The Encyclopedia of Desert Mountain Rent Restrictions
Spring 2017 – First Claims
According to several accounts, the current push for rent restrictions started at a meeting of village presidents in the spring of 2017. One owner claimed that another high-end club in Arizona had a “huge problem with thousands of renters overrunning the community”. In truth, rentals at this high-end club were modest. In a community with 750 homes, less than a dozen homes were offered for rent to the public. In the words of one Desert Mountain owner, a group of about a dozen militants at Desert Highlands used scare tactics and a Web petition to persuade the Desert Highlands Community Board to adopt 30-day minimum rentals.
April 24, 2017 – The Amendment
This issue of short term rentals resonated with some at Desert Mountain, especially in the context of short-term tenants using DM Club facilities. The Desert Mountain Master Association Board discussed this issue at the April 24th meeting. Minutes for that meeting state “while this Board has no authority over guest pass rules, they do have the ability to prohibit short term rentals.” After some discussion, DMMA attorney Curtis Eckmark was asked to draft an amendment to the CC&Rs which would restrict short-term rentals by owners.
July 24, 2017 – Change Proposed
The proposal to add rent restrictions to the CC&Rs was approved by the DMMA Board at the July 24 meeting and was announced to owners on July 27, 2017. DMMA July 28 Proposal.
August 4, 2017 – The “Clarification”
The Board recognized shortly after mailing the July 28 announcement that it was not being well-received. First, the 45-day window spanned a period when many members were away from their Desert Mountain homes. Second, the announcement didn’t offer reasons for adopting the proposed restrictions. To address these concerns, the July 28 proposal was followed by an email blast on August 4 modifying the original proposal. DMMA 8-4 Clarification.
This clarification letter was signed by Community Manager Kevin Pollock (an employee of CCMC), not by the Desert Mountain Board of Directors. Claims in the “clarification” letter included:
• A “threat of unchecked expansion of short-term rentals”.
• “Extensive research effort by DMMA staff”.
• Fear that “nuisance-type of rental activities” would “invade Desert Mountain as it has in other communities. . .”
The deadline for objecting to the July 28 proposal was extended to October 31 to accommodate owners traveling during the summer months. If more than 10% objected, the August 4 letter pledged (on page 2) that the Board would “need to hold a meeting and conduct a vote of Homeowners on this matter”.
In spite of a claim of “extensive research” in the August 4 message, the DMMA Board:
• Had no evidence that any short-term tenant had been found using Club services.
• Could not cite a single case when a short-term tenant had caused a disturbance.
• Did not know of any similar community that had been invaded by nuisance tenants.
• Did not know how many homes were available for rent at Desert Mountain.
• Had not solicited comment on rent restrictions from the community of DM owners.
• Had not consulted with any of the most productive realtors who serve Desert Mountain.
August 15 to 22, 2017 — Objections
Gary Moselle sent a letter to substantially all DM owners explaining that their property rights would be restricted permanently and without further notice if less than 10% of DM parcel owners objected to the July 28 proposal. August 15 Letter. This message included a blank form that could be mailed to DMMA if the owner wanted to object to the proposed rent restrictions. Draft Objection Letter. Approximately 2/3 of the 687 parcel owners who objected to the proposed rent restrictions used this form.
September 1, 2017 – Communications Committee Draft
Responding to letters sent to the membership by Gary Moselle on August 15 to 22, DMMA management called a meeting of the Communications Committee September 6 Agenda and attached a draft email blast to DM owners. Communication Committee Draft Email. The DMMA Board re-wrote the email message approved by the committee. Eventually, this revised message was distributed with the survey of November 17.
September 2, 2017 – Letter to CCMC
D.J. Cole runs CCMC, the company that staffs the DMMA office. Gary Moselle sent a letter to D.J. Cole requesting information on any policy CCMC follows on employee participation in intra-HOA disputes. DJ Cole Letter. For example, is it consistent with CCMC policy for a community manager to advocate for a position supported by one group of owners and against the interest of another group of owners? D.J. Cole did not respond to the query.
