A Lesson In Lake Management

The Water Expert had an unusual request yesterday: he needed a scuba diver to look at the grate into the wet well at the Town Center Lake. And thus began my lesson in lake management. "What's a wet well?" I innocently asked. Here is the explanation in my own non-technical language:

When we built the lake, it required a pump to move the water to the proper places for irrigating Morrison Ranch. But the pump doesn't live in the lake, it lives outside the lake, in a "wet well". The wet well is a square concrete hole in the ground that gets filled up with water, and has the pump in it as well. Something about suction, and making it easy on the pump, and okay, so maybe I wasn't listening as hard as I should have for that part of the explanation. But here's a picture of the wet well at Highland Groves, still empty, of course:


The problem with the wet well at Town Center Lake was that there were dead fish in it, and the Water Expert wasn't sure how they were getting in, and someone needed to look at the grate at the bottom of the lake. Here's the dead koi he found:




Eww!

It just so happens that we have a good friend who dives for the Navy in the Reserves. As a matter of fact, he just returned from an active duty deployment to the Middle East (thanks for your service!), so his diving skills are sharp. He graciously agreed to come take a look.



Diver Chip entered the clear tropical water - um, well at least it was warm, and took a close look at the grate (it had to be close, he said, because the water was pretty murky). Everything looked good and intact. The conclusion was that the fish must have been swimming in very small, laying eggs, growing too large to get out, and therefore perishing inside the wet well. This is actually more of a nuisance than a problem. The Water Expert will keep on top of it, I'm sure.

And now I know all about wet wells! Well, a little bit about... okay, I can point one out when I see it...

Highland Groves Getting Closer

The Mister took this picture yesterday out at Highland Groves. It may look like dirt and boards to most people, but to the lucky seven families who have secured lots in this new neighborhood, it looks like one step closer to their homes starting construction. These are actually the footings for the models, not the new homes; but they will not be far behind.

Higley Highland Warner Lakeview Trails Estates Groves

I’ll bet you wouldn’t be a bit surprised to hear that this is the name of a new community in Morrison Ranch. Who names these things, anyway? Actually, the folks in our office have to take responsibility for that.

The Mister jokes that we should all be flogged for the confusion that ensues from the naming of projects. But it really isn’t as easy as it seems. We want the names to communicate several things about the community. First, they should give a hint of location; Higley in the name means it can be accessed by Higley Road, and the same for Warner; Highland is near Highland High School; and Lakeview means it has a view of the lake. Of course the Lake issue gets a little muddy because Highland Groves will have a double lake, not as big as the one next to Lakeview Village, but still impressive.

The other adjectives are there to remind us of our agricultural heritage and our attempts to mirror those traditions somewhat in our communities. Groves is self-explanatory, and some of our fields used to have orange groves on them. We are planting enough trees to give a grove-like feel throughout Morrison Ranch – not to mention shade – and we try to use straight streets like groves and cotton fields use straight rows. Estates reminds me of a fancy way of referring to the farmer’s homestead, which is usually situated in the middle of a field. The Estates are the larger lots, so that makes sense. And Trails is a primary concept for us at Morrison Ranch, because we are connecting the entire Master Planned Community by trails throughout; some are even constructed for equestrian use.

The addition of a polar direction (East, West, North, and South) has been necessitated by phasing timing. Higley Groves east of Higley is truly just Higley Groves; the West moniker got added to the second half because it was constructed a couple years after the first. The same will hold true for Lakeview Trails North and Lakeview Trails South.

I tried for a long time to call projects by their field numbers (Highland Groves is field 29, if you’re interested), but the homebuilders and contractors weren’t too interested in using field numbers, so I was pretty quickly voted down on that score. In actuality the engineers and accountants in the office now excuse themselves from the naming process and leave it up to the artists in residence.

That’s a peek into our convoluted naming process; even we find ourselves confused at times. If you want to look at all the names on a map, check out the web site here.

Just So You Know

The Town of Gilbert will be putting in new water lines underneath the power lines along the north edge of Higley Groves East. This means that will all be dug up for a while.

The Water Expert had a meeting with Maggie Pinckard (formerly the Higley Groves West property manager for Rossmar Graham) last week to talk about tot lots. She is in the business of inspecting tot lots for safety; she checks all bolts and things like that, and sifts the sand in the playground for dangerous objects, and whatever else is required to keep them safe. She is currently under contract for Higley Groves West and Higley Estates.

Some Like it Hot

This article in the AZ Republic talks to some folks who are experiencing our summer temperatures for the first time:

The day before Dennis and Donna Eck left Allentown, Pa., in May, they had the heater on in the house.

So they couldn't have been happier to be out of the cold when they hit Mesa.

"I don't miss it one bit," said Donna, 48.

Summer is here. For some new Valley residents, that can be daunting.

If they've been here since the first of the year, they have endured more than 50 days above 90 degrees, 28 of those over 100.

Yet many transplants to the East Valley are embracing their ovenlike environs. It's a good thing. History indicates there will be about 80 more days this year with temperatures of at least 100 degrees.

Count me in as one who has embraced the oven! I consider myself a transplant even though I'm approaching my 30th year in Arizona; when you are married to someone who was born and raised here, you can't help but consider yourself a transplant. But I enjoy/accept the heat like a native.

I spent most of my younger years in Wyoming - the beautiful part of the state - where we had two seasons: winter (9 months) and spring (3 months). My kids have heard my stories - all TRUE, I assure you - of walking the half mile to school in a dress (girls couldn't wear pants to school in those days) through the snow, carrying my saxophone. Upon arriving at school, the girls found it fun to slap each other's legs right above the knee, where the kneesocks had offered no protection against the chill, and the slap on the chapped legs was like a hot knife. We were easily entertained.

