Sage Port #2 ACC

  Just Make Up Your Own Rules

    Larkspur, Colorado                  

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Once again the Sage Port Home Owners Association unilaterally grants itself new community powers!

In a recent mailing to Sage Port residents around Dec 10, 2015 the SP "HOA" announced both a merger with their so called "Legal, Manka & Erickson ACC" as well as a modification to their By-Laws allowing them to pick new Covenant ACC Officers going forward.

It's a good thing they created these new powers for themselves - because:

Our Covenants clearly state that the selection of ACC Officers can only be done in one of two ways: 

       By an election where a majority of owners select new Officers (this has never been done).   

       Or The currently appointed and recorded ACC Officers select new members or their replacements.

Despite the SP "HOA"’s legal sounding By-Laws and claims of community power, they are in the end just a private club with only about 5-10% (at best) of Sage Port as members (some are not even Sage Port #2 owners).  Do they actually think that a mere handful of their members can, by a simple vote, give themselves new regulatory powers by superseding the contractual provisions of our Protective Covenants impacting the majority rights of some 240 property owners? 

There is NO provision in our Covenants for an HOA to select Covenant ACC Officers!

In addition, there is absolutely no provision for the establishment of a Sage Port HOA or other governing body. The ACC is the only body established by our Covenants with clearly stated and limited duties. In fact, the SP "HOA" did not even exists till years after Sage Port #2 was founded. It is important to understand that it has no legal or regulatory authority, of any kind, it has no ability to override or modify our Covenants, appoint ACC Officers or regulate Sage Port #2 property or the owners. (a District Court order in 2009 to made this very clear to them. (go to last page) 

The next big problem is that this so called "Legal ACC" the SP "HOA" references is NOT our Covenant established ACC but simply a CO. Corp. formed in 2006 by Robert Backle and John Manka, Chaired by Glen Erickson. Other than the "use" of our name this is nothing more than a few individuals with no more power over Sage Port home owners than any other private organization, say a gardon club, would have!

It is interesting to note that from their Incorporation in 2006 they have never filed any documents with Douglas County naming themselves as official Covenant ACC Offices.  Likely a good reason why they have never filed as Covenant ACC Officers is that the filling of a false document with the County would be in violation of Colorado Statute 18–5–114 "Offering A False Instrument For Recording" - A felony punishable by up to 3 years in Prision!

If they are in fact the Covenants “Legal” ACC Officers as claimed, they should have no problems filing the proper document with Douglas County. The process is only 1 page, $13 and five min. to register. Yet 14 years later, for some reason, they still have not been able to get around to it - wonder why - might be a good question to ask them.

However, they continue to contact owners insisting that they need to submit information to them for Building Permit "Approvals" by their Private HOA without any legal authority to do so!

The current Covenants ACC Officers must be listed as modifications to the Covenants as held and recorded by the County – this is the only source of legal validation. These new Claims being made by the SP "HOA" that it now has the ability to select our ACC Officers is at best delusional and at worst, if acted on, criminal. They are well aware that they have no legal standing to do this under the Covenants, CO Law or even with community consent, given that 90+% of our home owners do not even support them!.

You have to wonder what is behind this new very public merger of the SPHOA and the "Manka & Erickson ACC" along with their new By-Laws clearly claiming powers to effectively modify our Covenants? Could this be an effort to present themselves with this merger as some new form of a Sage Port regulatory and governance body?

Unfortunately, there is nothing new in ongoing attempts, by a few of our residents, to seek ways to control how the majority of us would like to use and enjoy our property (as longtime residents are well aware of).

In 2003 the SPHOA under President Mark Hesse (still an active board member), attempted to institute the SPHOA as a governing body exercising autonomous authority over our community. It started off with Mark Hesse and his board unilaterally declaring that membership in the SPHOA was now mandatory. Despite the fact that the original founders (in 1987) and most of the community insisted that it had always been voluntary. Not to be influenced by the facts, they proceeded to enforce the first of their newly self-appointed powers with an iron hand!

This resulted in 5+ years of intense legal and community battles, some 60+ owners who refused to buckle to Mark and his SPHOA demands had liens placed on their homes by Mark Hesse and his board. A direct financial attack on them in an attempt to force their compliance. Fines were attempted, owners dragged into court and hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent in years of court battles.  In the end, as noted above, it took a District Court order to settle the matter once and for all.

We can only hope that current SPHOA actions do not point to another 2003 again!

Since the founding of Sage Port in 1971, there has been an unbroken chain of appointed and registered ACC Officers spanning our entire 50 years. Because the original Officers were named in the Covenants, any changes in the membership requires the Covenants be updated. As the foundational document that controls and protects our collective and personal property rights it is critical it is correct and current.

From 1971 till today there have only been 4 sets of appointments to the ACC. Each member’s notarized appointment was recorded with the Douglas County Clerk's office as a legal amendment to the original Covenants. (links are provided to copies of all filings).

Please view for yourself your Protective Covenants and all the recorded modifications (all copies provided by the Douglas County Clerk and Recorder’s office) that have been made to it from 1971 to today.

This is not personal opinion, just the FACTS - Read the Covenants (2 pages) then review all the modifications (only 4) then determine for yourself who your legal ACC Officers are. We hope this information will help put an end to these latest of SPHOA self-granted claims of authority. 

If you would like to contact us, please:

Email to: info@sageportacc.net