Heritage Oaks Home Owners Blog (Tradition, PSL, FL) (Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie: real estate, HOA fees)

[thehunts123]

Okay folks, After reading the many informative and enlightening posts in a number of different "Tradition" threads, I've decided to create this special thread for any homeowners residing here in Heritage Oaks to talk about whatever's on our minds here in Heritage Oaks.

(( NOTE: Heritage Oaks is a gated community within the town of Tradition in Port St. Lucie, FL. Heritage Oaks has over 500 single family homes built by Homes By Kennedy approx. 2 years ago. Most Heritage Oaks houses sold during pre-construction for between $190K and $240K, however right now they are selling for far less. Our HOA is still run by the builder, and it may be another 2 years or longer until we can take it over. The builder still has to complete this community by also building approx. 400-500 town homes adjacent to the single-family homes area. In the meanwhile, there are very few actual homeowners residing in Heritage Oaks, as the majority of the houses are either empty or rented "investment homes". Therefore, the few resident homeowners don't have a very "loud voice" whenever there are issues we need to have addressed. Hopefully this thread (forum) will help us to communicate with eachother and together we can make some progress with our community. ))

So........... Let the blogging begin !!!

[thehunts123]

DOG WASTE ISSUE :: Although we now have multiple plastic-baggie dispensers located throughout Heritage Oaks, and although one would think that dog owners would save and use their plastic bags from walmart and publix for picking up after their dogs, it seems we have QUITE A FEW DOG OWNERS here who are NOT cleaning up after their dogs at all. Just now I went outside and cleaned up 2 fresh piles of dog waste from my front lawn -- which is something I find myself having to do nearly every day!! We have a dog, and my husband and I always clean up after him. We carry baggies when we walk him, and if for any reason we don't have a bag with us and he poohs, we go back and clean it up immediately. PLUS we never allow our dog to pee or pooh on anybody's front lawn --- How tacky!! And, even if you clean up after your dog, you should still keep your dog on the curb grass or in the street, and NEVER on anyone's front lawn!!

My husband wants to install a camera on our house to film the constant offenders so they can be spken to &/or fined for this. That oughtta be interesting

I have sent a suggestion to Bayshore Management to mail out a "reminder notice" to all homes about this issue.

Anyone experiencing the same problem at their house wanna comment ???

[FlaLadyB]

Ok... I live in Heritage Oaks myself and am jumping in with you!

I agree on the dog mess. There ARE dog waste bag depots now out located in various areas - please use them.

Now a different subject along this same venue is the owners who let the dogs use their own back yards - as in my own next door neighbor - and NEVER clean it up!

[thehunts123]

Hello FlaLadyB, I'm so glad you've jumped in here with me! *smile* Now we've gotta get a bunch more of our Heritage Oaks Home Owners to jump in too. Who knows? This could become our neighborhood hang-out. LOL

Yikes!! With regard to the dog waste situation, it sounds like you've got a pretty stinky problem with your neighbors' pooh-filled yard. Not only is it stinky if the breeze wafts in your direction, but it's also a health hazard. Feces is a breeding ground for disease... and disease-carrying flies. Plus the landscapers are surely tracking it into your yard on their mowers and their shoes. Your neighbors definitely need to start cleaning up their yard right away.

There are times when I regret buying into a HOA controlled community, but this is one of the times when I can appreciate it. Because you are at least able to complain to the HOA (contact Property Director Robert Mullet via Bayshore Management) and he will issue your neighbors a written warning, followed by fines if they don't comply. Naturally it's a sticky situation (no pun intended) because you don't want to feel uncomfortable if your neighbors are upset that someone complained about them, but I'm assuming that you've already tried asking them nicely, and so at this point there's really no other choice. I wish you the best : )

As for me...... I contacted Mr. Mullet and told him of the pooh being deposited on my front lawn and curb grass, and I also suggested a mass mailing of "reminder letters" to be sent to every household. I 'm still finding piles of pooh in my grass every day (from large and small dogs), and I haven't received my copy of any reminder letter yet, but hopefully his office is working on it and maybe we'll start seeing some good results (no more pooh) soon.