September 14, 2017 – Pollock Letters
Gary Moselle suggests setting up a working group to manage the vote on rent restrictions. Kevin Pollock suggests the objection letters have not been “verified”. Further, any vote is at the discretion of the DMMA Board. Pollock Sept 14 Letters.
August to October 2017 – Flood of Objections
By several accounts, the flood of written objections surprised advocates for rent restrictions. Many of the written objections received by DMMA were thoughtful and persuasive. Some were amusing. Others were written by DM owners who had no intention of renting their homes but refused to give up the right to select their own guests. Highlights. By the end of October, 687 written objections had been delivered to the DMMA office, far more than enough to trigger the meeting and vote pledged by Kevin Pollock in the August 4 “Clarification” message.
October 31, 2017 – Not Verified
The deadline for calling a meeting and vote passed without any action by the DMMA Board. When asked about the flood of written objections, DMMA management stated that written objections had not been “verified” yet. Pollock Sept 14 Letters. The Board was not satisfied that people who sent objection letters actually owned property at Desert Mountain. To this day, the DMMA Board has not acknowledged receipt of 687 written objections to the July 28 proposal.
November 17, 2017 – The Survey
On November 17, DMMA sent an email survey on rent restrictions to owners. DMMA Nov 17 Survey. This survey was sent to 2,800 email addresses. (There are about 2,390 parcels and 2,050 owners at Desert Mountain.) About 750 more email surveys were sent than there are parcel owners. Those who failed to open the first email message received as many as 5 repeat messages.
The cover letter for the November 17 survey included language intended to set an emotional tone favoring rent restrictions — phrases that presumed evocative scenarios not possible and not supported in reality:
· stop an unending series
· protect the tranquil lifestyle
· a haven of year-round party houses
· 365 different occupants of the house next door to you
· carousel of non-acquaintance, short-stay renters
The survey itself included leading questions designed to elicit a preferred result, much the way biased political surveys are crafted.
Still, DMMA management claimed the survey showed “78% of Desert Mountain owners favor rent restrictions.” This is a deep misrepresentation of the facts. Only about 40% of email recipients even opened the survey and only 34% completed it. The third who completed the survey included multiple respondents for a single parcel.
Because one-third of DM owners completed the survey, it’s reasonable to conclude that some minority at DM favors rent restrictions. After adjusting for the 750 redundant emails, a reasonable conclusion would be that about 20% of the DM owners want some sort of rent restriction. The actual number could be less.
December 4, 2017 – Board Meeting
Rent restrictions were discussed briefly at the end of the meeting. Notes on December 4 Meeting.
December 12, 2017 – Letter to Owners
This letter was sent to the nearly 700 DM owners who objected to the proposed rent restrictions. December 12 Letter. As of the letter date, DMMA management had made no announcement about the number of objections received and had not scheduled a vote. In fact, to this day, DMMA management has never acknowledged that any valid written objection to the July 28 proposal was received from an owner at Desert Mountain.
January 4, 2018 – Survey Results
Nicki Armsby reports on a conversation with Kevin Pollock about results of the November 17 survey. Nicki 1-4-18 Letter.
January 22, 2018 – January 22 Meeting
Notes by Nicki Armsby on the January 22 DMMA annual meeting and a transcript of remarks she prepared for that meeting. Nicki’s Final Draft.
January 29, 2018 – Ad Hoc Committee
At the January 29, 2018 Board meeting, DMMA voted to withdraw the July 28 proposal on rent restrictions without conducting the vote pledged in the August 4 “Clarification” email blast. The Board also voted to charter a Home Rental and Exchange Parameters Ad Hoc Committee to be chaired by Board member Mike Dings. Ad Hoc Committee Charter. This committee was composed of 12 owner-volunteers, said to be balanced between those favoring and those opposed to restrictions. Committee members were to work in pairs conducting interviews with five groups of stakeholders:
• DM Club Board and Leadership
• Owners Disrupted by Renters or Others
• Owners Who Rent
• Realtors at Desert Mountain
• DM Restaurant and Sonoran Clubhouse Employees
February 15, 2018 – Call for Interviews
The Dings Committee sends an email blast to DM owners requesting volunteers willing to be interviewed by committee members. Over 200 owners volunteer. Ad Hoc Call to Interview 2-15.