After the Mister and I were married, he dutifully took me to Wyoming for Christmas with my family. It just so happened that was the year of an especially severe coldsnap - 48 degrees below zero - and my desert rat husband was nearly apoplectic when he found frost on the windows. On the INSIDE of the windows.

I'm not the only one in the Valley of the Sun with a plethora of freezing stories; sometimes I run into someone of kindred spirit in a store. We'll be standing in the checkout line listening to folks groan about the heat, and will it ever end? it seems to get hot earlier every year and stay hot longer each fall, and it is nearly unbearable; and then someone will pipe up with "I don't really mind the heat; I'm from Minnesota and I prefer the heat to the cold and the snow." I'll nod in agreement and chip in with my assessment that the really bad heat is only 2 months long, and the other 10 months are so wonderful, how could I complain? I figure I have enough cold stored up in my bones to last me a lifetime.

So I may be a transplant in fact, but I am an Arizonan at heart. Hot? What hot?

Highland Groves Update

The Mister talked to the salesman for Morrison Homes about the lottery they held last Friday. Apparently 207 folks put in their names for 7 lots. Of those 7 that were selected, 4 have written contracts already, and the other 3 are expected to get theirs completed this week. The 200 folks who didn't get selected will get their names automatically put into the next lottery - twice, in fact - so that they will have a better chance in the next lottery. There are some delays in starting construction, however, so that next lottery may not happen until August.

I'm excited for the 7 families that got homes; for the other 200 I can only say that our office is working as hard as we can to get Lakeview Trails North through the escrow process and into production.

More on Walls

Our neighbors in Power Ranch got the spotlight in this East Valley Tribune article about some apartments:

Some homeowners in Gilbert’s Power Ranch want a wall built around an affordable apartment complex that recently opened in their master-planned community.

They say unless the 336-unit complex is walled off or their homes are protected by gates and security guards, their neighborhood of $300,000-plus houses will lose its appeal.

Some units at the San Clemente Apartments at Power Ranch opened in early June, and some are still under construction near the intersection of Power and Germann roads. According to Trinity Management, the company managing the apartments, average market rent for the one-, two- and three-bedroom units is about $850 a month. Ninety percent of the units are to be priced at $100 below market rent and reserved for tenants on restricted incomes.

I posted some feelings on fences here, and this article reminded me of a few more thoughts on the subject. I suppose it all depends on whose research one believes, but in our contact with builders, the consensus is that gated communities don't really do that much to prevent crime. The gates are not much of a deterrent to a criminal. I'm not a criminal, and I myself have waited for another car to come along and give me access to a gated community when I've forgotten the code or can't make it work as I'm on my way to an event inside. And years ago, on a ride-along, I watched my sister, who was a patrol cop at the time, jump walls following a suspect as he attempted to flee arrest. So walls aren't much of a deterrent to a criminal, either. But they make us feel safe.

Here's my other question on the topic of these apartments (read the whole article to get the feeling of the residents): How can we bemoan the fact that Gilbert has no affordable housing one minute, and the next minute decry the affordable housing apartments as hotbeds of crime that will reduce our property values? Where are our young newlywed kids supposed to start out? Why don't I ever hear anyone say that their upscale community will enhance the surrounding neighborhoods, attracting good neighbors? I'm just asking.

And Then There's Morrison Ranch Improvements

Lakeview Village Shopping Center is getting a new coat of paint. It isn't just any paint, though; this is elastomeric paint, and one vendor, the Behr company, describes their product like this:

An exterior, flexible high-build coating designed to expand and contract, bridging hairline cracks in vertical masonry surfaces. This extremely durable, mildew and dirt resistant waterproofing paint has superior elasticity and elongation properties, stretching up to 600%. It passes Federal Specification TT-C-555b sec. 3.3.3, withstanding 98 mph wind-driven rain. The 100% acrylic latex formula provides a breathable film, releasing moisture that builds in walls.

This should keep the stucco cracks sealed, improving the appearance and increasing the durability.

And Speaking of Gilbert Improvements...

The AZ Republic talks about the town's desire to spruce up the Heritage District, including the sidewalks:

The project aims to rehab the broken sidewalks that lead to nowhere, sometimes forcing pedestrians into traffic and generally giving the residential areas in downtown Gilbert a downtrodden appearance.

Town officials are pursuing $360,000 in federal dollars to install sidewalks, plant more trees, update Americans with Disabilities Act compliance and make the area more appealing for people to navigate the Heritage District.

There are also plans to renovate the water tower, and there is a coalition pulling together private donations for that purpose. The Mister and I think it's a worthy project; if you want to participate, you can send a check made out to The Water Tower Preservation Coalition, and send it to Norwood Furniture 216 N. Gilbert Rd Gilbert, AZ 85234.

Lofts in Gilbert?

The East Valley Tribune writes about a proposed development for the southeast corner of Gilbert and Warner:

An area of Gilbert once considered for a giant Wal-Mart is now proposed to have residential lofts, retail stores, an amphitheater and new town government buildings.
Gilbert’s planning department is hosting an open house tonight on the proposed master plan for the 57-acre site on the southeast corner of Gilbert and Warner roads. The plan includes about 20 acres of town property and 37 privately owned acres.

If you read to the end of the article, you will see that the Wal-Mart has now shifted its sights to the Gilbert Town Square across the street.

Palms in Paradise

I have hesitated to post much about our trip last week, because, well, it was a vacation, and therefore way more interesting to me than anyone else. And then there is the difference in temperatures, as in 110 degrees in Gilbert and 83 degrees in Hawaii. I don't really mind the heat, but I know plenty of folks don't care for it. So I'm not going to bore anyone with a bunch of vacation pictures, but I wanted to share one story. Early one morning, we were sitting on the lanai of our rented condo at the resort pictured above, looking at the ocean, enjoying a different kind of palm than we enjoy in Gilbert, when the Mister leaps up and announces that he'll be right back. He is gone for several minutes and when he returns, he explains that being at sea level made him wonder how the property owners handled their sewer system. (I had already wondered that same question myself, but I had figured it out on my own. Well, not exactly.) So he went on a search for sewer manhole covers, and satisfied himself, that yes indeed, they would have to lift it from here to the transfer station or wherever. When I go to Hawaii, I look for the ocean, the fish, the palms, white pineapple and other tropical fruits, the best deal on tee shirts; when the Mister goes, he looks for... sewer manhole covers? In his defense, this was a momentary lapse.

