Eldorado board backs covenants, conservation

Thanks for the recent coverage about cisterns in Eldorado. We at the Eldorado Community Improvement Association write to correct some misunderstandings about our support for water conservation and for our architectural guidelines. The association strongly supports water conservation. For just a few examples, we encourage the use of cisterns and rain barrels; we encourage the planting of xeric plant and tree species; we don’t allow lawns over 1,000 square feet; we don’t allow pools or large spas; and we have installed a greywater reclamation system at our community center.

But Eldorado also is a covenant-controlled community. Dedicated resident volunteers over many years drafted, and regularly revised, our architectural guidelines, which are posted on our website. The board approved these guidelines “for the express purposes of protecting the natural beauty and environment of the community of Eldorado at Santa Fe, providing an attractive rural setting for residential neighborhoods and home sites and preserving property values … to maintain the unique natural character of the community for all who acquire property therein, while encouraging individual expression consistent with the historical traditions of the region.” (Page 1, 2017-Guidelines-for-Protective-Covenants-Board-Approved-FINAL. pdf — eldoradosf.org).

Section 14 of the guidelines addresses cisterns. In a nutshell, all permanently built items in Eldorado, such as sheds, fences, solar panels and, yes, cisterns, must be installed with architectural committee approval, according to our guidelines.

Unfortunately, property owners Marc Bedner and Rosemary Lowe installed their cisterns without prior approval from the volunteer architecture committee and have thus far resisted complying with the screening options provided for in the architectural guidelines.

As of the date of this letter, the board has not taken action on their case to allow more time to seek a mutually acceptable resolution. We hope they will either come into compliance by screening their cisterns, or by proposing an adequate variance to the guidelines that respects the intent of the covenants. Most importantly, we very much hope they continue using their cisterns.