Fireplace inspection and dryer duct cleaning results

Thank you all for coordinating with us and having your fireplaces inspected and dryer ducts cleaned. Almost every unit passed inspection! Units which passed inspection can be found listed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Jey9WWs2qb2d_sPcePV4V8B587Ji6BayT_jlO027l00/edit?usp=sharing
(We’ve also separately reached out to units which did not pass.) Please also note that the clubhouse fireplace should not be used at this time.
I am so happy that we have finally made real headway on this longstanding concern, just in time for the weather to start getting colder! 😁
If you have any feedback pertaining to the fireplace inspection or dryer duct cleaning, please let us know at help@caminodelprado.org.

How to Go Paperless

To all homeowners, please consider going paperless. Not only is this good for the environment, but it saves the HOA a little bit of money each month.

When you log into your account on the portal, on the left side is a menu: select “My Profile,” then “Profile Settings,” and then go to the “My Login” tab there you can set your general communication preferences and billing communication preferences.

(If you prefer paper communication, that’s perfectly fine – but we want to make sure everyone knows how to go paperless if they want.)

Action Required – Door Colors

All homeowners should have received a link to a form for selecting their front door color. Also note that a new option has been added for those with varnished doors who do not want them touched up.
Doors in good condition can be painted for no added cost. The Board has chosen paint colors similar to our currently approved colors, but which match well with our new paint scheme. Paint color samples are available on the west side of the clubhouse. Links to the colors are also listed below, but please check the painted color samples – any changes after painting will come at an additional cost.
If you have a varnished door you may select to have it painted (as a limited time offer, our Varsity Painting is including this at no added cost as a part of our broader painting project). Varsity Painting can also lightly sand and varnish existing varnished doors at no added cost during this project, or provide a quote for a complete refinish (stripped, stained, and varnished or painted).
All submissions are due by October 15th. If we do not receive a submission by then, your door will be painted/varnished with one of the options below that we think is most similar to your existing door color.
In terms of scheduling, Varsity Painting will post notice to all units ready for door painting (completed buildings). They will post this door notice as they’re ready to schedule them. The notice will provide their email and phone number to schedule a specific 3 hour period for your door painting.
Paint colors:

Bell Plaza Townhomes Project

Residents likely received a letter about a planned housing development replacing the Bell Plaza shopping center at Henderson and El Camino (East of Henderson, South of El Camino).

While this is not the official city hearing for this development, the board encourages anyone with concerns to attend this meeting. Earlier feedback is always easier to address.

Balboa Retail Partners proposes to develop 46 new, 3-story, attached townhome condominiums including seven affordable homes. The proposed project includes 92 parking spaces in private garages. The site will also provide four guest parking spaces as well. Our goal is to design units that fit into the existing neighborhood while also contributing to the look and context of the area. If you are interested in learning more about this proposal and seeing the conceptual plans, we invite you to drop in for our informational open house…

Date: Thursday, October 3, 2024

Time: 6:00PM-7:00PM

Location: Bell Plaza- 1054 E. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale

The developer has shared additional information with us, which you can download here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/62m086donu87gk39gdqx5/Bell-Plaza-4th-Full-Design-Review-Submittal-Set_COMBINED_20240726.pdf?rlkey=439isqqrxx4sf08k7omkvea47&e=1&dl=0 



Painting has Begun!

As some of you have noticed, as a final step before painting we had a sample painted on the side of one of the buildings. This was a final check to ensure the final result is accurate to the mockup we voted on. Upon reviewing the sample, the stucco color did not accurately match the expectation set by the mockups (and we heard similarly from some of you).

Therefore, and in consultation with our painting company, the stucco color has been tweaked a little darker to better match what the mockups portrayed. In fact, it will be the stucco color from Color Scheme D – the runner up in our community wide vote. While the foremost goal is to respect the community vote and remain true to that, I hope that those who preferred Color Scheme D will appreciate this particular choice. This is the color that is now going up through the community.

I understand that not everyone will be completely happy with the final result, but we need to respect the consensus of the community and move forward. In fact Color Scheme B was not the first choice of any board member (we figured it might be a good “middle ground” option between some of the other options), but we know that we are here to serve the community, and are excited to have narrowed down a final selection. The board has done its best to make this a decision for the community by the community, while also ensuring an efficient process to reach a decision so that we can fulfill our duty to complete this project on time and within budget. 

Sometimes change can just feel “off” for a little bit – I, for one, will be keeping an open mind as I get more accustomed to these changes.

Paint Vote Winner

The voting has concluded and Color Scheme B has won! (To help refresh people’s memories I’ve attached below a photo I took, but note that this is not properly color calibrated at all.)

Thank you everyone who took the time to review the mockups and vote – we had 33 members participate. We really appreciate everyone ranking their preferences. For those who might be curious Ranked Choice Voting is also known as “Instant Runoff Voting”. It’s a way of running “primary” elections and the “final” election in a single go. Most elections boil down to 2 real candidates because that way you don’t “waste” your vote (e.g. voting for an independent for President – we know an independent won’t win). By gathering people’s ranked preferences, we instantly know the following:

  1. Color scheme E is people’s least favorite option overall, so we can eliminate it (moving those votes to their second choice).
  2. Of A, B, C, and D: A would be people’s least favorite option, so we can eliminate it too.
  3. Of B, C, and D: C would be people’s least favorite option, so we can also eliminate it.
  4. Then, between B and D: B wins. We know we could re-run the vote again, with just B vs D, and B would win.

A good video explainer of Ranked Choice Voting is here: https://youtu.be/gq7N2hmX9FI

And the full results for our color vote are here: https://www.rcv123.org/results/5SfPZs6GcGFUCE5mWFPDS7/ff8juhBbA2ETyzfUAtWWnG?_secure=xwxIoedJlD

As next steps the board will be selecting a matching color for the front gates, and updated door color options for each unit to choose from. Stay tuned!

Emergency Shelter Project in our Neighborhood

Dear Owners/Residents,

I just learned about an emergency shelter project possibly coming to our neighborhood and though I let you all know in case you want to engage. There is a petition going on against the project and a community meetings scheduled.

  • March 1st at 6:00pm, in person at Mission City Church, 1290 Pomeroy Avenue
    ● March 9th at 6:00pm, in person at Mission City Church, 1290 Pomeroy Avenue

Save Our Neighborhood flyer 02.08.2023_2

The petition can be found here:

https://www.change.org/p/say-no-to-the-homeless-shelter-at-corner-of-benton-street-and-lawrence-expressway-in-sant

–Mehmet Musa