We both noticed the never-to-be-sufficiently-vilified yellow truncated domes. I can report that they look just as awful in Hawaii as they do in Gilbert.

Housing Bubbles and Booms

The AZ Republic today talks about the availability of more homes for buyers, and that this trend might be signaling a change in the housing market:

After dropping steadily for the past year, the number of homes for sale in the southeast Valley has begun increasing, theoretically giving buyers more choices.

But there is still such a shortage of homes for sale and such pent-up demand that realistically priced homes continue to sell at hyper-speeds, and anxious buyers are sometimes waiving home inspections and appraisals, real estate agents say.

"It was a feeding frenzy. Now it's down to a dull roar," said Barry Kramer, owner of Keller Williams Realty Ahwatukee Foothills.

Read the whole thing for several different perspectives on the issue. My only evidence for housing trends is anecdotal, and for Morrison Ranch, things aren't letting up yet. As a matter of fact, Morrison Homes has a list of folks interested in Highland Groves homes that's longer than I am (and even though I'm short, that's a lot of names). They've even had folks drive out to another sales office to talk about Highland Groves homes. And they will be selecting 8 folks or so from a drawing being held this Friday, announcing the "winners" on Saturday. For those interested in a Morrison Homes-built product in Highland Groves, check out their website for information on the drawing.

Gilbert Budget in the Works

The East Valley Tribune has an article this morning on Gilbert's proposed budget, which will increase dramatically this year, if approved. The good news is that the spending will be emphasized in the three areas most needed: police, fire, and roads. My political stripes are showing, but those are just the types of things toward which I think government ought to direct our tax monies. Read the whole article if you are interested in particular numbers, but here are the summary paragraphs:

The fast-growing town needs to pay for essentials to serve its 170,000-plus residents. The budget calls for significant increases in police and fire spending. The town estimates it spent about $22.4 million on police needs in 2004-05 but will spend $35.5 million in 2005-06, an increase of 59 percent.

Police expenditures include the hiring of department employees, both sworn officers and civilians. Police Chief John Brewer requested that five positions — a rangemaster, three jail transport officers and a telephone report-taker — be added to the budget because the department would not be able to function optimally without them. The addition of 16 patrol officers, three sergeants, two school resource officers and two records staff positions are also in the proposal.

Gilbert expects to spend $16.6 million on its fire department this coming fiscal year, an increase of 44 percent from the estimated $11.5 million it spent this past year. Administration and operations costs make up much of the projected increase in spending for that department.

The town also expects to spend more on roadways. The proposed budget contains $18.8 million for the town’s streets. Compared with the estimated $14.2 million it spent this year, that’s a 32 percent increase.

Gilbert Happenings

I thought I missed the opening of the new Dog Park, but this article in the AZ Republic is actually talking about the already open dog park at Crossroads. I think that the Crossroads facility will pale in comparison to the new one as far as amenities:

Gilbert is building another dog park just a couple of blocks away that will feature shaded areas and doggie exercise equipment that promotes agility, jumping and climbing.

The park, which is expected to open in the spring of 2006, also will double some days as a training facility for the Gilbert Police Department's K-9 unit.

Residents and other pet lovers have become a permanent part of the new dog park by purchasing monogrammed bricks with the name of their pet, along with a short message.

The bricks are $20, if you're interested.

Though the Mister and I have no pets at the moment, I am quite interested to see how this park turns out. But I guess I'll have to wait until next spring.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jog

This the phrase used by the Mister whenever we return from a trip, and one that he heard his father use in the same way. We had a great time celebrating our friend's 50th birthday, and are now getting caught up on all the goings-on in Morrison Ranch.

We were both pleased to see that the Morrison Ranch monument at the west end of Higley Estates is lighted now. The light fixture seemed to be completely missing for a while. We are still waiting for the palm circles to be lit on the south side of the intersection of Higley and Elliot.

The homeowner's get together for Higley Estates residents and potential residents on last Saturday had a very sparse turnout - as in 2 homeowners showing up. Ah, well, it's summer. Bias For Action was there to meet them, and he passed on the information that he met an avid scrapbooker. I will have to make her acquaintance since I have a desire to catch up on all my scrapbooking once my youngest heads to college in a year. Yes, I even have a "craft room" just waiting for the job; of course, it will require relocating a set of drums and art easels and supplies...

At any rate, I predict that there will be plenty of block parties and get-togethers in Higley Estates as folks get their houses decorated and settled. The Mister and I hope to attend some of the future gatherings.

Thoughts on Higley Estates

How can I reminisce about a project that isn’t even completed yet? Well, I am a person with many talents; just watch me!

Higley Estates is the first project for which we did the final plat and improvement plans. Because we maintained that control, we are very happy with the grading and basins. Originally, we envisioned all of Higley Estates’ large lots as custom. The folks who develop custom lots, however, felt that these two streets of custom homes would not sufficiently feel like it was a separate neighborhood. So we ended up with very nice production homes. We will remember this if we try to develop custom lots again, and we have had a lot of people ask us for custom lots.

One reason there was a long pause between Higley Groves West and Higley Estates is that we did the shopping center in between. So when Higley Estates broke ground last year, one of the motives to get it done was to provide more shoppers for all the stores in Lakeview Village. Of course, it has exceeded our expectations. There are small upgrades to entrance signs and playgrounds, but it is obvious to all that Higley Estates is part of Morrison Ranch. This is what we expect to happen with each neighborhood. We especially like having both sides of Elliot Road complete, so that the wide expanse of green and trees that we will see for 2 ½ miles has begun.