February 26, 2018 – Second Try
At the February 26 meeting, the Board hears a preliminary report from Mike Dings on work his committee has been doing. The Board then approved language for the second set of DM rent restrictions. This second set of proposed rent restrictions was distributed to DM owners (by letter mail but not email) on March 12. DMMA Major Decision 2.
An email message explained why this second set of restrictions was being proposed. An Amendment to CC&Rs.
February 28, 2018 – First Dings Report
The Dings Committee Phase I Report was distributed to the DMMA Board. Dings Phase I Report. The report consists largely of compiled and unweighted opinions and is light on actual facts collected from the five groups of stakeholders.
Much of the report deals with DM Club issues – use of Club facilities by non-members. That’s not our concern. The DM Club has good ways to deal with poachers. Protecting the DM Club was not part of the committee charter. DMMA Board members have a duty of loyalty to DMMA members, not to the DM Club.
Interviews with realtors presented a good opportunity to develop factual data. For example, how many sales have been lost due to uncertainty about rent restrictions? How many renters have become buyers? How many realtors arrange guest passes for prospective buyers or renters? How many realtors refer prospects to the DM marketing staff? These are important questions at the heart of the committee’s charter. Unfortunately, the report addresses none of these questions.
The committee interviewed several dozen owners who rent. None of these owners reported ever having a neighbor complain about a tenant. No incidents with tenants were reported to DMMA. Only one of these owners advertises DM Club amenities to prospective tenants. At least 29 who had rented at DM ended up buying a home at DM. Nine bought memberships. These are important facts not documented in the committee report.
The committee could find less than a dozen owners who lived next door to rental homes and were willing to be interviewed. That was a surprise. If there are 150 rental homes at Desert Mountain, there are at least 300 owners who live adjacent to these homes. Of those neighbors of tenants who consented to be interviewed, 6 had facts to relate: random parking, problems with trash receptacles, noise, and in one case, a domestic disturbance. Two in this group had positive experiences with neighbor tenants. The remainder of the owners in this group had only opinions.
DM owners deserve more than an anthology of opinions. The committee was charged with making a recommendation based on fact, not opinion. The Ad Hoc Committee report includes neither the facts nor the recommendations required by the committee charter.
February 28, 2018 – Security Incident Report
Anderson Security compiled and released to DMMA a report on incidents recorded at 154 specific Desert Mountain addresses. Rental House Incidents. This report shows the number of times DM security was called to a DM home (an “incident”). Since 2013 there have been 7,021 incidents. Currently there are 1,805 completed homes at Desert Mountain. Of these, 154 are known to be rented at least occasionally. This list of rented homes at DM was compiled using two sources:
1. “Public” in the table refers to the 111 homes found to be offered on web sites such as VRBO, AirBnb, or FlipKey.
2. “DMMA” in the table refers to the 43 home rentals available from real estate professionals working with DMMA or the DM Club.
At these 154 homes that are rented at least occasionally, there were 289 incidents in the last five years. The 8.5% of the homes offered for rent at least occasionally accounted for only 4.1% of the calls to security. And homes found on public sites (VRBO or AirBnB for example.) were the least likely to attract a security call. They were 6.1% of DM homes but only 2.6% of the calls to security.
Here’s a summary of five years of incident reports at the 154 homes rented at least occasionally:
46 calls listed as N/A or “None” in the log
61 calls for a vehicle jump start
48 calls for home alarms going off
53 calls for animal removal — bees, snakes, gila monsters, birds, tarantulas, dead deer and a baby javelina.
