CALIFORNIA PINES OWNERS
THE CALIFORNIA PINES MODOC COUNTY FRAUD
By now you all have received your TAX BILL to be horrified in this time of get depression and counting every cent you have, Modoc County and Alturas have conspired to once again defraud California Pines Owners by imposing unreasonable "Assessments" on your latest tax bill !! And guess what ... they did this addition assessment without even giving you a chance to see what they were doing, or vote on it! I guess these people forgot what happened in Boston Harbor when there was "No Taxation without Representation." TEA PARTY
This is INSANE. How can these people possibly think we are going to get an increase in our tax bill from $30 to $300 and not say anything? For some reason, the County of Modoc feels the land owners at California Pines are stupid enough to buy into a development that never really happened, maybe they are stupid enough to pay any assessment we can place on their tax bill .... and there is nothing they can do.
Seriously people, there was some "grass roots" movement to establish this errounous charge without voter approval and Alturas went along with the plan. Here is the real kicker! They knew they were breaking the law by violating Proposition 218 voted into law in California on November 1996 after local governments went berserk passing assessments and fees to compensate for losses realized from the protections afforded by Proposition 13. These crazy people even contact a Sacremento attorney about this only to be advised they would be sued if they tried this, but figured the owners at Cal Pines were scattered all over the country and had no way to united. THEY WERE WRONG!
The lady that started the "Grass Roots" - movement, Judy Mason, loves to support on the phone to several owners that have called her the extra tax/assessment she created by starting movement. Her phone number is listed as 520-233-7022. The last listed e-mail on forms was which2@yahoo.com Maybe you would like to express your feelings in the matter with her ... since she decided to do this covertly and not notify you as required. They might have stapled sometihng to a telephone pole or something.
How Proposition 218 Changes Goverment Fees and Assessments
Nearly two decades ago, Proposition 13 sharply constrained local governments' ability to raise property taxes, the mainstay of local government finance. Proposition 13 also specified that any local tax imposed to pay for specific governmental programs--a "special tax"--must be approved by two-thirds of the voters.
Since that time, many local governments have relied increasingly upon other revenue tools to finance local services, most notably: assessments, property-related fees, and a variety of small general purpose taxes (such as hotel, business license, and utility user taxes). It is the use of these local revenue tools that is the focus of Proposition 218.
In general, the intent of Proposition 218 is to ensure that all taxes and most charges on property owners are subject to voter approval. In addition, Proposition 218 seeks to curb some perceived abuses in the use of assessments and property-related fees, specifically the use of these revenue-raising tools to pay for general governmental services rather than property-related services.
Prior to Proposition 218, the local resident and property owner's role in approving most new local government revenue-raising measures was minimal. Local governments typically raised new funds by imposing new or increased assessments or fees, or in the case of charter cities, general-purpose taxes on utility use, business licences, and hotel occupancy. In most cases, California residents or property owners could object to these taxes or charges at a public hearing or during a statutory protest procedure, but these taxes or charges were not placed on the ballot. In short, locally elected governing bodies held most of the power over local revenue raising.
Proposition 218 shifts most of this power over taxation from locally elected governing boards to residents and property owners. In order to fulfill this considerable responsibility, local residents and property owners will need greater information on local government finances and responsibilities. Even with this information, however, the task of local residents and property owners will be difficult, given the frequently confusing manner in which program responsibilities are shared between state and local government, and among local governments.
ARE YOU STILL WILLING TO SIT ON YOUR BUTTS AND TAKE THESE CONTINUOUS SCAMS PERPETRATED AGAINST YOU? Do you really think if they get away with this "Assessment" this easily they will not have two or three more of them on the next tax bill. Your next tax bill may be well over $1000 !! Are you ready for that?
LET'S FINALLY UNITE HERE AND FIGHT THESE ILLEGAL DUES AND ILLEGAL TAXES .... THIS IS CRAZY! Chime in in the FORUMS section and say if you are willing to join in on a Class-Action Law suit that will get rid of these illegal charges. If you do nothing, these fees will just keep coming and coming. DO SOMETHING, GET INVOLVED.