Higley Estates Tot Lot

One question that comes up fairly often is what is planned for the commercial corner at Higley Estates. The honest answer is, nothing, yet. Of course, it’s across the street from our office, and our big conference window (which was Grandma’s dining room window) looks out over that corner. So we will obviously want something that we don’t mind looking at daily. We are considering something along the lines of a bank, or child care center, or some shopping space. But we aren’t in a hurry yet to put anything there.

One of the new residents in Higley Estates will be the First Cousin’s mother. With the passing last year of one of the patriarchs of the Morrison family, GG (as she’s known to her great grandchildren) will be moving into a new house - with a ranch style elevation, as you might suspect. I’m sure she’ll be keeping an eye on all the details of the community.

I'm looking forward to the future stories about Higley Estates, and I'll share them when I get them.

Higley Groves West Ruminations

The Parkway


This 200 acre development followed hard on the heels of its eastern counterpart, starting construction in 2000. We sold the property to Morrison Homes (no relation) and they in turn sold part of the neighborhood to Greystone and part to Glen Alden. Then Glen Alden went out of business, and the large lots on the north sat idle for a while. In the end, Trend built there. Morrison Homes had their engineers prepare the plan, and we had problems with getting basins in parks like we would like them. This had also happened on the east side, with the retention basins along Higley Road being in the “wrong” place; but we were not in a position to change that. This deepened our resolve to do the final plat and improvement plans for the next project ourselves.

Even though we designed both sides of Higley Groves to work together, they were sold and developed separately. So Shea designed the plaque for the Higley Groves monuments, and we had to get their permission to use them on the west. And each community has separate HOA’s, so technically, the east can’t jog on the trails in the west and the west can’t play basketball on the courts of the east. (But I haven't seen anyone checking ID cards.) The west has huge open spaces under the power lines and against the canal, but we still felt it was important to have internal parks, so it has the highest percentage of open space. The western basin is due to the flood plain the government shows on its maps, which probably isn’t there in reality, due to the huge flood control channel now east of Power, but we are protected anyway.

Building the west side triggered the need to improve the landscaping around Grandma’s house, since it was a little rustic at the time. The Shea people referred to it as “Camp Morrison”. So we put in sprinklers and a parking lot in back, and widened the road in front; that then triggered the need to replace Grandma’s roses with new “Grandma’s roses”. Have you ever started a “simple” project, only to watch it expand and expand? Next came the walkway around the house, since the colored concrete had shifted in a couple of places, making large ledges that were just waiting to trip the unsuspecting pedestrian. But to replace it with the same colored concrete would have required pulling out the front porch and all its footings, along with the front planter boxes. So we chose to cover it with a gray slate stone. Lately, the First Cousin and I have been discussing a few changes to the interior…

Of course, I am most familiar with the day to day issues involving Higley Groves West because the Mister and I moved there in November of 2000. We now have about a 30 second commute to the office, if we drive. I have to say that the community has attracted just the kind of neighbors I would have hoped for; friendly, involved, family-oriented, and fun. It’s a great neighborhood.

Higley Groves History

Entry Sign

I know that the residents don’t like to be called Higley Groves East, but I find that I do that because of the major differences in the two projects, both in product and in timing. I am specifically referring to the eastern side of the community as I reminisce about its beginning. Higley Groves began construction in late 1998, and this 200 acre parcel is the very first Morrison Ranch community. We were putting up the monuments in April 2000, so it wasn’t finished yet, but it wasn’t long after that. The lot sizes range from 6,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet, and there are three builders (Shea, Trend, and Richmond America) who have product throughout the community. We were quite heartened that the largest homebuilder in Phoenix – Shea Homes – was willing to commit to our project, especially because we were asking for something different than most homebuilders were doing. We wanted to approve the elevations of the houses; we wanted them to put porches on the houses, and we wanted open space and trails and turf. Even though Neely Ranch had done well, we weren’t really proven to the homebuilders yet, and they were skeptical and concerned about their profits (as we would expect; we just felt that the pace of sales would more than make up for the open space – translation: home sales sacrificed for grass– once people saw the community). The Mister is both winsome and tenacious, and these are qualities that are very helpful in negotiating such things. Bias For Action had been part of the office team for some time by that point, and he managed the complex scheduling and deadline requirements. Together they crafted an agreement between the homebuilders and the family.

Shea agreed to develop unique product for us, and though it didn’t quite reflect the ranch houses of our dreams, they did provide some porches and some ranch style elevations, and so the project was up and running.

Bias For Action on the left holding monument sign, April 2000

Higley Groves proved to be successful; it didn’t have the blistering rate of sales that I’d hoped for, but it was steady even as prices rose. To this day, we are very pleased with how this community turned out. It was the first execution of the Morrison Ranch vision, and it was gratifying to watch it become real. It isn’t everything we’d dreamed of, and we learned some things about making the next community come closer to our dreams; and we hope to keep learning and keep improving. One disappointment that remains is the gravel under the power lines on the north side. We really intended that to be grass; the homebuilder felt it was unnecessary to put grass there because it wouldn’t be used very much. The homebuilder turned out to be right, I guess. I haven’t seen that trail used that much; but I think it’s because it’s gravel, since I often see folks on the trail in Higley Groves West.

About midway through the construction period, some vandals drove a vehicle down the park lane and took out about 15 of the young trees. I was so mad I could spit. I tried to figure out a gracious way to place “stop sticks” throughout the grass for those kids (surely no adult would be so reckless!) who couldn’t control their impulse to drive through the grass and leave huge ruts and damaged or dead trees in their wake. But I calmed down, and the trees were replaced, and the ruts grew over, and today you can’t tell that those trees are any younger than those adjacent.

