The meeting at the West Valley Fire Hall opened with a presentation by Johnny Watson, an Idaho architect who is supervising construction of the LDS temple and meeting hall. Watson addressed questions from TSA residents that focused on the lighting of the temple, traffic and parking, construction impact on TSA streets, and landscaping.
Watson said church officials and those working on the temple’s construction recognize resident’s concerns about how bright the temple’s lights could be to the neighborhood once work is done. He said most temples are larger and some distance from homes, and may be brightly lit, even through the night.
Watson said that, when he met with the designers of the Helena temple, he emphasized that they should keep in mind it is in a residential neighborhood with homes nearby. He said he and his crew “are very cognizant of where this sits and how this affects your homes.”
Watson said the new temple was designed so the lights shining on it can be dimmed if they are too bright. He said LDS officials will listen to TSA residents once the project is done to get their input about levels and times of day the temple is lit. “It’s definitely going to be a trial-and-error process,” he said, adding that “Our goal is to be a good neighbor.”
Watson said there will also be lights in the parking lot, which is being expanded to 160 slots. They will be more energy-efficient LED lights. The landscaping also will be greatly improved, he said.
After hearing concerns about additional traffic, Watson said the new temple shouldn’t generate more traffic on Sundays – typically one of the busiest days on the LDS schedule. He said the temple will generally host things like weddings and baptisms that are family events and draw smaller groups.
Watson didn’t provide a deadline for completion of the temple but indicated the meeting house will be done by fall. He said there will be an open house at the temple for a month or so once it is completed so the public can tour the building. He said the construction crews, like those elsewhere, have been beset by supply problems. The pandemic has made it “impossible to schedule and manage costs,” he added.
Watson was also asked about the impact of the project’s heavy equipment on TSA streets, and whether the church could help when it comes time to pay to put a new coat of asphalt on Bobcat. Watson acknowledged that there could be an impact and said he’d bring the issue up on a meeting with LDS officials. He noted that the church helped pay for a study of TSA sewer issues as the sewer and water board considered the LDS request to have the temple added to the system.
Watson also introduced the new facilities manager for the temple, Mark Mobley.
Watson’s presentation was followed by a wide-ranging discussion of potential violations of TSA covenants. Several TSA residents complained about activities near their homes that they felt might violate covenants.
One involves an alleged marijuana-growing operation in the back yard of a TSA resident. The complainants said the operation generated a lot of late-night traffic, it was an eyesore due to a tall wood fence erected around the back yard, and it lowered property values. “When they (customers) are high they take off and they endanger kids,” said a neighbor.
Some TSA residents also raised concerns about a house that has been converted into an AirBnB rental property. “There’s a constant flow of cars coming and going,” said one nearby resident. “It’s made the character of the neighborhood go down the drain.”
The HOA’s attorney, Abby St. Lawrence, and other TSA officials provided a history of TSA’s covenants and addressed the complaints. TSA has about eight different sets of covenants since the subdivision was developed in different phases, and each set applies to different parts of the subdivision. The covenants are similar in most regards, but also can vary from one part of the subdivision to another.
Because of the differences, TSA officers wrote one proposed new set of covenants several years ago that could replace all eight old covenants and allow for a consistent set of standards. Those proposed new covenants came close to passing, but failed because of the high standard of approval (80 percent in some cases) required by the old covenants.
TSA officers had hoped to make another attempt at passing new covenants, but St. Lawrence noted that a new law passed by the last legislative session will make that difficult if not impossible. That law requires that any HOAs that want to upgrade or implement more restrictive covenants must get 100 percent approval of their residents.
St. Lawrence said TSA’s old covenants are unique compared to many you’d see in newer Montana subdivisions because they aren’t very prescriptive and they are more ambiguous. That makes them tougher to enforce. “Most subdivisions I deal with have much more prescriptive covenants,” she said.
She noted, for example, that our covenants don’t specifically preclude AirBnBs or marijuana growing operations – types of issues that arose long after the covenants were written.
Yet she indicated that the HOA may be able to use existing covenant language in some cases to deal with problems that crop up. She did warn that, if the HOA ever wants to pursue a case by using litigation, it could be costly.
For that reason, St. Lawrence said, her first choice is to see if she can work with government regulators who might have some leverage to stop activities that TSA residents are concerned about. For example, she has contacted government agencies to determine if the marijuana growing operation has the necessary state permits. In another case, St. Lawrence has been working with the state to determine if a new daycare operation also has the necessary permits.
HOA President Steve Shirley gave a rundown on street and drain improvement plans. He said the newly installed drains seem to be working well after storms. He said Bobcat and the west end of Kodiak are two streets that need new layers of asphalt but they won’t be done until after the LDS project is completed.
For the next year or two, he said, most of the focus will be on the Buffalo Road area, since Buffalo also needs work and most of the TSA’s water drains that direction. He said he’ll be working with county officials to determine what needs to be done to improve drainage off Buffalo and the north end of Cougar.
Treasurer Terry Atwood said the HOA fund normally has only $8,000 to $10,000 in it, but the fund has grown closer to $18,000 because so many homes have been selling in recent years and title companies are getting better about collecting past dues owed the HOA.
Atwood said the HOA has about $4,000 in expenses each year, mostly from distribution of Christmas luminaria material and legal expenses.
Those at the meeting were asked if they felt it was necessary to continue the $25 annual dues this year since the HOA fund is flush. It was decided by consensus to continue the dues because of the potential for costly litigation over covenant violations.
Several in attendance also asked if something could be done to reduce the impact of the fireworks shot off every Fourth of July in TSA, particularly in the park. Some described messes not cleaned up and damage, including destruction of foliage and dead birds, blasts well after midnight and for periods well beyond the holiday period. “It’s a war zone at our end of the neighborhood,” said one man, who added that he was told by a fire official that fireworks couldn’t be shot in public parks.
Larry Thomas of the TSA parks board, however, said it is legal to discharge fireworks in the park, although the county has set certain conditions in terms of days and hours.
President Shirley said he’d prepare a notice for TSA residents in a few weeks that urges those discharging fireworks to show more courtesy to those who don’t enjoy the fireworks at odd hours or beyond the 4th, and to clean up after themselves.
There was no election of officers as no one at the meeting expressed an interest an interest in running for any HOA office. Shirley and Atwood said they would continue to serve as president and treasurer, respectively, since no one else wanted to serve.
— Report by TSA HOA President Steve Shirley