50 calls for gate strikes, barking dogs, foul odors, doors left open, items left in driveways, found mailbox keys, garbage not secured, a mis-dial of 911, outdoor lights left on, water pressure loss, assist with locked keys or a flat tire, process server access, a design review call and a thank you
33 calls for a water leak or suspected gas leak
19 calls about a medical issue or owner welfare
8 noise complaint of some kind (1.6 calls per year)
8 calls about undefined “suspicious activity” (1.6 calls per year)
3 calls about missing property (1 call every 1.7 years)
2 calls about a phone threat (1 call every 2.5 years)
1 call about a drone (1 call every 5 years)
1 call about pictures being taken of the neighborhood (1 call every 5 years)
1 call about a domestic disturbance (1 call every 5 years)
Nothing in this report connects any incident with a short-term tenant. The call to security could have been to report a problem with an owner, a guest or even a construction worker. In short, nothing in the report supports a claim that short term tenants increase the risk to our community.
March 1, 2018 – Ad Hoc Rental Parameters Committee Update
The DMMA releases its first Email Blast providing an update of the Dings Committee progress. March 1 Email Blast. This update indicated the Committee’s work was largely associated with collecting opinions and not factual information.
March 6, 2018 – Amendment to the CC&Rs Mailing Announcement
Despite the fact that the Dings Committee’s work remained incomplete, to include the completion of community member interviews and the publication of valid and comprehensive recommendations, the Board moves to release the proposed amendment to the Desert Mountain community. March 6 Email Blast. The proposed amendment was mailed via post to primary addresses on file and not also emailed to Desert Mountain Owners, unlike the 27 July, 2017 proposed amendment.
March 7, 2018 – Email to Owners Opposed
Correcting and supplementing statements in a recent email blast from DMMA. March 7 Email Blast.
March 8, 2018 – Office Hours
DMMA announced by email that members of the Dings Committee would be available to discuss the new proposal on rent restrictions. Office Hours.
March 12, 2018 – Official Announcement
DMMA’s announcement of a second try at rent restrictions started arriving in owner mail boxes on March 12. DMMA Major Decision 2. Owners have a 45-day window to send a written objection to DMMA. The announcement doesn’t show a date of mailing or an email address for use by owners sending written objections. A note on the DMMA Web Site says the 45-day window for objections will close on April 27.
March 13, 2018 – Letter to Owners
Gary Moselle sends a letter to substantially all DM owners advising of the second attempt at restricting owner property rights. March 14 Letter. The letter includes a blank objection form designed to eliminate any quibbling about the sender’s ownership of the property. March Objection Letter.
March 13, 2018 – Rent Restrictions Explained
Email updating owners on the form letter being mailed and the procedure to follow to object to the March 12 rent restrictions. March 13 Letter.
March 16, 2018 – Sherman Video
A 4-minute video by Board Chairman Rich Sherman is posted on DesertMtn.com. Sherman’s Video. Major points include:
• Desert Mountain will be affected by the growth of short-term rentals.
• Homes used for short-term rentals are commercial buildings.
• Short term rentals could change DM into a resort.
• Other communities like DM restrict home rentals to a 30-day minimum.
• Rent restrictions will make DM less attractive to investors.
• Some DM owners have been disturbed by short-term tenants.
• Rent restrictions will limit the number of outsiders at DM.
• Management has a plan to limit losses of those who rent for less than 30 days.
Most notable in this video: DMMA management has changed its tune — abandoning claims of “year-round party houses”, “365 occupants in the house next door”, “a carousel of short-stay renters”. DMMA is getting better PR advice: Scare tactics don’t work with intelligent, sophisticated owners. There’s no mention in the Sherman video of the never-enforced Scottsdale ordinance. Gone too is the false claim that 78% of all DM owners favor rent restrictions. In it’s place is another claim – that homes rented short term have to meet standards for apartments and hotels and be located in commercial zones. What’s still in the media campaign?
• Short term leases erode the Desert Mountain brand. Obviously that’s true, the same as my leased BMW trashes the BMW brand name.
• We don’t want Desert Mountain to become a resort destination. Really? Then why does Section 1.3 of our declaration authorize the DMMA Board to develop a resort hotel on the premises.