The Parkway with thriving trees

I remember one incident when the Mister and I were driving down Higley Road, and we were flagged down by a pedestrian. It turned out to be the gal who had given our eldest daughter voice lessons a few years prior. She bubbled enthusiasm for Higley Groves and told us that the moment she saw the grass and the white fences, she knew she had to move in there and she just wanted to thank us. That was a surprising, and pleasant, encounter. We had several similar chance encounters, from our next door neighbors moving there (she was a real estate agent) to friends, to friends of friends.

There are more Higley Groves stories, but they will wait for another day. Suffice it to say that this community is the starting point for the dream of Morrison Ranch.

More on Neely Ranch

Neely Ranch with ramada at end of greenbelt

Though the conceptual planning had started many months before, the actual work of making Neely Ranch a reality started in 1993, though construction on the third phase was not finished until 1998. (So the trees have had 8 to 10 years to grow; this is helpful in envisioning Morrison Ranch’s trees in the very near future) I was a farmer’s wife, and used to waiting; we wait for the weather, we wait for the crops to grow, we wait for the cotton-ginning to be completed, we wait for the payments for the cotton to come in; so I thought I knew a thing or two about waiting. Was I ever wrong! Growing communities takes a whole lot longer than growing cotton crops, and there’s a lot more uncertainty in just about every detail. But we had good advisors, and the Mister is endowed with a healthy dose of common sense and good nature, and beyond all that, we are people of faith, which is the real reason we weathered the bumpy ride through our first project.

One of the notable memories I have involves the town council meeting where we were seeking approval for the community. The Mister and his family have long been involved in community affairs and serving in various capacities, but this was a first-time experience for us. As it happened, that was the very evening that the Mister’s mother was the Mistress of Ceremonies at the presentation of the oral histories (This was a project for the town of Gilbert to gather its history from its older residents). Ironically, a large percentage of the oral histories were prepared by the Mister’s mother and other Neely family members. She was well received. At the same time, a woman got up to speak during the public comments portion of the meeting. With a baby on her hip, she pleaded for a rural, homey atmosphere to be maintained in Gilbert. With that introduction, one of the council members stated that there was a project in the works that promised to be just that: Neely Ranch. The vote was unanimous to approve the plans for Neely Ranch. After the meeting, one of the town council members approached the Mister and asked how quickly he could plan on moving in to the project; this town council member wanted to live in Neely Ranch.

Ah, if only all the town council meetings had been so pleasant! But I digress.

Our desire for Neely Ranch was that it might become an example of the sort of community we wished to create. It was especially important to us to try to do it right because it is on the family homestead site. The Neely Ranch residents have the bonus of having Bias For Action live right there, and he has been involved in many of the details of the community. (He even bought a little tractor and painted it and placed it next to the ramada by the big park for kids to play on, just like he had played on tractors as a kid. It was later removed due to safety concerns. Sigh.) We learned a lot in those years, and applied that experience to the planning and execution of Morrison Ranch.

So the next time you drive down Elliot a ways, notice Neely Ranch just before you hit Cooper, especially the trees; and then envision Morrison Ranch with some giant pine trees and shady ash and elm; I can't wait.

What’s Neely Ranch?

Neely Ranch Streetscape

Morrison Ranch is unique, with the tree-lined streets and two rail fences announcing a different kind of community. But there is another community in Gilbert with tree-lined streets and two rail fences, and it looks very similar. That would be because it was designed by the same folks that designed Morrison Ranch.

Neely Ranch is located at the northeast corner of Cooper and Elliot, and that 80 acre piece of ground is where the Mister and Bias For Action grew up. Their parents still live there in their original home in the middle of the community. Bias For Action and an older brother also have homes in the excepted 8 acres. Neely Ranch was the first residential project in which the Mister exerted some influence. Neely is his mother’s maiden name, and there are several other communities with Neely in the name; all those fields were once farmed by various members of her family.

The "berms" of grass conceal the street behind

The Mister and The Sixth Man comprised the 2-man office that designed Neely Ranch. One of the most obvious differences between Neely and Morrison Ranches is the berms at Neely Ranch. A berm is the word for a mound of earth, and it is an agricultural concept. We use berms in farming to keep the water going where we want it to go, creating channels or a sort of a dam. The dual purpose for the berms along the arterial roads of Neely Ranch are first for noise reduction, and secondly to soften the view of the inside streets. Between the rise of earth and the trees planted there, the noise that comes from the busy streets is somewhat minimized. And as you drive along Cooper or Elliot and look over at Neely Ranch, you notice the trees and the grass, not the streets behind them. But there are some problems with the berms. Because they are situated between the sidewalk and the fence, they ended up having to be very steep, and that makes them hard to maintain as well as a little more stark than we wanted. Then, they had to be reduced or cut down at intersections for ease of viewing traffic. Also, because the power lines along Elliot are 69kv lines, they are terribly expensive to bury, so we left them above ground. Now I see that the trees are growing up to reach those lines, and will most likely be chopped off at the top to remain clear, and that definitely isn’t the picture we intended.

So when it came time to design Morrison Ranch, we decided the berms weren’t worth the effort.

The other notable difference between Neely Ranch and Morrison Ranch is the size. Neely Ranch consists of this one 80 acre piece of ground, and so it stands in fairly stark contrast to the communities that surround it (though the Seven Eleven across the street did agree to coordinate their landscaping to match).

That’s a start; I’ll fill in some more detail about Neely Ranch tomorrow.

Traveling Day

The Mister and I will be traveling beginning Friday, and be gone for a week while we help a good friend celebrate turning 50. I won't be posting over the weekend, of course, but I have prepared some posts for next week detailing some of the history of some of the communities. Tune in if you're interested.

