Timber Creek Homeowners Association
Set among the pines and junipers with the snow-capped mountains to the southwest, Timber Creek is a residential neighborhood of craftsman-style single family homes on the east side of the City of Sisters, Oregon. Established in 1999, the Timber Creek neighborhood consists of 127 lots whose owners make up the Timber Creek Homeowners Association.
Background
In the mid-1990’s, J. Bruce Forbes purchased a forty-acre tract of undeveloped land on the east side of the City of Sisters. Highway 20 and the elementary school bordered the land to the west, highway 126 (the Redmond highway) to the south, and East Cascade Street on the north. Whychus Creek (then called Squaw Creek) flowed from west to east through the property.
In the late 1990’s Forbes created the Creekside neighborhood on land to the south of the creek, and sold the 22 lots to a developer and retained one for himself.
Forbes’ company, Timber Creek LLC, developed the first 10 lots in the Timber Creek neighborhood on land to the north of the creek. These lots were platted in 1999, and Forbes sold the lots to builders. In September, 1999, he registered with Deschutes County the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) for Timber Creek and Timber Creek II, a six-phase development covering most of the remainder of the land owned by Forbes.
Phase 1 included 22 lots facing East Cascade Street. Forbes built his “coach house” on lot 1 and sold 14 of the Phase 1 lots to Jim Bell, a local builder who had constructed homes on two of the lots in the original Timber Creek plat. Bell constructed single family homes and duplexes on these lots. Later, Forbes sold 6 lots in Phase 1 to Desert Sun Development of Bend.
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From 2003 to 2005, Taurus Homes purchased from Timber Creek LLC most of the lots in phases 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Timber Creek Development. Taurus began construction of homes and infrastructure in Phase 5 in the fall 2003 and sold its first homes in Timber Creek in the first half of 2004.
Taurus subsequently sold some lots to Desert Sun Development and Sun Coast Development, an affiliate of Desert Sun.
The City of Sisters required the Timber Creek II neighborhood to have a homeowners association. When he established the HOA, Bruce Forbes became the declarant and responsible to administer the HOA until such time as 75% of the lots were owned by others. He hired Mile High Management of Bend to help organize and manage the HOA.
On December 15, 2004, a special meeting of the HOA was held. The sole purpose of the meeting was to approve an amendment to the CC&Rs to exclude 9 of the original 10 lots of the Timber Creek neighborhood from the coverage and jurisdiction of the CC&Rs. Those 9 lots on Timber Creek Drive were removed from the HOA as of that date.
On February 8, 2006, Taurus called a meeting of owners for the purpose of turning over control of the HOA to the owners. At that meeting owners elected a board of directors to assume responsibility for the association. The 5-person board oversees the HOA and governs under the terms and conditions of the CC&Rs and Bylaws of the association.
The CC&Rs provide for an annual meeting of owners, at which owners elect directors to serve on the board. For a meeting to occur, 75% of owners must be represented either in person or by proxy. In the event a quorum is not achieved, the meeting must be rescheduled for a later date.
The owners share the expenses of the association by paying an annual assessment. The assessments cover the expenses of the association. All lots contribute equally to HOA operating expenses and to the reserve for common property such as the entry monument. In addition, owners of lots which face a private street or alley contribute an additional amount to a reserve for the long term maintenance of the private streets and alleys.
In July, 2008, the HOA board ended its contract with Northwest Association Management to manage the day-to-day operation of the homeowners association. Since that time, the HOA Directors have managed the operation of the homeowners association.
Development Concept
Nestled among towering ponderosa pines and scattered juniper, the Timber Creek neighborhood is defined by inspiring mountains and the bubbling waters of Whychus Creek. Homes are of Craftsman or Timber Frame style construction. Colors are muted. Views are protected. Minimal fencing is of common design and limited to privacy screening and utility service yards. Areas outside each lot’s building envelope are considered open space. On-street parking is discouraged. Deer wander at will. Pets are restrained.
