Upcoming Events

Check out the Calendar page to see events happening around the Sunrise Valley community, like the Neighborhood Watch Fall Kickoff and the annual HOA community meeting. 

Landscape Planning Update

Last Updated: 3/12/23

The board is considering refocusing our common area landscape efforts towards a xeriscape strategy. Xeros is the Greek word for dry.   Many of our Fairfield neighbors have already done this, including Sunrise Mountain Ridge, Sunrise Territory Estates and Sunrise Canyon.  The area around the pool and tennis courts at Territory Estates is a great example of this strategy as well as the long uphill drive into Mountain Ridge.   When creatively done, a xeriscape strategy can be beautiful. 

Sunrise Valley is spending approximately $12,000 a year on irrigation costs.  If we adopt at xeriscape strategy, we could dramatically reduce these costs.  When Fairfield built the foothills HOAs, they were getting free water from the county, so they planted mostly non native plants that used lots of water, like oleanders.   If the Colorado river continues to stay at record low levels, water costs in Tucson are likely to keep increasing.  We can do our part by cutting back on irrigation.  

In order to develop plans for a xeriscape transition, it would be very beneficial to have a landscape committee.  Several people have expressed an interest with landscaping. If you are interested, please contact Pete Branower or Jim Olsen.  As we reduce the number of irrigation dependent plants, we can select native plants to replace them.  Fortunately, we have many saguaros and barrel cacti on our property north and south of the HOA that could be moved into the HOA common areas.

Also, Branching Out will be here on Monday, March 8th, to trim 4 palm trees and 1 mesquite tree.  They will also remove the 2 bottlebrush outside the pool that are in sad shape.  If you want your palm trees or other trees trimmed on your property, you will save money if you have it done while they are here.  Contact Jim Bredice at 520 885 2209.

Additionally, Cherry Landscaping will be doing pre-emergent spraying in the next few weeks.  They have a list of owners who do not want their yards sprayed. If you want to change the status of spraying on your yard, please contact Jim Olsen or Eddie at Cherry.  

2024 Annual Meeting Wrap Up

It was great to see everyone at our annual HOA meeting this year. So many community members came out to give their input and hear about the state of our HOA. Go here to see the slide presentation we reviewed that day.

Updates to Landscaping Services

Last Updated: 1/19/24 

For 2024 we have made updates to landscaping services in order to preserve funds for future important projects in the HOA community. Going forward Cherry will service the common areas and household yard debris pickup. They no longer service residential front yards. To see the yard debris collection schedule, please visit the Calendar page.

Open Positions on the HOA Board

Last Updated: 11/1/2023

The HOA is looking for residents who are interested in representing our wonderful community in 2024.  If you are interested in leading or contributing to any of the following areas, please reach out to svthoatreasurer@gmail.com. We would love to hear from you.

• • Voting board positions
  • Roads and Infrastructure Committee
  • Landscaping Committee
  • Architecture Committee

The board meets once a month to discuss and decide on issues impacting our community.  It’s a great way to meet your neighbors and have an impact on our neighborhood. We depend completely on volunteers and it’s up to all of us to contribute in whatever ways we can to keep our community thriving. Part time residents are welcome too. 

Cacti Stolen from Fairfield Common Areas

Last Updated: 10/1/23

Two Fairfield communities reported cacti having been removed and stolen from their common areas. Sunrise Valley was not one of them. Regardless, the sheriff has been contacted and we are working to address this issue and will provide more details as we get them. 

Please be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the Sheriff. And a friendly reminder to lock your cars and homes. Thank you for your cooperation.

Coyote Attack on Homeowner’s Dog

Last Updated: 9/24/23

Notice to Pet Owners:  SVTHOA had a report of a coyote attack on a resident’s dog.   The dog was outside but within the walled yard when two coyotes jumped the owner’s wall.   Unfortunately, the dog did not survive.  We are aware of another incident nearby, outside our HOA community, where a pack of 5 coyotes entered a resident’s yard and cornered her dog. In this case, the dog was not harmed–the pet owner was able to call the dog and safely leave the situation.  

Please Don’t Feed Wildlife 

Last Updated: 7/7/23

Please do not leave or throw food to any wildlife outside your walled yard.  Doing so is not only illegal, but is also bad for animal health and creates nuisance issues in the community.  The fines can be up to $300. 

To report violations, call Arizona Fish and Game at 1-800-372-0500.  

Book Exchange
Kudos to Martha DeGrandchamp for setting up our very own Sunrise Valley Book Exchange located in the pool area. Here’s how it works:

• Simply chose a book from the cabinet and take with you to read.
• Return to the cabinet when finished.
• It is an honor system.
• Feel free to bring your books to donate. Just place them on the shelf.
• Make sure to close the cabinet doors!