Traffic Sign Problem Solved

I posted here about the traffic sign in front of Higley Estates off Higley. The Mister showed the traffic engineer the picture, and he immediately agreed it wasn't necessary. It will be removed.

Well, At Least It Has Water

In the ongoing saga of the blue fountain, the tiles have been replaced again. My hearty congratulations to the tile layer; he has done a phenomenal job every time he's done it. It's been cleaned, and re-filled, but the 3 different fountain styles are not operating yet. The Mister said he and the Water Expert would go take a look, and see if they can get it to cycle through again.

I Know Why

In an AZ Republic article this morning, there is a question of why fewer housing building permits in Gilbert have been pulled in the early months of 2005:

Homes in Gilbert are expensive and highly sought after, which leaves town officials and real estate experts puzzled over why the town is issuing significantly fewer single-family home permits than a year ago.

According to figures from the town's Building and Code Compliance Department, from January through May of last year, the town issued 2,207 single-family home permits. This year, through May, the town has issued 1,165.

I think I know why, and so does Joel Huston, the VP of sales for Trend Homes:

Huston said he believes the decline in permits is because Gilbert is becoming built out, and the amount of available land is declining as the price of the land rises.

It's pretty obvious from the air, and growing more obvious from the roads: Gilbert's farming days are coming to a close, and a new era is beginning. Change is difficult; we want things to stay the same, but it is the most basic part of life.

Attention Higley Estates Homeowners

The Mister wanted me to pass on an invitation for a reception:

On behalf of the Morrison Ranch Council, we cordially invite you to attend a get acquainted reception with other new homeowners, pending homeowners, representatives of the Board of Directors and Capital Consultants.

• When: Saturday, June 11, 2005
• Where: Tot Lot Park South of Elliot along Windmill
• Time: 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Please RSVP to Karen Councilman at Capital Consultants (480) 921-7500 before June 9, 2005

*Refreshments will be served

June 9 is tomorrow. Call Karen today.

From A Woman Who Likes Food

Art Thomason has an editorial in today's AZ Republic that details the failure of Pizza Picasso:

Another Gilbert restaurant with a fare for higher income consumers has bit the dust, making one of its owners wonder why he believed in the town's appealing demographics and opened in the first place.

"I don't know what the heck is going on out there," said Dennis Daniel, director of operations for Pizza Picazzo, a pizza restaurant that quietly closed its Gilbert store at Baseline and McQueen roads. "If someone could figure it out they probably wouldn't have to work for a living."

I don't usually read Mr. Thomason's editorials because I find him so negative; but this article inspired some pondering about Gilbert's restaurant businesses.

I know that the restaurant business is incredibly risky; people are fickle, loving someone's place for a while and then moving on to the next new thing. Shoot, I'm fickle, and have engaged in that very behavior. So when a restaurant has staying power, you know that they have figured something out. Even Thomason admits that:

Restaurateurs such as Joe Johnston figured it with his successful Joe's Real BBQ in Gilbert's downtown Heritage District. So have Sylvia Hilligardt and her daughter, Milli Smith, owners of the Farmhouse Restaurant less than a block from Joe's. And they're open only for breakfast and lunch.

So what's my idea of what makes a restaurant good enough to return time and again? Good food, great service, and reasonable price, in that order. I am willing to call higher prices "reasonable" if the food and service match the price. Mahogany run had good food, horrible service and very high prices. They could never get over the hump on that. Joe Johnston has proved he is very savvy in this market by developing the Coffee Plantation chain, moving on to Joe's Real BBQ, and is now planning a restaurant on his homestead in Agritopia that will feature some of the produce grown right there on their farmland. My money's on Joe; and I hope he hurries it up, since it's so close to us Morrison Ranch residents.

Here's a list of some of the restaurants we seem to keep frequenting:

Nando's
This Mexican restaurant at Val Vista and Baseline has to go at the top of the list, since our office dines there at least once a week. These guys hit the trifecta perfectly - great food, great service, reasonably priced. The only bad thing that can be said is that those lovely suede seats on the booths just don't let one slide. But it's easily overlooked.

Joe's BBQ
The only thing that prevents us from eating here more often is our weight. Seriously, it is difficult to "eat light" at a BBQ place, but that's obvious. May I also say about Joe (full disclosure, I do know his family and we frequent some of the same social circles) that he is really a generous guy to the community? He gives away a ton of food, it seems, from his once or twice annual free lunch to gift certificates for charities to donating food for public events. His generosity hasn't seemed to run him out of business. He's downtown on Gilbert, near the Hale Theater.

Farm House Cafe
Also along Gilbert Road in the Heritage District, this is a great place to take out-of town guests for a flavor of Gilbert. Their success prevents us from eating there even more frequently; the Mister and I find ourselves impatient and generally unwilling to wait for a table. Though I will point out that when our winter visitors leave (and they have, for this summer), the wait time goes way down.

Temari's Japanese
Located in the shopping center at the northeast corner of Val Vista and Guadalupe, these folks provide good, authentic Japanese cuisine. The Water Expert was stationed in Japan for a while and has an appetite for sushi; this is where we go to fill that need.

Euro Cafe
Back to downtown Gilbert in the space where "Cafe Ah Pwah" resided for a while (the Mister and I liked that restaurant, but their portions were so small that we couldn't ever get anyone to go with us, especially our football-playing son). The folks from Euro Cafe moved a very successful operation from Mesa to Gilbert, and to a much smaller space. They are full every time we go, so I think they brought a lot of their former clientele with them. They also have about a billion choices on the menu.

I could actually go on for several more paragraphs, but I think I'll stop here lest you think that I never cook at home...

Maybe Art Thomason could write an editorial on all the successful restaurants in Gilbert.

Are Your Kids Bored?

