Summers: Large Sun City garage is within all the rules

I am the home owner who is building a garage in my backyard.

It has been written about for weeks in this paper and described as a monstrosity, big enough to house a semi-truck, a Walmart and big enough to be a 2-story 4-unit apartment. All clever, by the way, but the reality is that it is simply a detached garage that is 100% legal for me to do. 

Let me start by saying that some of you have been complaining about this garage. Complaining that Sun City Home Owners Association has no power to enforce the CC&Rs set-in place by the developer. What many of you do not know or, more accurately, do not care to know, is that SCHOA is tasked with enforcing the CC&Rs, but if there isn’t a CC&R prohibiting an action, then they have no jurisdiction.

A letter (“Easier ways to get CC&R solution,” Sun City Independent, Jan. 11, 2023) from Jan. 11, 2023 stated the SCHOA is purely ceremonial. This author is uninformed and it is people like him who fan the flames of ignorance.  In fact, in Sun City, Maricopa County Planning and Development is the governing faction in charge of maintaining compliance for most projects. SCHOA board and its volunteers work diligently to preserve the rules and regulations for Sun City. To complain about their inability to perform their duties, in my opinion, is slanderous. They work quite hard to do their job and I believe they are doing so to the best of their ability.

In the instance of my garage, there is no CC&R that prohibits what I have done. In fact, the only thing the CC&Rs state is that a detached building must be in the back half of the lot, which mine clearly is. My wife and I specifically chose this lot since it is big enough to build this garage. I am sure that most of you who feel I have built this garage illegally are referring to a board resolution that has been inserted into the CC&Rs. Simply put, a board resolution is an attempt by the board to prohibit what the board believes the residents would want, which still does not make the board resolution a CC&R.

Ever since the garage was erected, my wife and I have been subjected to what I would call bullying. People are constantly driving by, honking, stopping and staring, even as we stood right there trying to be neighborly with a friendly wave or smile only to be completely ignored. The workers on our garage have been yelled at. A stranger videotaped my whole property while I told him to leave, and while I’m typing this letter someone is honking rudely as they are driving by my property. In addition, I would also note that we have received a great deal of support and even some neighbors who would like me to help them build something similar in their back yards since I am a builder by trade. Those of you who have expressed your support, I thank you. Those of you who choose to be bullies I feel sorry for you, since it appears that you have nothing better to do.

I have driven around the neighborhood quite a bit and I see many homes that had things done to them that are horrible looking — house colors that are hideous, additions that make absolutely no sense and landscapes that leave a lot to be desired. Should I come and harass all of those people because I don’t like what they did to their properties? No, of course not! Most of the complaints have come from people who live nowhere near my house. Just nosy bullies who got my address from a previous article and want to butt into other people’s lives.

If you naysayers want to put your energy to good use, I suggest that you go about it in the right way. There are ways to change, add to or to dissolve CC&Rs legally. Please see the article (“Will CC&R revisions make comeback?” Sun City Independent, Dec. 21, 2022). That article attempts to explain the arduous task of revising CC&Rs.

In closing, rather than complaining about SCHOA’s inabilities, if you want to make a difference in your community and think you can do better than the people who donate their time and energy, simply run for the board and try to fix what you think is wrong. And by the way, the world is full of nice people, if you can’t find one, be one!

Editor’s Note: The Independent welcomes all points of view. Email your opinions, pro or con, to AzOpinions@iniusa.org.