Gray: Clarification on SCHOA information

In response to Ann Schnell’s letter to the editor last week, “SCHOA not necessary,” I’d like to clear up some of the misinformation that she shared.

First, SCHOA is the oldest organization in Sun City and has been an advocate for Sun City since 1960. Over the years, SCHOA has been the leader in improving the living conditions in Sun City. In the early days, SCHOA was responsible for such important steps of development as installing and maintaining the first street and traffic lights, all while working on legislation to protect our community and mediating deed violations and neighborhood complaints.

The SCHOA DNA that was created in 1960 is still intact in 2024. Today, we do many of the same things. Our primary and most important responsibility is enforcing the CC&Rs and protecting our age overlay. The age overlay is legal and we don’t need to lobby anyone because Sun City is an age-restricted community.

SCHOA is not a political action committee, nor do we have a political agenda. Our role is to protect Sun City. We do watch for legislation that could hurt our community and keep an eye on the Corporation Commission to prevent unfair increases to our utility rates. This benefits everyone in the community and SCHOA has been doing this since 1960. No other organization in Sun City does this.

Ms. Schnell is mistaken when she states, “that less than 22% trying to make decisions for 100% of residents” (sic). The current CC&Rs were passed in 1998 by a majority vote of all single-family homeowners. Those CC&Rs are the deed restrictions that Ms. Schnell and every property owner agreed to when purchasing their home. SCHOA enforces those restrictions, again, that a majority of 17,500 property owners approved. Honestly, I can’t imagine what our community would look like if we did away with our CC&Rs.

To clarify, SCHOA is a unique HOA. Deed restrictions are mandatory, but we don’t have an annual mandatory assessment, though we should. The RCSC does have mandatory assessments to maintain all the recreational opportunities that residents enjoy. But SCHOA currently operates from a voluntary $25 annual membership fee.

Our membership is growing. We’ve gained about 100 new members over the past 30 days, which is fantastic, but it’s not where we need to be. We have about 30% of our community who are members. Many people think that the RCSC is the HOA, which it is not. Many think the RCSC mandatory fees are part of the HOA fees – they are not. This forces SCHOA to be creative with creating additional revenue streams. This is not new. In 1961, SCHOA created an HOA telephone directory and sold them for $1, I believe, to help offset the costs that come with serving a community.

Our annual fee helps SCHOA to enforce the CC&Rs, protect our age overlay, fight legislation that could hurt our community, pay our staff, keep our lights on, fund our Community Intervention Program (CIP) and pay for costly attorney fees and lawsuits.

We all moved to Sun City because it’s a unique and beautiful community. When people learn the history of our community and the role that SCHOA has played and continues to play, they will see that our beloved community was greatly influenced by the work that SCHOA has done for the past 64 years, and that we are proud and honored to continue.  My husband and I have been members of SCHOA since 2010. It’s the best annual $25 investment we have made in our community. I encourage others to do so as well.

Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.