A View from the Board
The following is the latest in a series of monthly messages from the RVR Master Association Board, called “A View From the Board.” The messages summarize recent Board decisions and discussions, and are designed to bring RVR homeowners up to date on issues important to the community.
***
In the past week, the Board has adopted two new policies you should know about. One affects all homeowners, the other all employees.

Our September “View From the Board” will discuss those policies, why we adopted them, and how they affect the community. And, we’ll also wrap up the recent efforts that resulted in the golf course owner abandoning, at least for now, his efforts to take away your voice.

Let’s begin with the new policies.
Sign and Flag Policy: On Aug. 29, the Board approved, by Unanimous Written Consent, a revised “Sign and Flag” policy. This policy revision is a result of a new Colorado state statute, known as House Bill 21-1310, which was enacted earlier this summer. This bill limits the ability of homeowners’ associations, such as the RVRMA, from restricting signs and flags, based on their content.

Previously, RVR sign policy, as allowed by state law, only permitted political signs during a period of 45 days before an election, and 7 days after the election. Now, under the new law, and the revised RVRMA sign policy, such signs may be erected at any time.

With our new policy, the only restrictions on signs at RVR are size, placement, and quantity. Similarly, the same restrictions apply to flags. With limited and clearly defined exceptions, each lot is allowed one sign and one flag. For details of the new Sign and Flag policy, click here.

Why is this significant to our community? You may remember from the political season of 2020, yard signs in RVR became divisive and controversial. Under the previous Sign and Flag policy, those signs were only allowed during a limited time, based on the upcoming general election date. In some cases, the signs pitted neighbor against neighbor. That situation created unfortunate internal friction within RVR.

Today, due to House Bill 21-1310, there is very little that can be done to stop the potential proliferation of signs, other than appealing to everyone’s sense of community and aesthetics. It is your absolute right to post a sign or flag, as long as it conforms with RVR’s Sign and Flag policy. No one can take that away from you. We just ask that everyone use common sense, good taste, and discretion – in the hope that we can avoid a repeat of our 2020 experience.

The Sign and Flag Policy went into effect at RVR on Sept. 7, 2021 – the same day as House Bill 21-1310 became law across the state of Colorado.

Mandatory Employee COVID-19 Vaccination Policy
: On Sept. 6, the Board approved, by Unanimous Written Consent, a policy that requires all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The RVRMA is among a growing number of organizations and businesses in our valley and across the country taking this approach, generally for the same reason: to protect the health and well-being of employees, their families and members of the community, and to maintain a safe workplace.

Since the early days of COVID in March 2020, we have used that simple guiding principle to drive our policies and practices: to protect the health and well-being of employees, homeowners and their guests. Enacting this mandatory vaccination policy is the logical continuation of that principle.

Vaccinations will be required for all employees, except those with a documented medical and/or religious reason for not receiving the vaccine, following an interactive accommodation procedure. All employees will be given 45 days to comply with this policy; however, during this period, unvaccinated employees must wear a mask at all times when indoors. Failure to do so is grounds for termination, and non-compliance with the Vaccination Policy will result in termination.

With the Delta variant on the rise, the Board believes this policy is an important step forward, and one that will result in better community health outcomes and greater customer satisfaction.

This Mandatory Employee COVID-19 Vaccination Policy goes into effect immediately. Click here to view the policy.

Update on Golf Owner’s Efforts to Silence You: On Sept. 1, RVR homeowners gathered at The Old Thompson Barn for an appreciation event, hosted by all of you. It was an opportunity for the community to celebrate a significant achievement: working together, we caused the golf course owner to withdraw his request that was scheduled to go before the Planning and Zoning Commission on Aug. 26. He and his attorneys realized they’d reached a dead end, and couldn’t overcome your opposition.

The Meeting Packet that was prepared for the commission included powerful letters from 110 RVR homeowners and our association’s attorney. Those letters, taken together, delivered a strong message that the golf course owner could not ignore: we are unanimous in our opposition to his efforts, and we will not allow our voices to be silenced, as the owner wanted to do with his proposed change to the development code.

You strongly objected to any changes to the development code, and you are equally strong in opposing any development that would change the nature of our community. Not only was your voice not silenced, it was heard loud and clear. It was an avalanche of opposition that made the owner realize he’d hit a wall.

This withdrawal of the owner’s request is a big win for RVR. While we can feel good about the near-term outcome, this fight is not over. The owner may re-file his request at any time, though the Town of Carbondale says it would be unable to review such a request until at least spring 2022. Despite the overwhelmingly clear wishes of our community, the owner is determined to develop the driving range. Click here to view the owner’s letter withdrawing his request to change the Town’s development code.

For now, let’s all take a deep breath, celebrate the moment, and remember that if we remain unified, we have every opportunity to keep RVR the community we want it to be.
***
If you have questions about either of the two new policies, about next steps in our fight to maintain the integrity of RVR, or any other matters concerning our community, please contact us at: boardofdirectors@rvrcommunity.com

Looking ahead, the next RVRMA Board meeting is Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 5:30 pm. It will be held in the Ranch House upstairs Board Room. As all Board meetings are now a hybrid of in-person and digital, you will be able to Zoom in to the meeting, if you’d like to view it remotely. Hope to see you then.

On behalf of your volunteer RVRMA Board,

Gary Lesser
Board President

Subscribe to our email list.