• DM owners have been disturbed by short term tenants. Maybe so. But the rate of “incidents” in homes rented on VRBO or AirBnB is about half the rate of incidents in homes never occupied by renters.
What isn’t mentioned in the media campaign?
• If these use restrictions are added to our CC&Rs, they are almost certainly permanent – will apply to all current owners and every buyer in the future.
• Every conservative can agree: An HOA should not take property rights without consent of the owner.
• What DMMA is trying to do to our CC&Rs would be prohibited by Arizona law if DMMA were a condo HOA rather than a PUD HOA. Condo v PUD HOAs.
March 27, 2018 — Email Blast “Setting the Record Straight” Setting the Record Straight 3-27-18 is part of the Board’s intense marketing plan to “sell” use restrictions to DM owners. Comments have been inserted into the document and are highlighted.
March 30, 2018 – Desert Mountain Homeowners Coalition Launches Web Presence The Desert Mountain Homeowners Coalition (DMHOC) announces the launch of a website for the express purpose of providing valid and thought-provoking information to the Desert Mountain community. The DMHOC was inspired by hundreds of homeowners who, for diverse reasons, object to a change in the DMMA CC&Rs.
April 2, 2018 – Postcard Announcing the formation of the Desert Mountain Homeowners Coalition and the website www.dmhoc.org. The postcard was mailed to substantially all Desert Mountain Owners.
April 2, 2018 – 312 Written Objections An email announces that Owners of 312 parcels have objected in the first three weeks after the March 12 proposal on rent restrictions was announced.
April 10, 2018 – A Vote is Scheduled An email announces that Desert Mountain owners will vote on rent restrictions from April 13 to May 1, 2018.
April 12, 2018 – Desert Mountain Club Endorses Rent Restrictions An email announces support for rent restrictions. For another view, see Can DMMA Solve the DM Club’s Problem
May 2, 2018 – The DMMA Announces the Short Term Rental Restriction Has Passed With votes verified by the auditing firm of Butler Hansen, PLC, the DMMA Announces that the Short Term Rental Restriction has passed.
July 11, 2018 – The DMMA’s Letter to “Rental Properties” We want to thank the DMMA in advance for categorizing those who elect to rent on occasion or routinely as simply “Rental Property Owners” implying no care, consideration, or vested interest in the Desert Mountain Community.
July 16, 2018 – The CC&R Amendment to Exhibit E On July 16, 2018, the Certificate of Amendment to Exhibit E of the DMMA’s CC&R’s was filed in Maricopa County.
July/August 2018 – Desert Mountain’s Connections Summer 2018 Magazine is released The Summer Issue contained a Message from the new Executive Director, Kevin Pollock. that message indicates 55.2% of all eligible votes were a vote for the restriction. Is this matter really a “Major Decision”? If so, the vote was short of the requirements but we will ultimately leave this to the Court to decide.
August 15, 2018 – Major Victory by the Dessaules Law Group The Dessaules Law Firm scored a major win for homeowners against their HOA who challenged the validity of a short term rental ban. The Association’s CC&R’s did not previously contain rental restrictions and jury found that a 100% unanimous vote of all owners would be required in order to enact a new and material restriction of this kind. The case summary is posted at The Dessaules Law Group Blog. This can be expected to have an impact on many Communities across the State of Arizona in the near future.
August 31, 2018 – Are Short-Term Rental Restrictions Valid? The Dessaules Law Group issues a follow-up article in light of their recent jury victory citing CC&R provisions in stark parallel to those in place at Desert Mountain.
September 1, 2018 – DMHOC forms Exploratory Group The DMHOC forms an Exploratory Group to investigate the validity of a legal challenge on the issue and quantify Community support in respect to taking action.
September 24, 2018 – DMMA Resolution Establishing a Leasing Restriction Fine Schedule The DMMA Board adopts the Leasing Restriction Resolution, which includes the provision for a fine structure.
October 5, 2018 – DMMA releases Short Term Rental Policy and Fines to the Community The DMMA releasesShort Term Rental Policies and Fines via email to the Community.
Desert Mountain Homeowners Coalition 