who refused to pay and then filed lawsuits to collect Earlier this month, a three-judge appellate court panel unanimously ruled that the original property declarations did not allow residents to be forced into club membership. They also did not allow the board to assess fees and place property liens on homeowners who refused to pay "for an association they did not seek." Steve Cheifetz, attorney for the HOA opponents, said the ruling Erovides important safeguards for omeowners of existing communities where residents may try to impose an HOA. By Jim Walsh Thi Arizona Republic Residents of the Dreamland Villa retirement community in east Mesa have succeeded in fighting off efforts to impose a homeowners association against their will, but some are saying it is a hollow victory. A bitter lawsuit that had raged for seven years was decided in favor of the anti-HOA homeowners, but in the two weeks since the slam-dunk Arizona Court of Appeals ruling, some residents continue to go out of their way to avoid one another, and the community remains deeply divided. "Nightmare Villa is what we call it," said Cathy Ehninger, a longtime opponent of a decision to turn the once voluntary Dreamland Villa Community Club into a mandatory HOA: She accuses the club of using scare tactics to get the HOA approved and said many elderly residents had no idea what they were signing when petitions were circulated.

On the other side of the dispute, Judy Ford, a member of the Dreamland Villa Community Club board of directors, agrees that hatred on both sides has poisoned the community. "I hate all the venom being spewed. It's almost like a bunch of kindergarteners saying, you can't Such scenarios are unusual but not unheard of, he said, because most HOAs are created by developers before the first resident moves into a house. Cheifetz said he is trying to fend off the imposition of an HOA in a northeast Phoenix neighborhood, Sunburst Farms at 64th Street and Cactus Road, where a battle has pitted residents against each other on and off for 30 years. Some residents there want to charge the whole community to maintain and operate a well for irrigation of horse properties, and Cheifetz said he plans to use the Dreamland Villa ruling to make his case.

"You pit neighbor against neighbor," Sunburst Farms resident Pat Todd said. "We're very hopeful the Dreamland Villa ruling will have an impact on our case." In the Dreamland Villa case, the Court of Appeals ruling reversed a Maricopa County Superior Court ruling and awarded attorneys fees to the residents who opposed the HOA Charles Maxwell, the board's attorney, did not return calls seeking comment, but Ford said the board plans an appeal to the state Supreme Court. Arizona's highest court grants only about 3 percent of all petitions for review filed each year. CITYTAGE NEWS -NOTICES -SPECIAL EVENTS PUBLISHED BY THE CITY OF PHOENIX phoanix.gov IHIIUQUALIFICAIIONS RESIDENTIAL ENERGY AUDIT CONSULTANT(S) The City of Phoenix Neighborhood Services Department is inviting qualified consultants to submit a written Request for Qualification (RFQ) response to provide residential energy auditing services for the Weatherization Assistance and Housing Rehabilitation programs. Qualification submittals will be due by 2 p.m.

on Monday, April 1 9, 201 0, Phoenix City Hall, fourth floor, 200 W.Washington Phoenix, AZ 85003. RFQ packets are available at www.phoenix.govbusinesscontractopportunitiesindex.html and Phoenix City Hall, fourth floor, or by calling 602-495-0700. The City of Phoenix Development Services Department Arizona, visit ADOT's Travel Information site at www.az511.gov or call 511. aztentralcom Get real-time traffic news, including accidents, alerts and closures, at traffic Self-Certification Program Training class April 27 and 28 southbound 24th Street as alternative route. Please note that eastbound Loop 202 is closed this weekend between Priest Drive and Center Parkway.

Bullard AvenueInterstate 10 Closure: Bullard Avenue closed overnight in both directions at Interstate 10 in the West Valley from 11 p.m. today to 6 a.m. Saturday for bridge construction. Detour: Use Estrella Parkway or Litchfield Road as alternative routes. Sign up today for the inaugural class of the new Self -Certification Program, created to eliminate building plan reviews by certifying private sector registered architects and structural engineers to take responsibility for code compliance.

The program is designed to save time, by eliminating plan review, and money, by reducing fees up to 35 percentl for more information, visit www.phoenix.govdevserv and click on the green "Self-Certification Program' box. Get to work on time with 12 News NEWS Beat the Traff ic weekdays starting at 5 a.m. on 12 News Today. FOR MORE INFORMATION, ALTERNATIVE FORMATREASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS, CONTACT THE SPECIFIC DEPARTMENTS. THE CITY TTY RELAY IS 602-534-5500.

McClintock DriveLoop 202 and eastbound Loop 202 off-rampMcClintock Drive Closure: McClintock Drive closed overnight in both directions at Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway) from 10 p.m. today to 7 a.m. Saturday for widening project. Eastbound Loop 202 off-ramp at McClintock Drive also closed overnight. Detour: Use Scottsdale Road as alternative route.

For a list of additional restrictions related to the Red Mountain Freeway widening project, please visit www.ValleyFree ways.com and click on Loop 202. Southbound ramps Arizona 51 westbound Interstate 10 to eastbound Loop 202 Closure: Ramps from southbound Arizona 51 and westbound Interstate 10 to eastbound Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway) closed overnight from 10 p.m. today to 7 a.m. Saturday for new lane construction. Detour: Consider east-bound McDowell Road to Freeway-improvement projects will require closures or lane restrictions this weekend.

Freeway work often occurs overnight The Arizona Department of Transportation recommends drivers consider alternative routes or give themselves extra travel time while the following restrictions are in place: Eastbound Loop 202Priest Drive and Center Parkway and eastbound Loop 202 on-ramps44th Street and 52nd StreetSky Harbor Boulevard Closure: Eastbound Loop 202 (Red Mountain Freeway) closed between Priest Drive and Center Parkway from 10 p.m. today to 5 a.m. Monday for bridge, sign and electrical-system work. East-bound Loop 202 on-ramps at 44th Street, 52nd Street and Sky Harbor Boulevard also closed. Detour: Traffic will detour along frontage road between Priest and Center Parkway.

Consider alternative routes, including eastbound Interstate 10 to U.S. 60 to access the East Valley. Grand Avenue103rd Avenue between Bell Road and Sunrise Boulevard Restriction: Grand Avenue (U.S. 60) narrowed to one lane in both directions at 103rd Avenue and between Bell Road and Sunrise Boulevard from 8 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m.

Monday for new lane construction. Detour: Please slow down and merge safely in the work zones. For a complete listing of freeway and highway closures or restrictions across Wt Vr, 1 I i I '1i Iff! f- n't Ijfi i- Iff! 'I I if if Vote for your Valley fa ves! Wis: PIP Words are just words until they Reporting on the facts, fiction, and future of the local economy. You nominated your top 1 0 favorites in each category on best.azcentral.com, and now it's time to vote for your 1. From the most affordable spa treatment, shoe store and music fest, to the tastiest burger and hippest happy hour, choose the Valley's best.

Vote for your favorites today through April 28! We write the words that speak to you. THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC.