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6 | Four Seasons Hemet Herald | FEBRUARY 2025 | As we welcome the new year, it's a great time to take a look at a new law that will impact the landscape here at Four Seasons. California State Law AB 1572 allows Homeowner Associations (HOAs) to water areas with potable water only if the area is "functional." e law also requires HOAs to certify compliance with this law every three years beginning in 2031. Essentially, the law denes "functional" as either used for recreation or as a community space. Recreational uses include golf courses, picnic grounds, or parks, to name a few. Community uses include spaces for civic, ceremonial, or social gatherings. We anticipate that some of our common areas will easily meet the legal denition, but some will not. Homeowners Associations are encouraged to begin working toward compliance with AB 1572 by taking several steps. First, identify those areas using potable water. Second, determine if the turf usage is functional or not. ird and most complicated, associations should prepare a long-term irrigation plan that may convert non-functional areas to water-saving drip irrigation systems with drought-resistant native plants. ese plans will become part of the compliance certication process. e 2031 deadline may sound like a long way o, but planning and implementing these required changes will take multiple phases over the several years. You'll be glad to know that your Landscape Committee has already begun working thoughtfully to conserve water while maintaining a commitment to living plants. e Landscape Committee will be providing citizens of our lovely community with updates as we work to prepare our irrigation for the future. We share a concern for Southern California's drought conditions and the need to balance both the aesthetic and nancial health of our Four Seasons community. Landscape Committee Four Seasons is a well-planned and maintained community. e HOA Board deserves a lot of credit for how well Four Seasons has been maintained over its 20 plus years. e Board Committees, like the Facilities Committee, provide the Board with the information needed to make good decisions. Sometimes the HOA Board asks for more information. One of the important responsibilities of the Facilities Committee is to monitor the inspection of assets in the common areas of the community. e 12 members of the committee are assigned to inspect specic facilities and report back to the committee. e Facilities Committee also recommends contractors to do regular inspections of things requiring professionals like air conditioning. e sta members from FirstService make input as a part of their service. e residents of the community make input on what they see and experience in the community. One of the interesting results of input by residents is that some of them have later applied to and become members of the Facilities Committee. Residents wanting to make input can do so by appearing at committee meetings or through forms available at the reception desk at e Lodge. e reception desk also has forms available for residents to apply to serve on the Facilities Committee. e inspections and observations provide the basis for preventative and corrective maintenance. Better maintained facilities provide more benet. Well-maintained facilities last longer and cost less in the long term. e quality of the common area enhances the value of the whole community. Facilities Committee

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