Ouatama Park HOA Newsletter p.

1
Avenues
The Newsletter of the Ouatama Park Home Owners Association
Volume 1, ssue 2 8ummer 2005


































N8 DE TH 8 88UE
2
ARC Landscape & Design Guidelines
Landscaping Tips
3
Neighborly Tips
Thank Yous
Issues of Concern
Recycle This
NEW BOARD MEET NG 8CHEDUL E:
Quatama Park Home Owners Association Meetings will now
be held the second Thursday of every other month at 6:30
p.m. at: HARVEST COMMUNITY CHURCH
21235 NW QUATAMA RD., BEAVERTON, OR.
Board meetings are open to all homeowners and residents.
Sep 2005 NO Board Meeting
Oct 2005 Regular Board Meeting
Nov 2005 Annual Board Meeting
Dec 2005 NO Board Meeting
Jan/Mar/May/Jul/Sep/ 2006 Regular Board Meeting
Feb/Apr/Jun/Aug/Oct/Dec 2006 NO Board Meeting
Nov 2006 Annual Board Meeting

Website: http://www.quatamahoa.org
Board Members
Sam R. Linder President
David Goodman - Secretary
Amelia Cheema - Treasurer
Dan Feder - Director
James Kirby - Director
Northwest Community Management Company
Phone: (503) 670-8111 Fax: (503) 670-0775
Regular Business Hours: Mon.- Fri, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

President's Message
Your board is continuing to work hard at improving the quality
of life in our association. However, we cannot do it all alone.
We need you, the residents of Quatama Park Homeowners
Association - both homeowners and renters, to help us make
our association a more attractive community in which to live.

Back in March, we sent out the new "Architectural Review
Committee Design and Landscape Guidelines" (ARC
Guidelines). It is important that you read the ARC Guidelines
as they contain information regarding what is acceptable in
our community and what is not acceptable. Please remember
that the ARC Guidelines have the same force and effect as
the CC&R's (Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions).

If your board, or management company, observes a violation
of the CC&R's or the ARC Guidelines, a letter will be sent to
the homeowner asking that the situation be corrected. If you
receive such a letter, it is very important that you respond to
it. If you do not reply, a second letter will be sent via regular
mail along with a copy sent via certified mail. If you continue
to ignore the letters, the board will view that as an
unwillingness to work with the board and the board will be
inclined to impose fines for the violation. Continued
stonewalling of the board could ultimately lead to a lien being
placed on your house. Your board would prefer not to go to
such extremes and would rather work with a homeowner to
resolve a particular issue early on. If you are unable to
correct a particular problem due to financial or physical
reasons, please contact our management company
503.670.8111) immediately as we would like to help.

Most of the relevant documents that apply to our
homeowners association can be found on-line
(www.quatamahoa.org). If you would prefer to receive a
printed copy of the document(s) that you are interested in,
please contact your management company and they will be
sent to you at no charge.

By working hand-in-hand with your board and your neighbors,
you can help make our association a more pleasant place to
live.

Thank you.

Sam Linder
Board President


Ouatama Park HOA Newsletter p. 2
ARC Lundscupe & Design SuideIines

The Quatama Park Architectural Review Committee
(ARC) distributed copies of the new ARC Landscape
and Design Guidelines with the Winter 2005 Avenues
newsletter in March. If you do not have a copy of the
guidelines, please contact our manager at Northwest
Community Management (503-670-8111) to obtain a
copy. The guidelines are also posted online at
http://www.quatamahoa.org/ac.html

The Architectural Review Committee (ARC) is
responsible for approving all external work done to
your house - whether it be a satellite dish installation,
significant landscaping changes, or other external
physical changes. The ARC is made up of volunteer
neighbors who will review ARC applications. Minor
changes to landscaping do not need ARC approval. If
you are unsure if you need approval, please contact
the ARC via Northwest Community Management. This
can be done on-line (www.quatamahoa.org), by mail,
or by phone - 503.670.8111.

Please submit ARC applications to the Quatama Park
ARC for all improvements/changes to your lot or home
so that appropriate reviews can be made. Applications
can be obtained online at
http://www.quatamahoa.org/ac.html

When possible, please submit your applications online
or via email as this will save your association money.

Many homeowners have made changes recently
without seeking ARC approval. It is strongly
recommend that you submit an application to the ARC
as soon as possible, as the ARC has the authority to
request you roll back the changes that you have made
if they are not acceptable under the ARC Guidelines.
The guidelines are enforceable by the Quatama Park
HOA Board and/or the Quatama Park Architectural
Review Committee if a problem situation arises.

Lundscuping Tips

Clover
Clover loves a low nitrogen soil. According to the local
landscaping companies, that the landscaping committee has
contacted, our lawns are probably reaching the end of their
useful lives. The original soil has very little nutrients left and,
while the lawn won't thrive, clover will.
Tips on eliminating clover:
1. Fertilize with a high nitrogen fertilizer
2. Keep your grass higher than normal to shade the clover.
3. Pull out the clover and replant the grass, fertilize well.