Summers are great, with a relaxed schedule (usually!). But sometimes you just need to get out of the house and the swimming pool and do something different. Here's an article about a family of magicians, and it just so happens they are performing today at the library. It's free, and it's at 10am and again at 11:30am. Be spontaneous, and pick up some new books to read after the show.

You Go, Girl

Today's article in the AZ Republic hints that Gilbert is somehow more backward than Queen Creek because they've had lots of women as mayor or on their town council, and we have had fewer:

When Joan Krueger is sworn into Gilbert's Town Council tonight, she will become part of an exclusive club of women who have served in the upper levels of town government.

With one female mayor elected by voters (for some time mayors were elected from the council by other council members) and a handful of women council members, politics in Gilbert historically has been a men's club.

In contrast, neighboring Queen Creek's government has been under the influence of women since appointing its first Town Council in 1989.

Okay; but I think this paints a very limited picture of Gilbert's political makeup. For years, it was subtly understood by those involved that some of the most powerful political figures in Gilbert served on the School Board. Of Gilbert's current governing board, 3 of the 5 members are women - by no means an anomaly compared to prior boards.

Just thought I'd mention it.

Tips For Healthy Lawns

Bias For Action forwarded me an email from Cathy Rymer, at the Town of Gilbert's Water Conservation department. I think these articles eventually get posted at their website, but I thought I would pass it along now while I have it.

Temperatures are on the rise and that means Bermuda grass is in its glory. Bermuda grass is most likely the toughest grass used for turf in areas of the southwest deserts. It tolerates our alkaline soils and water and has excellent resistance to heat and drought or injury from foot traffic. Common Bermuda produces flower stalks, pollen (which can offend allergy sufferers) and seeds while the hybrids are sterile and produce no pollen/seeds. Hybrid Bermudas such as Tifgreen, BobSod, Tifway and Midiron (E-Z Turf (tm)) are fine leaved Bermuda grass varieties that are popular for large turf areas as well as small yards. The hybrid Bermudas are also less likely to invade flower beds and tree wells and are typically greener and denser.
And she attached the article, which is very helpful to us Morrison Ranch residents, since we have plenty of turf to nurture. It's long, but worth the time:

A lawn can provide attractive recreational areas and help keep surrounding structures cool. It can, however, require considerably more water and care than desert-adapted plants, so consider limiting the size of your turf areas or looking into turf alternatives (i.e. shredded bark and shade trees for a play area). Follow these tips to help you maintain healthy, beautiful and water-efficient lawns.

Mowing

Avoid mowing too closely (scalping). Grass that is too short uses more water. Adjust mowers so the grass height is maintained within the ranges listed below:

Hybrid Bermuda ½ - 1 inch

Common Bermuda 1 ½ - 2 inches

Perennial rye 1 ½ - 2 inches

Your mowing schedule also is important. During the peak growing season, which in Arizona is the months of May through September, cut hybrid Bermuda grass kept at ½ inch in height every two to three days. If grass is kept at a height of 1”, mow every 4 - 5 days. Mow common Bermuda grass to 1 ½ inches in height every five to seven days.

Tips

• Don’t remove more than one-third of the grass at a time.
• Keep mower blades sharp.
• If you mow frequently, you shouldn’t need to bag your clippings.
• Avoid following the same pattern each time you mow.
• Increase the mowing height by 25% in shady areas.

Fertilizing

Regular fertilizing is essential for proper growth and good color during the growing season. However, an over fertilized lawn will require more water and more frequent mowing. Do not fertilize more frequently than once a month, and follow the directions on the manufacturer's bag.

Tips

The best time to apply fertilizer is in the evening or early morning. Make sure to water the lawn thoroughly after fertilizing it. Additionally, consider applying ferrous sulfate or iron chelates. This will keep grass green without promoting excess growth. Use caution when applying near sidewalks, pool decks or patios, as iron can stain these areas. The application of soil sulfur twice per year has been shown to be beneficial. Applying too much fertilizer or applying too often is unhealthy for your grass and the environment. Instead of scheduling according to the calendar, look for signs that indicate the condition of your lawn (yellowing or off-color). Or just plan to apply your fertilizer on the 3 day weekends during the summer (Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day).

Water

The key to watering is to apply no more than necessary and to water deeply. Only water often enough to avoid wilt between waterings. During the hot summer months, water lawns no more than once every three days. Remember to water deeply. Water long enough to move water to a depth of 8 to 10 inches into the soil – you can use a probe or long screwdriver to check the depth. The probe moves easily through moist soil and is resistant where the soil is dry. A lawn watering guide is available online. Homeowners also can usually find lawn-watering information in their local newspaper.

The best time to water is during the cool morning hours before 5 a.m. This helps minimize evaporation and prevents the growth of fungus.

Tips

If water runs off the turf, irrigate more often for shorter periods of time.

• Adjust sprinkler heads so they don’t spray walls, driveways or sidewalks.
• Replace broken and missing sprinklers immediately.
• Water shaded areas about 30% less than sunny areas.
• If it has rained, reduce irrigations accordingly.

Note: A typical residential lawn sprinkler system uses about 10 – 18 gallons per minute per valve or zone. If a lawn has two zones and waters for 15 minutes three times per week, the water consumption would range between 4,500 and 7,560 gallons per month.

Aerating

Aerating your soil will help relieve hard, compacted areas that cause puddling or runoff and inhibit root growth. The best time to aerate Bermuda grass is in May or June, when the grass is growing quickly. Consider a manual spot aeration in high traffic areas.

Dethatching

Thatch is a mat of plant material consisting mainly of grass stems and roots. Excessive thatch is usually caused when turf areas are over watered or over fertilized. If thatch is over one-half inch (check by digging a 6” wedge of soil), it should be removed. Dethatch during the hot summer months when Bermuda grass is growing at its fastest rate so it can quickly recover.

