Friends of Roseville's January 2007 

FOREfront newsletter Volume 10, No. 1 

SUN CITY vs DEL WEBB LAW SUIT

 Defects

The Sun City Roseville Community Association (SCRCA) contended that the Del Webb Corporation, builder of the Sun City community, failed to provide proper materials and workmanship in various areas of the Sun City project resulting in numerous defects, mainly in the landscape, irrigation, and common areas.

 Negotiates Fail

Negotiations with Del Webb representatives to correct or provide money to correct the defects were unsuccessful and about three years ago the Association filed a lawsuit to cure the defects. At the same time, the Association levied an assessment on the Association membership to pay the cost of repairing the defects and the assessment is still being levied. The court found for the Association and ordered the Del Webb Corporation to pay the Association $2,100,000 to correct the defects. The Association received the money in the spring of 2006.

Terminate Reimburse

Two things should have occurred when the Association received the settlement. One, the levy should have been terminated and secondly, the members should have been reimbursed. The amount of the levy is included in the assessment under “landscape maintenance” and the membership has been paying it for the last three and one-half years.

 Self Serving

The Association is required to follow the rules under The Davis- Sterling Common Interest Development Act: State of California, Civil Code Section 1366.I Prohibition against Excessive Assessment or Fees. The Section reads, “An association shall not impose or collect an assessment or fee that exceeds the amount necessary to defray the costs for which it is levied".

 Same Same

The Sun City Roseville Community Association CC&Rs also contains a similar prohibition, which is “The Community Association shall not impose or collect an Assessment, penalty or fee which exceeds the amount necessary for the purpose or purposes for which it is levied.”

 Do As I Say

It is convenient for the Association to follow the Davis-Sterling Act and CC&Rs when it suits its needs, e.g., to prevent the flying of a flag by a Sun City member. (It received wide–spread publicity.)  But it does not want to follow (comply) with the Act and CC&Rs when it will benefit the membership.

 Members Due $

Assessing members to repair defects is an acceptable practice; however, collecting an assessment when there is no longer a valid need is contrary to the Act and CC&Rs. The Association placed the money in the reserve fund and continues to collect the fee. Based on 3110 households (association members), mathematically the approximate amount owed each member is about $675.24. Looking at the Budget Summary under Line Item Landscape Maintenance, the figure $24.38 is noted. Why that figure is not broken down to show the cost to each member as a “special landscape fee” is not known. One answer given was that there was no room on the page to make the entry. Checking the page, there was more than enough room. Did the Association want to hide the money? (Out of sight, out of mind?) Had the figure been shown, it would delineate the fee amount paid and could facilitate the return of the double money collected – the court settlement from Del Webb and the fees paid by members.

 Who's The Boss

The Association is supposed to work for the members, assessing only those monies needed to maintain and operate the organization. This type of action the association exhibits is reminiscent of government action the Roseville City Council imposed on the Utility User’s Tax long after the courts ruled it illegal, they kept collecting it.