Pleasant Valley Ranch Subdivision Update (May 16, 2024)

Brooks Land Holdings has scheduled a community meeting to present its Pleasant Valley Ranch Subdivision plans.  The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 PM, Thursday, May 30th, at the Williamson Valley Rural Fire Department (about three miles north of the entrance to Talking Rock on Williamson Valley Road).   Although Brooks is only required to notify the few residents within 1/4 mile of the development, anyone can attend the meeting.  

Pleasant Valley Ranch Subdivision does not belong in our rural, agricultural Williamson Valley community. This high-density, small-parcel development imposes significant risks to our roads, safety, water, and environment. Click here for a comprehensive discussion of our concerns.

We Need Your Help 

The community meeting on May 30th will provide an excellent forum for understanding what Brooks is planning for Pleasant Valley Ranch, addressing their dismissive attitude regarding our concerns, and demonstrating our opposition to both Brooks and County Planners.  That opposition is significant.  As of today, we have 189 signatures on our Say No Petition.  Unfortunately, due to privacy constraints, we do not have access to signees' email addresses, and thus, there is no direct way to alert them or other concerned individuals to the community meeting and subsequent important developments.  

To help us encourage a large community response at this meeting and to build a large subscription audience for these Pleasant Valley Ranch Subdivision Updates, please do the following:

• Click here to view Petition Signatures. If you know someone on that list (or anyone else who is concerned about the development), please contact them, forward this email, and ask them to Subscribe to our Updates. They can do so by responding directly to this email, clicking here, or emailing Tom Turner at wtomturner1@gmail.com.

We hope to see you at the meeting at 5:30 PM on Thursday, May 30th, at the Williamson Valley Rural Fire Department. 

Pleasant Valley Ranch
Say No - Sign Our Petition

The small parcel, high-density, suburban-like Pleasant Valley Ranch (PVR), proposed by Brooks Land Holding, Inc. (Brooks), would be an anomaly in our rural, remote agricultural landscape. It is incompatible with the surrounding large cattle ranches, the large parcel communities of Las Vegas Ranch Estates (LVRE), Long Meadow, and Crossroads Ranch, and a few nearby residential parcels, none less than 10 Acres.

Click here for more information about what we currently know about the proposed PVR development.

PVR would severely impact our LVRE community since its only access point would be via our private Las Vegas Ranch Road. The increased residential, construction, and significant truck traffic could significantly damage this road, make travel unsafe, and impose additional security risks on LVRE residents. Moreover, the increased costs for essential maintenance and specific damage repair may increase member Association Dues and require special assessments for the first time. Also, the development would harm the local environment, impact wildlife, contaminate our water, reduce surrounding community and individual home asset values, and generally impact our quality of life.

From a regional perspective, the development would increase residential, commercial, contractor, and heavy truck traffic on the already dangerous Williamson Valley Road. It would place additional demands on our Williamson Valley aquifer and impose significant risks of contamination from the numerous proposed leach fields.

Click here for more information about the significant impacts PVR will impose on LVRE and surrounding communities.

Petition Update

As of May 16, 189 individuals have signed our “Say No to Pleasant Valley Ranch” petition. Click here to see the list of signees and their comments.

Click here for our “Say No to Pleasant Valley Ranch” petition. We encourage you to send the link to your friends in the nearby Crossroads Ranch, Long Meadow, and Talking Rock communities. Please encourage your spouse or significant other to sign as well.

Gopher Snakes are Friends of LV Ranch!

Submitted by Linda J. Turner

It is the time of year when snakes seek our roads for warmth after a cool night. Nonvenomous gopher snakes are often seen and mistaken for rattlesnakes. We value our gopher snakes, which feed on mice, pack rats, and gophers. Don’t run them over. Let them live!

The following information is from https://www.livescience.com/53484-gopher-snake.html:

Confusion with Rattlesnakes

“Many people mistake gopher snakes for rattlesnakes,” said Viernum. Both have splotchy dark markings on their backs, yellow or brownish coloration and large heads. They are both known to hiss loudly, vibrate their tails and flatten their heads when threatened, Viernum said. 

This is a defense mechanism, designed to ward of potential predators. “This type of mimicry, where a harmless species mimics a harmful species, is known as Batesian mimicry,” said Bill Heyborne, a herpetologist and professor of biology at Southern Utah University. While it may be helpful in keeping predators away, Batesian mimicry can cause problems for gopher snakes. Humans often kill them thinking they are venomous rattlers. Viernum offered some ways to tell gopher snakes from rattlesnakes:

· Gopher snakes are typically longer than rattlesnakes. They are also slimmer and not has heavy-bodied as a rattlesnake. 

· When not flattened out, a gopher snake’s head is narrow and rounded. 