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CALIFORNIA PINES TEA PARTY WELL IN MOTION !!
California Pines Land Owners are fed up to their ears with the "Property Owners Association.' They collect all of the money for the dues, and provide very little in services back to the owners. The county of Modoc and the City of Alturas LOVE the landc owners because most of them pay TAXES and these taxes fund improvements that are never used by the Cal Pines land owners. There only a few owners that actually live at California Pines because the development was just all hype from day one. Thanks Erick!
The list of the failures of the POA is endless. Most of the Members of the Board have not been on-property in years, and very detached from the real needs of the California Pines project. The Board has restricted who could and who could not be on the board, and they run the board in a 'good ol' boys' fashion.
IT IS TIME TO GET RID OF THE BOARD & ASSOCIATION !!
The 'Association' has refused numerous requests for access to the mailing lists of the owners so they can prevent the owners from banding together against them. But I am afraid technology has caught up with the old wise ones, and now the owners have a voice on this website, and we have many of thier e-mail addresses ...collected one-at-a-time.
STOP PAYING DUES TEA PARTY !!
If everyone 'Just says no to dues' and not pays the Property Owners Association, many think the association will have to disband. It has been here way too long anyway, and has really done nothing to help the community except pay thousands for fireworks for the local citizens that think all Cal Pines owners are 'suckers.'
Many have contacted this site and believe it may be easier to just quit paying dues and get rid of the association all together. Since there is no easy way to get in there and get rid of the old Board and install a new one, maybe the best way is to starve out the old Board. Quit paying your annual dues and the Association will cease to operate. You will not notice much of a difference, especially if you have property in UNIT 5, as NONE of your dues helps Unit 5, now ... or ever!
UNIT 5 OWNERS -- YOU GET NOTHING FOR YOUR DUES AND NOTHING IS PLANNED
The Board could go try to go in and place liens on property for the unpaid dues. This would open the Board up to law suits and challenges to the legality of the dues increases. We doubt the Board has the resourses to lien thousands of properties in California Pines and respond to thousand of challenges. So it is up to you, but there is an old saying "If you keep doing things the same way, you will always get the same result." This pretty much describes the past 35 years of the California Pines Board of Directors.
WHEN YOU GET YOUR 2010 DUES BILL -- JUST SAY NO
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TAKE THE TIME TO READ THIS POSTING FROM A MULTI-PARCEL
OWNER THAT CURRENTLY LIVES AT CALIFORNIA
PINES AND WANTS TO HELP MAKE THE DEVELOPMENT
BE WHAT YOU WERE PROMISED.
HE CAN'T DO THIS ALONE. HE NEEDS THE SIPPORT OF THE
OWNERS TO GET THINGS CHANGED FOR THE BETTER
AND HAVE YOUR LAND WORTH MORE THAN THE
PESKY $200 LAND BUY OFFERS IN THE MAIL
The lake is GONE .. the campground is a joke ..the
lodge looses money every month ..the trailer
park is not permitted correctly, this
place is a mess and we need your help
to get involved and fix this!! Do you
really want to just pay increasing taxes
and POA dues and get absoutely NOTHING
for your dollar? Unit 5 people are really
getting ripped off. 15,000 lots and not
a dime spent on making things better in
that unit.
AND SIGN-IN SO WE HAVE YOUR MAIL ADDRESS FOR NEWS
ABOUT YOUR PROPERTY
SIGN-IN
NOW
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Board of Directors Impose Illegal Fees and Charges,
Restricts Member Voting
Each unit of the California Pines Subdivision is governed by a “Declaration
of Restrictions” which is a LEGAL DOCUMENT recorder in the office
of the Modoc County Recorder. Those documents which were recorded
between 1968 and 1972.
There are three very important sections of these “Restrictions” which
the California Pines Board of Directors have disregarded and because
of this willful disregard the entire subdivision is and continues
to suffer. What is even more important is the fact that when the Board
starts disregarding important sections of the “Restrictions” the other
portions of the “Restrictions” become very hard if not impossible
to enforce.
