The history of Millsite Village is complicated. Many of the people who led the Property Owner’s Association (POA) in the past chose to ignore the words of the CC&R’s as they were written and instead interpreted them as they saw fit. Much of this was enabled because of lack of communication. This website is created to remedy that problem.
You might then wonder, who makes me the arbiter of such things? I decided to hire a lawyer that represents individuals who have issues with HOA’s. I donated the legal expenses that were needed to accomplish this. Some of the information presented here might even come as a surprise to long term residents. Remember, every set of CC&R’s are different, and we can only honor them as written, not how we would like them to be.
If you have property in the Millsite subdivision, you likely have the document below attached to your deed restrictions. My lawyer suspects that this was intended to be the original CC&R’s for Millsite Village, but unfortunately, the author did not follow a specific legal requirement: the lots that CC&R’s apply to, must be called out in the documentation (you will notice that our true CC&R’s do this). As a result, this document is worthless. The only reason it’s attached to all Millsite properties is because of the word “Millsite” in its title.
Realizing this mistake after many lots had been sold created some issues. A new set of CC&R’s were crafted, and membership into the accompanying property owner’s association had to be voluntary. Below is a copy of the unamended CC&R’s:
If you scroll down to the fourth page on the document above, you can see what lots chose to be members of the POA. Years later, four more lots joined the POA; however, I do not understand what their motives were. If you own a lot that is not a member and you would like to join, you will have to go through the same amendment process. See attachment below:
Currently, the buildable lots which reside between the gates that are not members of the POA are lots: 1, 5, 7, 12, 17, 19, 38 and 42. Nobody can force these lot owners to become members. Nobody can deny access to their properties because of lack of membership. We do ask that these owners donate lot dues (which are used for road maintenance) but it cannot be forced. There was one other amendment to the CC&R’s and that was for building setbacks. That document is shown below:
Anyone who reads these CC&R’s will see that they seem crude, but perhaps the standards were different in the 1980’s. Also, you will notice that as federal and state laws have changed, this document has never been updated to reflect those changes. It’s a mess. Over the years I had made attempts to convince people that we need to update and modernize them but was unsuccessful. As a result, these are the CC&R’s we are stuck with especially since a recent AZ Supreme Court ruling makes it very challenging to change CC&R’s. Here are the most salient points within the CC&R’s:
Key Point #1: Article I Section 1 clearly states that purpose of Millsite POA is to do one thing: “…to manage and maintain the Common Area within Millsite Village”. In other words, the only purpose of the POA is to maintain the roads. So, if someone tries to tell that that it’s the duty of the POA to enforce CC&R’s or to promote value, they are sadly mistaken. Nowhere in the CC&R’s does it state that the POA must enforce rules. It does say that the POA “may” enforce them, but in reality, that would require a 2/3 vote of the entire association because enforcement is a major expense. Which brings us to…
Key Point #2: Article VII Section 7 says that the POA or any POA member may enforce the CC&R’s; however, there is no penalty schedule for violations in the document. As a result, the ONLY way to enforce CC&R’s is through lawsuit, which costs a lot of money. This is why it would take a 2/3’s vote of the entire POA to enforce a violation because such an expense would fall under the requirements described in Article V of the CC&R’s. As a result, the only way CC&R’s are going to ever get enforced is if another member decides to sue the person whom they claim are in violation. Which leads us to…
Key Point #3: If you decide to sue your neighbor to enforce a CC&R, you had better make sure you are on the winning side of the argument because Article VII Section 7 also states that “loser pays”. In other words, the loser of the case is responsible for the legal fees of the winner; however, judges do have discretion in these matters. Which leads to my final point…
Remember that if you want to be on the winning side of a CC&R dispute, you have to make sure you are interpreting the CC&R violation exactly as it is written, and you have to ensure that it has not be superseded by county, state or federal laws. For example, a reading of the CC&R’s might make you inclined to believe I couldn’t have chickens or an antenna tower or a clothesline on my property. Laws currently supersede those CC&R’s. When in doubt, consult a real lawyer.
Millsite Village Property Owners Association 