A Huge THANK YOU to Dawson Morrison for assembling the cabinet (on possibly the hottest day of the year so far). Thanks also to Barbara Beeton McCormick  for helping with purchase and transport! Thanks also to Sharon Morrison, Leroy and Kathy Hart, and Pam Vandiver for their their advise and expertise.  Everyone enjoy!

Critters

It’s springtime again so be on the lookout for javelina and rattlesnakes, especially baby rattlesnakes.  The babies will bite at anything, where as the adults are more judicious in their use of venom…saving it for prey and life threatening situations.  The babies and adolescents are, well, babies and adolescents…so be careful, especially when gardening or walking your dog.

As for the javelina, technically collared peccaries, they can’t see very well but that’s offset by their terrific hearing ability.  Javelina can be aggressive so stay clear.  They typically travel in family packs of 20 or less called groups.  Larger packs are called herds, but you can’t rope ’em or call them dogies – it makes them very angry.

Never get between a mama, sometimes called a “red” because of her red hair, and her kids…mama will defend her offspring.  Every wonder why javelina rub against the cacti?  They have a scent gland on their rumps that is used to mark their territory.  They also rub it against each other to help with identification…don’t we do that with perfume and cologne?

Bees and Pack Rat Info

Bees and Packrat Information – concern in the neighborhood for these pests and what you should be aware of.

Although our governing documents stipulate that the Board is not responsible for rodent control, we felt like we could at least provide some general information as well as educate our residents on economic ways to control pack rat infestation.

Pack Rat Control Information. There is a tremendous amount of information on the internet addressing pack rat control. I reviewed a number of sites and all of the information I’m sharing with you is from these sites. As a disclaimer, neither I nor the board of directors endorse a particular control method or indorse a particular pest control company.

Pest Control Companies.  There is an inexhaustible list of companies specializing in pack rat control. See the internet or your yellow pages for local companies that can help you.

The Trap or Bait Debate.  If you want to capture pack rats yourself without professional help, you can choose to bait (basically poison) the rats or use several different kinds of traps. There are numerous poisons that will kill pack rats over a few days and these baits or poisons are somewhat effective but the rats see these baits as food and draw more rats than they destroy. There are a number of small or large bait traps for home use. There are also spring traps that will kill the rodents instantly but are messy and require
extracting the dead animal. There are also humane traps that catch the rodent and then you can let them loose at some distant location out in the desert. All bait and traps are available at most “big box” stores as well as local garden and hardware stores. Beware that some professionals discourage using poison because they can cause harm to pets, small children and natural predators i.e., owls, hawks, snakes, coyotes and bobcats. Although there are no legal restrictions to using bait, the preferred methods are spring or humane trapping.

Ways to Discourage Pack Rats.  I’m going to list a number of ways to discourage pack rats from invading your property. Again, my information is from the internet.

• Keep your yard free from litter, wood piles, covered barbeque grills and places where rats like to nest.
• Eliminate accessible hideaways and clear seed pods and leaves.
• Don’t leave cushions or pillows outside.
• Plug all cracks and holes in your house. One of the worse areas is the tile roof area around our patios. Enclose all of the ends so rats can’t nest and get into your ceilings. Rats can climb and use small spaces to get in walls and ceilings.
• Puts screens on all of your roof vents. Rats will occasionally crawl into your bathroom and utility room exhaust vents.
• Pack rats like prickly pear or other cacti for protective nest sites. If you see or have nests, dispose of them.
• Don’t leave dog food outside and don’t feed wild animals. Food scraps are a gourmet feast for pack rats.
• Don’t feed birds or use bird feeders that discourage squirrels. They also discourage pack rats.

Home Remedies to Control Pack Rats.  Here are a few home remedies that are suggested on the internet sites:

• Dogs and cats are good deterrents. If you don’t have pets, you can make it smell like you have them. Perhaps you are able to get some urine or dog hair to place in and around your yard. There is predator urine that can be purchased.
• Another smell which keeps rats away is ammonia. Soak cotton balls in ammonia and put around areas susceptible to pack rat infestation.
• One site suggested sprinkling instant mashed potato flakes around your yard. The rats gouge themselves and the flakes expand causing digestive failure and death.
• Another site suggests sprinkling “Finish” dishwasher detergent as an offensive smell.

Conclusion.  Hopefully some of these suggestions will help control your pack rat problems. Probably the best advice I can give you is to seek professional help if you can afford it. Professional pest control companies either use poisons or use live traps. You can choose your preferred method.

I ask everyone to take this issue seriously. Pack rats carry diseases and can destroy our homes. Your personal involvement can make our community safe. We’ll never totally get rid of our little desert friends but we can gain an upper hand.