Tree Watering
The limiting factor for tree growth is often lack of adequate
water. Water newly planted trees every week to ten days,
unless there is sufficient rainfall, during the first two growing
seasons. Established trees should be watered at the first
sign of wilting or when the top 12" of soil is dry.

A good slow soaking over several hours is best, and may be
done with an oscillating sprinkler or a soaker hose, starting at
the trunk and extending beyond the furthest branch spread.

Don't overwater - too much water can kill a tree by
eliminating the air from the soil. The soil should not stay
saturated, but have time to dry out between watering.


Tree Topping Warning
Don't top trees. "Topping" is the reduction in size of a tree by
severely cutting back the crown. Topping results in weakly
attached branches and large wounds. Instead of topping,
begin to prune while the tree is young, and make all pruning
cuts where branches fork.

Never remove over one-third of the crown at one time. This
ensures that the tree always has enough leaves to
manufacture its food.

Proper tree care is a mystery to some. Plant a tree and
nature will take care of the rest, right? That may be true in
some rural forests, but in your yard and in your community,
trees need a special kind of care. Trees need to be protected
from...people!

Trees in our neighborhood contribute to the quality of our
lives, and make our communities more livable. Urban trees
clean our air, cool and shade our homes, and increase the
value and attractiveness of our community.

Please Don't Top Your Trees - Topping is the senseless
practice of indiscriminately removing a majority of a tree's
branches. Topping violates most commonly accepted
methods of proper pruning; it is an assault on the health and
beauty of your trees. Five important facts to remember about
tree topping:

o Topping will not make trees safe; it actually creates
hazardous trees.
o Topping makes a tree more susceptible to storm
damage.
o Topping makes a tree more prone to insect and
disease problems.
o Topping is: abuse, vandalism, dangerous,
expensive, mutilation, ugly.
o Topping is a waste of money.








Ouatama Park HOA Newsletter p. 3


NeighborIy Tips
Please pick up after your dog. Your neighbor will
appreciate that you dont leave the mess your dog made
on their lawn.
Please do not block your neighbors drive with your car,
and make sure your guests are equally courteous.
Please do not block the sidewalk with your car if there
is no room in the driveway, park the car at the curb
instead.

Do you have a neighborly tip you would like to share?
Please email your tips to newsletter@quatamahoa.org



Thunk You's
The Landscape Committee would like to thank all the
volunteers who help weed the common community
areas on an ongoing basis.

The Board would also like to thank the volunteers who
helped put up the fence at the base of the block wall on
the South end of our community. This effort protects all
of us by keeping our association insurance in force while
stopping kids from hurting themselves while trying to
climb the block wall.

Please consider joining a committee. Remember, your
association is run by volunteer homeowners.


Issues of Concern
Unfortunately, many homeowners are not following the ARC
Landscape & Design Guidelines that were created to ensure
we have an attractive community that we can be proud of.

Some common issues that can result in letters being sent
(and possible fines being levied) are:
o FAILURE TO KEEP RED RECYCLE BINS INSIDE YOUR GARAGE
o FAILURE TO PLACE TRASH AND YARD DEBRIS BINS ALONGSIDE
YOUR HOUSE
o FAILURE TO PROMPTLY REMOVE THE ABOVE MENTIONED BINS
FROM THE STREET AFTER TRASH DAY
o WINDOW AIR CONDITIONERS PLACED IN FRONT WINDOWS
o FAILURE TO MAINTAIN YOUR LAWN, SIDE YARDS, PARKING
STRIP, TREE(S). THIS MEANS ELIMINATING WEEDS AND CLOVER
AND KEEPING YOUR LAWN MOWED AND WATERED. REMEMBER,
YOU ARE ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PARKING STRIP AND THE
TREE(S) THEREIN. TREES MUST BE WATERED!


RecycIe This
Have you been wondering when Aloha Garbage would get
more red recycling bins? Well they are fully stocked! Visit
them M-F from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm at SW 205th and SW
Blanton.
If you are new to the neighborhood, we are fortunate to have
a great curbside recycling program. You can recycle most
paper, cans, bottles and even motor oil. Visit the Metro web
site (http://www.metro-region.org ) for more details. And dont
forget to recycle this newsletter!

Fireworks
Unfortunately, this years July 4th celebration was marred by
some homeowners choosing to shoot off illegal fireworks.
This caused a safety hazard, and a huge mess, as the
fireworks shot into the air landed in other homeowners yards
and on their roofs.
Your board will be much more aggressive next year in
reporting any illegal fireworks to the authorities. We strongly
recommend that next year all homeowners have a SAFE,
SANE, and LEGAL holiday celebration.

You can always view a copy of Avenues online
at http://www.quatamahoa.org/nc.html