Oh, and regarding the baggie dispensors located throughout the community:
There's one right near my house in the middle of a 'park' between 2 houses. It is set back about 15 feet from the sidewalk. In order to get to it, you must walk into the grass. My first thought upon seeing this was, what about when the grass is wet or muddy and you're wearing good shoes? But, as it turns out, there is a much bigger problem: TONS of people are walking their dogs in that park area, but HARDLY ANYONE is using the baggies! PEOPLE ARE USING THAT PARK AREA AS IF IT IS A DESIGNATED DOG WALKING AREA, AND THEY'RE NOT CLEANING IT UP. In fact, the grass leading up to the baggie dispenser is LOADED with pooh -- It's a literal obstacle course of pooh piles!!! There are free baggies within an arm's reach and yet many dog owners are ignoring them in favor of leaving the piles behind on the grass!!! It has actually become too difficult for me to maneuver myself and my dog through that messy area to get to the baggies, so I'm carrying my own walmart & publix baggies instead, and I'm using my own trash bin instead of the baggie bin in the park. In other words, certain people are making it impossible (extreeeemely difficult) for us to use the very items we pay for via our HOA fees. Not to mention the fact that we can't even use that 'park' area as a 'park area' anymore because it's full of pooh. I have a young child who used to enjoy playing in that 'park area'..... but now I can't allow him to. And I feel terrible for the homeowners on either side of that park area because I'm sure it's too stinky for them to open their windows for some fresh air. ((just like your problem with your neighbor's pooh-filled yard)) I plan on asking Mr. Mullet to consider two ideas: 1) moving the baggie dispenser out of the park and onto the curb grass instead, and 2) placing a "No Dog Walking" sign in the 'park area'. Maybe that will help. It can't hurt to ask.

Sadly, I think it's just a lack of manners and caring about others. When I was a kid, my father would've blown a gasket if he ever saw my brother or me allow our family dog to even WALK on anyone's grass! He'd say to us, "Dog urine and pooh KILLS THE GRASS that people pay good money to keep green!"

And in many cities, the cops actually give people TICKETS if they catch them not cleaning up after their dogs.

I *L*O*V*E all dogs and all animals....... and I hate sounding like such a complainer........ but, this really is a very stinky, messy issue that needs to be addressed with a tough policy. I sure hope it happens soon. If enough people get scolded and/or fined, maybe they'll learn to do the right thing.

[thehunts123]

PS: On a serious note......

IF YOU ARE A PET OWNER:

PLEASE DO NOT keep your pet locked in a kennel in your garage with the garage door 'cracked open for air', or tied to a tree in your yard unsupervised.

Your pet could easily die of heat prostration in just an hour. Yes, even in your garage, and even with the door cracked open. PLUS just think about all of the dangerous wildlife that can harm or kill your pet. (red ants, snakes, rats, poisonous spiders, boors and wild cats can all get into your cracked-open garage. And all of those, plus hawks and eagles can get to your pet outdoors.)

If you must lock up your pet at night or while you're away at work, use your laundry room. It's bigger than a kennel, you can wipe the tile floor clean, it's air conditioned, and dangerous wildlife can't get to your pet.

[thehunts123]

SORT OF AN UPBEAT UPDATE
Two more homeowners have recently moved onto our street (that I'm aware of), and both households seem to be very nice and neighborly. One has already done some beautiful landscaping, and another just put in an inground pool. Yay!! It's taking a while because of the real estate slump, but slowly but surely, Heritage Oaks is evolving more and more into the neighborhood we'd hoped for. I hope this trend continues, although I have a feeling it'll slow down again now because of the "financial crisis" [huge political banking and mortgage mess] that's going on. Yes, I know, I know..... patience is a virtue......

[Lilybeans]

Dog droppings? Crane Droppings?? Frog droppings???

Those red ants are fire ants. Nasty suckers.

[thehunts123]

Hi Lilybeans! I'm glad you joined in! I've seen lots of your posts in here. Oh, and thanks for the correction on the fire ants -- I don't know the difference between 'red' and 'fire' ants; I just know they bite and I don't like 'em. (Ouch!!) lol

[FlaLadyB]

[quote=thehunts123;5604638]THE WILDLIFE IS RETURNING TO HERITAGE OAKS


With the construction completed here in Heritage Oaks, it's interesting to see a lot of the local wildlife returning to live amongst us. ((Yes, I know, they were here first...)) If you are not used to living in a %2

[thehunts123]

Hi FlaLadyB.......... Your post didn't come thru. Just a partial quote. Yeeesh, I sure was rambling the other day! LOL (my apologies to anyone who required tylenol after all that)