Association Bulletins

As reported in the February Assessment Statements, incumbents Jim Hayes and Vadim Popov along with new member Jerry Chang were elected to fill the three open seats on the Board. Determined on 9 February 2023, these are our Board officeholders for 2023:

• Evan Goss – President, term expires December 2023
• Jim Hayes – Vice President, term expires December 2024
• Curt Rastetter – Treasurer, term expires December 2023
• Vadim Popov – Secretary, term expires December 2024
• Jerry Chang – At Large Member, term expires December 2024

During recent community inspections, Board members have observed a trend in the number of townhome residents inappropriately placing personal property, plants, outdoor equipment, supplies and other items on common area landscape bordering the walls and fences of homes.

By Article V of our Covenants, Codes and Restrictions (CC&Rs), the maintenance and management of common area landscape is the exclusive responsibility of the Board. Beginning January 2023, in the interest of preserving the appearance of our community, personal property situated on common area landscape will be removed.

The ground under our feet is always moving, and we live with a muted anxiety over the “Big One.” Your Board is seeking to educate the membership about the availability of earthquake insurance. Our HOA does not carry earthquake insurance due to its prohibitive expense. For planned unit developments such as Aegean Heights, the Association is responsible for rebuilding in the event of a damaging earthquake. However, the funding for rebuilding would likely come from assessing all property owners. This assessment risk can be mitigated through the provisions of earthquake insurance providers licensed in the State including the California Earthquake Authority (CEA). Here are some key planning points:

• The first step is to contact your current property insurance company about adding earthquake insurance.  Coverage options can be complex for owners in a planned unit development.
• The maximum assessment risk coverage under the CEA is $100,000. Coverage may be higher or lower through other carriers.
• In order to add CEA insurance, your existing property insurance carrier (HO-6 policy) must be in force with a participating CEA insurance company.
• The deductible is scalable from 5%-25%.

Aegean Heights Homeowners Association is not an advocate for any coverages or insurance carriers. Some earthquake Insurance providers may not offer the coverage available through the CEA and some providers may or may not be competitive with the CEA for the same coverage. See earthquakeagent.com for stand-alone earthquake insurance companies that might offer more coverage options than the CEA.

Our Association Certificate of Liability broker, Labarre/Oksnee, recently introduced an innovative earthquake program for residential associations. In partnership with Labarre/Oksnee, MOTUS Insurance Services offers loss assessment coverage as an Opt-In plan with the HOA carrying the master policy. Some of the distinguishing features of MOTUS Earthquake Insurance program include:

• The coverage is built on a commercial earthquake model offering far greater loss protections (e.g., foundations, underground plumbing, pools and spas).
• Participation does not require that the member have existing property insurance.
• Flexible coverage options.
• Can be written to cover household contents.
• Covers “Red Tag” (condemnation) and loss of use.
• Policy pricing is tailored to earthquake-related risk in our area.
• Annual premiums for significantly more protection can be less than those charged by CEA.
• A scalable deductible applies.

MOTUS Insurance Services are backed by insurers rated “A-” (Excellent) by the rating service AM Best. For further information, contact MOTUS Insurance Services at 833-668-8746 or info@motusins.com.

The trimming and/or topping of common area trees by owners and residents is strictly prohibited for these reasons:

• Common area trees are community property. Action by a single owner or resident affecting common area property is deemed unlawful trespass and may be made the subject of legal action by the HOA.
• The unauthorized trimming of common area trees may be treated as vandalism and may be made the subject of legal action by the HOA.
• Along with the above, an owner or resident hiring a third party to trim a tree could result in significant liability to the owner in the event of personal injury or damage to property.
• Under our current CC&Rs and By-Laws, our management company, working through our landscape contractor, is responsible for the maintenance, removal, and replacement of common area vegetation. Any and all tree matters must be brought to the attention of TSG Independent Property Management Company (949‑481‑0555 or general@tsgindependent.com).
• Specific language regarding the maintenance of trees will be incorporated in our CC&Rs and By-Laws which are currently under revision.

For the legitimate extension of services, benefits, and community security, the Association is requesting that Aegean Heights homeowners implementing new property lease agreements provide a copy to our management company:

TSG Independent Property Management, Inc.
Attn: Mr. George Gustave
27129 Calle Arroyo, Suite 1802
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

Although the Association has the right to request this information, it has not been our practice, since our original CC&Rs did not address this subject. However, as our CC&Rs are under revision, we anticipate adding this owner stipulation whenever a property is rented or leased or whenever a new tenant occupies a property. For owners with existing tenants, please consider notifying TSG at 949-481-0555 with your lessee’s name(s) and contact information.

For homeowners with qualifying income, the City of Mission Viejo has 0% interest home improvement loans available. These loans are available for roofing, termite treatment and repair, exterior and interior painting, plumbing, windows, flooring, and other repairs. The maximum loan amount is $25,000. Please see the Housing Rehabilitation Program flyer for more details and direct questions to Theresa Dobbs at tdobbs@cityofmissionviejo.org or 949‑470‑3026.

Nearly fifty years old, your Board has approved the updating of our CC&R and By-Laws. The update will reflect current State laws, redefine provisions unique to our Association, and incorporate provisions recommended by our Law Firm, Epsten, APC of San Diego, CA.

The process will take time due to the Board review of all revisions and the eventual approval by the members via secret ballot. Progress on this major undertaking will be reported in future announcements.

Beginning November 1, 2021

Waste Management will be delivering new bins for trash (black lids), recycling (blue lids), and green waste (green lids). Waste Management will also be delivering a kitchen food waste pail for collecting compostable organic waste. Old trash and recycling bins should be left curbside after the regular service dates beginning the first week of November 2021. They will be removed the next day by a separate Waste Management truck.

Note: A recent Waste Management advisory reported that the delivery of green waste bins in our community will occur during December 2021.

Beginning January 1, 2022

Residents will be required to separate their food waste from trash and place all food waste along with any plant waste in the green top waste bin.

More information is available in the City of Mission Viejo Residential Recycling and Refuse Service Guide (PDF).

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