Weed, Disease and Insect Control

The best weed, insect and disease control is a healthy lawn. For additional information try:

Weeds – http://ag.arizona.edu/urbanipm/weeds/weeds.html

Diseases – The Karsten Turf Research facility has information available on-line at http://ag.arizona.edu/turf/tt.htm

Insects – The Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Manual has an entire chapter on insect control http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/mg/entomology/index.html

Updates on This and That

Doesn't it seem like things are going slow right now? It does to me; but there is work progressing in Morrison Ranch, and sometimes it just isn't obvious. Here are a few updates:

Highland Groves
The sewer mainlines are complete and the water lines are being installed. Morrison Homes will be the first to start their models, and they are shooting for a June 17 start. You may have heard me say once or twice that it always takes longer...

Higley Estates
As I've mentioned before, construction will be completely finished by about December. That may not seem fast enough for the first residents who moved in and have been dodging concrete trucks ever since, but it really is a remarkably short time frame. The up lights on the entry signs have been changed to the correct ones, and they broadly illuminate the entire sign, just like they are supposed to do.
I drove through the neighborhood yesterday, and noticed that the tot lot has lighting in its ramada (the lights were on at 3 in the afternoon, but this shouldn't surprise me, since we've had ongoing issues with lights everywhere), which will be nice for those evening parties.

Lakeview Village
The construction for the phase II shops is just about ready to begin. There will be room for about 4 more stores, depending on the sizes and users. They should be complete around December.
The First Cousin just got back from the shopping center convention; she had some great talks with several folks about possible tenants. We'll see what develops.

Well, Now We Know

Just noticed this article that indicates parts of Arizona are "officially" no longer in drought:

The drought is officially over for parts of the Southwest, a National Drought Mitigation Center official said Thursday.

The majority of the region was dropped from drought status and is now considered abnormally dry, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a consensus of experts that integrate weather data with observations on crops, reservoirs and other factors.

"All of the Southwest has recovered significantly from the drought conditions. Parts of the Southwest have recovered completely," said Michael Hayes, climate impacts specialist at the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

I was wondering who would get to officially declare it over. These folks sound official enough to me. Northeastern Arizona is still considered in drought, though.

Higley Groves West Needs Help

One of our HOA board members is needing to exit the board due to time constraints. Bob Winegar has been a great asset for the HOA board, and we will miss his input. If you or someone you know would like to fill in the rest of his term, please contact the property manager, Jenny Nicholson at 480-551-4213. The Mister has said many times what quality people we've got on the board. I guess that's because they come from the pool of quality neighbors in Higley Groves West!

Check Out the Website

I'm excited to say (Proud Mom Alert) that our Wildcat daughter (who knows her way around a computer) has been updating the Morrison Ranch website. We have been wanting to try to keep things current for a long time, and now she is working hard to help us accomplish that this summer. There are new pictures, updates on the building process, and new links to guide you through the various communities. Here's a taste of some new stuff; then go look around.

More on Bananas

The AZ Republic has an article today featuring a woman who is very much opposed to the proposed water park/ice rink for Crossroads Park:

Many words can describe Sandra Avery: Neighbor. Pet owner. Skeptic.

Shy isn't one of them, especially when it comes to protecting her Gilbert home.

A plan to bring a water park and ice-skating rink to her Cottonwood Crossing neighborhood has her talking.

"This can't stand," Avery said of the idea. "Residents here won't let it."

Avery plans to tell Gilbert's Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Thursday night that the proposed facility is a bad fit for her neighborhood.

I posted on some of the acronyms encountered by developers here; the one that came to mind as I read this article was BANANA – Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything. And it reminded me once again that human nature is a funny thing. I’m a well-educated, reasonably intelligent person that loves living in Gilbert in general and in Morrison Ranch in particular, and I find myself wondering exactly what Ms. Avery thinks ought to happen in the expansion of Crossroads Park, which is and has always been laid out as a regional (think big) park. Doesn’t this feel like a park-like use? How does opposing this project “protect her home”? Her stated reason for opposing this is increased traffic; I wonder if she knows that a regional mall is going in about a mile down the road, and people will have to drive to get to this destination site. And this is where human nature enters the picture.

When we began dreaming about how Morrison Ranch ought to look, feel and be laid out, and then got involved in the zoning process to make that happen, we experienced a similar reaction. Frankly, I was stunned and deeply hurt by some of the comments made about our project and our family. I kept wondering if these folks would prefer we just sell our land piecemeal to various builders, and then they’d have to live with whatever the builders offered. But the Mister understood it better, and pointed out to me that they didn’t want ANY change; they wanted it to be the way it had been for the past 2, 5, 10 or 25 years, depending on how long they’d lived here. He reminded me it had taken a while for him to accept that the status quo was not an option anymore, and these folks were still struggling with that concept.

My next question was why there seemed to be so many opposing viewpoints aired in public when I knew that there were plenty of people who were in favor of our project, and those folks never seemed to be quoted. Again, he patiently explained that it’s far easier to get worked up in opposition to something; if someone is in favor, they hope that it goes through, but they aren’t as likely to expend time and energy to help it along. So just because the newspaper or the town council meetings show far more opposers than admirers, it doesn’t mean that’s a representative sample of the population. In fact, if there are SOME proponents among the neighbors, that’s a pretty good indicator that there is substantial support for a project. Take me, for example; I’m basically in favor of this park expansion; but I probably won’t be at the meeting on Thursday to say so, and I may or may not get around to writing a letter to the editor or emailing the town. Human nature; I am busy like everyone else, and will only give time to those things most important to me.

Thankfully, Morrison Ranch is under way. I have been surprised again (and pleasantly so!) to see that several of the most vocal detractors have changed their minds about Morrison Ranch (see here, for example) and are now declaring it to be a fine idea. Who knows? Maybe Ms. Avery will someday laud the water park as a great place for Gilbert kids to keep out of trouble.

Human nature; you gotta love it.