We can handle our community issues

Oh, New Mexican! When will you stop needling the residents of Eldorado on our community issues? Your editorial (“Eldorado: Where chickens, cisterns stir controversy,” Our View, Aug. 2) omitted facts and misrepresented others.

Yes, the chicken controversy did divide our community. In a covenant vote, lot owners voted 55.4 percent to 44.6 percent to not allow chickens. The Eldorado Community Improvement Association board followed the wishes of residents in bringing the lawsuit. The ground-based solar lawsuit was brought by one individual, not by the homeowners association. In fact, the ECIA board organized a solar task force that met for months. Its conclusion was to encourage solar and allow ground-based solar as acceptable with certain conditions.

In defending the property owners — Marc Bedner and Rosemary Lowe — who have installed the controversial cisterns, the editorial stressed that Eldorado’s architectural guidelines are “1990s-era.” In fact, the architectural guidelines have been revised five times since they were instituted. The last time was in October 2014, when Bedner and Lowe were living in Eldorado. Two open forums were held; lot owners could comment, and votes were taken. These forums were publicized in community newsletters and on the website.

Contrary to what has been claimed, too, our homes are not spaced “hundreds of yards apart.”

The side setbacks on many homes are approximately 60 feet. What is placed in one yard is easily seen by neighbors as well as lot owners who drive past the property.

Lastly, and most shamefully, the editorial labeled our architecture and covenant compliance officer with the inflammatory words “code enforcer,” implying he spends his days “seeking out violators.” The job is much more complex than that. His job description, listed on the Eldorado Community Improvement Association website, is two pages long. His job involves administrative, technical and educational support to the board and the community. He is employed by HOAMCO and was employed by the board before the corporation HOAMCO took over management of the Eldorado Community Association. He is a resident of the community.

Eldorado does encourage water conservation. The architectural guidelines for cisterns are short and not onerous. Bedner and Lowe are an example of yet another case of a lot owner installing or building something against the architectural guidelines and wanting a variance after the fact. This happens all too often.

They do not deserve a “good neighbor award,” as the editorial suggested. Oh, New Mexican, leave Eldorado alone to deal with its issues.