The most important part of any contract is how it may be legally
changed. Our recorded “Restrictions” state:
1.
Applicability and Terms
These Restrictions shall apply to all of the subdivided lots described
in said map.
These Restrictions shall effect and run with the land and shall exist
and be binding upon all parties and all persons claiming under them
until December 31, 1994, after which time the same shall be extended
for successive periods of ten (10) years each, unless an instrument
signed by a MAJORITY of the then OWNERS of the lots subject
thereto has been recorded, agreeing to change these Restrictions
in whole or part.
In addition, the “Declaration of Restrictions” specifies that:
7. California Pines Property Owners Association
Every person, including the Declarant, who acquires title, legal
or
Equitable, to any lot it the Development shall become a member of the California
Pines Property Owners Association, a California nonprofit corporation,
herein referred to as “Association”; provided however, that such membership
is not intended to apply to those persons who hold an interest in any such
lot
merely as security for the performance of any obligation to pay money,
e.g. mortgages, deeds of trust, or real estate contract purchases.
Each member shall be entitled to one vote for each lot owned
by said member. …….
In addition section 7 of the “Declaration of Restrictions” states:
The Association shall have all the powers that are set forth
in its
Articles of Incorporation and by-laws
or that belong to it by operation
of law, including the power to levy against
every lot in the Development
uniform annual charges as set forth in
the by-laws not less than $2.00
nor more than $30.00 per year; provided,
however, that no such charge
shall be levied against or payable by
the Association itself, or any corporation
that may be created to acquire title to
and operate any utilities servicing the
Unit or Development.
Over the last 10 years the California Pines Property Owners Association
Board of Directors have passed “Special Assessments” which raised
hundreds of thousands of dollars for various things such as roads
and other improvements. Property owners have requested accountings
of these “Special Assessments” without success.
A “Special Assessment” is an “Annual Charge” as restricted in Section
7 of the “Declaration of Restrictions”
and shall be “not less than $2.00 nor more than $30.00”.
In recent years the California Pines Property
Owners Association Board of Directors
took a vote of the members at the Annual Meeting which is held in
Reno Nevada nearly every year
(Why not at the lodge in Alturas as the
original Articles of Incorporation stated that the Association
Office shall be in Modoc county) to increase
the “Annual Charges”.
We are now paying $75.00 per lot (a total of $1.125 million dollars
annually and can not even get an audited financial statement). The
increases which we have experienced over the $30.00 cap as provided
by the “Declaration of Restrictions” are illegal. So we are now paying
double the rates permitted by the Declaration of Restrictions.
If we protest by not paying the illegal dues we are told that our
votes will not be counted. This is over and above the guarantee of
the Declaration of Restriction which allows us as lot owners one vote
for every lot we own.
Mr. Stricklen an attorney and secretary of the California Pines
Property Owners Association claims that the vote at the Annual Meetings
is adiquate to raise the annual charge. I and legal counsel whom I
trust believe that the Declaration of Restrictions can not be changed
without executing a document with the signature of the majority of
the property owners.
I see the
waste of our good monies
.
I see the
on-site administrator sleeping in
his office.
I see the mis-management of the lodge.
I see the poor
workmanship on the $100.000.00
lodge parking lot.
I see the lack of
a master plan for the entire development.
But, I also see board members whom
are living in the 1970s. times have
changed so to must the board. Meetings
must be at the development as the board members need to see first
hand of the detoriation
of the facilities.
I propose that we attempt to have skilled persons whom are willing
to serve on the board at the next election
and we the members circulate petitions
to get them elected.
In addition I would like to get input
as to each unit having it’s own POA. 15,000 lots
have 15,000 interests. The POA has grown too
big to control we have people making
decisions 1,000 miles away whom have not been here in 5 years.
In my next posting I will explain how if we work together we can
make this happen.
Jon Remalia
E-mail:info@cppoa.com