· Like the majority of nonvenomous snakes in the United States, gopher snakes have rounded pupils and not vertical, cat-like pupils of rattlesnakes.

· Gopher snakes also do not possess the heat-sensing facial pits like rattlesnakes and other pit vipers.

· Gopher snakes do not have rattles on the end of their tales, but this may be hard to determine when they are rapidly vibrating their tails. 

If you are unsure of the species, Viernum suggests leaving any snake alone. You don’t want to risk injuring yourself or the snake. Gopher snakes are nonvenomous but can still inflict a painful bite.

Revised Design Guidelines and Construction Regulations

The Revised Design Guidelines and Construction Regulations document is now available on the Documents page. Construction Regulations are also provided in a separate document.

Traffic Security Camera

Construction traffic entering and exiting the Fair Oaks Gate is the biggest source of violations of our construction regulations and the often-attendant speeding and reckless driving pose a significant threat to the safety of our residents.  Unauthorized entry by delivery, supply, and service vehicles compounds the problem.

How are unauthorized vehicles entering and exiting the Fair Oaks Gate?  There are several ways:

• Even though contractors are prohibited by pre-construction agreements from using the Fair Oaks Gate and are issued key cards that only work on the Camp Wood gates, some have current or older all-access cards given to them by property owners.

• Some are using 4-digit codes generally reserved for emergency vehicles and utility companies (e.g., APS, Midvale, etc.). After some time, these 4-digit codes tend to inappropriately enter the public domain.

• Some vehicles park and wait at the gate and follow an unsuspecting owner.

• Most, however, are inappropriately, willfully, or carelessly granted access by property owners via the 3-digit phone code. 

To help squash this community problem, we have installed an EyeTrax Traffic Security camera just inside the South entry to Las Vegas Ranch Estates. The camera captures any (and all) motion events (i.e., traffic) in both vivid video and a still image. When we receive reports of possible inappropriate use of the Fair Oaks gate or reports of speeding or reckless driving, we can use both the video and gate access codes to determine the source of the problem.
 
The traffic data collected by this new approach allows us to detect violations in a systematic, objective, and unbiased fashion.  It is not our intent to use this data to just support fine assessments.  Rather, we hope to use the data to engage and encourage community members to help us mitigate one of the biggest threats to the security, safety, and well-being of residents at Las Vegas Ranch Estates. 

So, how can you help?

• Please remember: the management of construction projects, supervision of contractors, and enforcement of construction regulations are the responsibility of property owners.  As such, property owners engaged in construction projects are responsible and liable for any violations of the construction regulations

• Please do not give contractors and/or their sub-contractors your all-access key cards.

• Please retrieve any all-access key cards you have previously given out.

• Please instruct all delivery or service personnel to only use the Camp Wood gates.  (Note that in rare cases with extenuating circumstances, the DRC may authorize access through the Fair Oaks Gate.  In those situations, property owners must contact the DRC in advance for special authorization).

• Please do not permit any unauthorized vehicle to enter the Fair Oaks Gate using your 3-digit phone code.

• Please report any observation(s) of a possible unauthorized vehicle on the restricted stretch of Las Vegas Ranch Road to Jennifer Leach at Hoamco.

• Please report speeding or reckless driving anywhere on our roads to Jennifer.  Please note that the Board will have little patience for reckless driving and in most cases, reckless driving will result in a fine. 

The LVRE Board thanks you for your help and support in our continued efforts to protect and enhance the safety, security, and well-being of our residents.

In the Event of a Wildfire…

Due to the extended drought and extremely dry conditions throughout Arizona and the West, the threat of a wildfire in the vicinity of Las Vegas Ranch Estates has increased. It is important that you know what to do in the event of a local wildfire. Click here to see suggestions on how to respond to a threatening wildfire, some reading material on what to have ready in case of evacuation, information on animal evacuations, and a map with escape routes.

Recent Revision to the LVRE Rules and Regulations

A realtor recently inquired of HOAMCO whether LVRE allowed helicopters.  To preempt this potential problem, the Board approved this addition to the LVRE Rules and Regulations document:

• 2.19  Restrictions on Airborne Vehicles  The operation (landing, storage, and taking off) of motorized and non-motorized aircraft/airframes or other types of airborne vehicle is deemed a nuisance(1) and is inconsistent with protecting the health, safety, welfare and privacy of other LVRE property owners and is therefore prohibited within the community (with the exception of medical, fire suppression, and other emergency airborne vehicles).  Motorized aircraft/airframes or other types of airborne vehicles include, but are not limited to, fixed-wing aircraft, ultra-lights, and helicopters.  Non-motorized aircraft/airframes include, but are not limited to, hot air balloons, foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft (e.g., hang gliders), paragliders, and gliders

1. A nuisance is generally defined as anything that interferes with a person's use and quiet enjoyment of his/her land.