New Mexico construction

The New Mexico Construction Industries Division is responsible for reviewing your building plans, issuing building permits, and inspections on site. Plans for buildings in Timberlake Ranch need to first have the approval of the TRLA Architectural Committee before sending them to the State. Most of the time the State will not look at your plans unless you have the TRLA approval stamp first. Our fastest turn-around times for State approval have been through the Albuquerque office. Submitting them to Santa Fe usually takes much longer. It is not unusual to take your plans in to the Albuquerque office and have them approved the same day. Check this link for general information, instructions, and forms.

The New Mexico Environmental Department is responsible for the supervision of septic tank system installations. Most local contractors will advise you about requirements and costs. They also have developed a long-time working relationship with the inspectors and this is helpfull for getting the job done in a timely manner. Check here for more information from the state of New Mexico.

ARCHITECTURAL COMMITTEE NOTICE

(Posted 2-25-06) After a hiatus of many months, Richard Lucero (Chief of the Construction Industries Division for the State of New Mexico) has been contacted by the TRLA Architectural Committee. Mr. Lucero now has in writing the legal description of Timberlake Ranch Subdivision including Cloh Chin Toh, Timberlake South, Cibola 1 & 2 and McKinley 1-10, an imprint of the official TRLA Seal which will be placed on blueprints submitted to his office by landowners to acquire building permits, and the name(s) of director(s) and addresses who have been given the authority to approve blueprints before submission to CID. Please be aware that CID will now return your blueprints if not stamped with the TRLA Seal.
It has been the policy to submit two sets of blueprints to the Architectural Committee, one of which will be retained by TRLA for future reference if necessary and the other returned to the landowner stamped with the TRLA Architectural Seal. Please contact TRLA board members Ted Rodda, Chairman Architectural Committee (email), or Duane Barbano (email) for further information. We will make every effort to expedite the landowner's building permit process.

DOWNLOAD TRLA ARCHITECTURAL APPROVAL FORM IN PDF FORMAT (PDF file)

DOWNLOAD CC&R COMPLAINT FORM IN PDF FORMAT (PDF file)

NEW MEXICO CID BUILDING PERMIT GUIDE (PDF file)

Landscapeing Services by Giannangelo Farms Southwest. Contact us.

Personal Construction Experiences at Timberlake (Posted 2-21-05)

My wife and I discovered Timberlake by accident in 1994 and immediately fell in love with the serene beauty of the land. We enjoyed many days over the next few years camping on our property and trying to find the perfect spot where we wanted to place our retirement dream home. My wife would constantly cut out ideas and floor plans from the Log Cabin magazine and other publications over the years hoping to get a perfect match for what we wanted. In 2000 we both retired and proceeded to put our thoughts for our new home into a viable plan. Not knowing any contractors in the area, we had to rely on word of mouth.

The first thing was to hire a local electrical contractor to place an electrical pole with a meter loop on the property and apply for electrical service at the Gallup office of Continental Divide Coop. One needs to consider the electrical load needed to supply your home (100-amp or 200-amp) when drawing up your electrical plans. The electrical contractor convinced us to put in a 100-amp service because Continental Coop would not supply us with a 200-amp service. After the meter loop was installed, the electrical inspector recommended a 200-amp service just in case Continental Divide upgraded our service in the future. We had the electrical contractor replace the 100-amp service with a 200-amp and ended up having to pay twice. Soon after, we had to call him back again to attach a guide wire from the pole to the ground as it was starting to lean.

The next items on our agenda were the well and septic system. A $5 well permit was obtained in Albuquerque and $5 septic tank permit from Grants. We were fortunate to know another landowner who needed a well dug at the same time as us and were able to work out a deal with well digger for $1 less per foot. This may not sound like much, but when your well comes in at 450 feet!!!!! The well driller also cut a new road to the property, cleared the home site, and installed the septic system. He subcontracted the septic system and we could have saved some money by contracting it ourselves. The well digger asked if he could have the trees (about 18 of them) that needed to be cleared from home site/approach road and we made the mistake of not clarifying what he meant as we had to pay extra to have the brush and stumps removed later by someone else and they inadvertently ran over the septic tank crushing the two cover lids. After repairing the lids, two 18-inch risers were installed on the septic tank to allow for easier access if and when it ever has to be cleaned out. With the well, septic tank and decent approach road, we could now concentrate on building our home.

We put all our log cabin cutouts and ideas together and came up with a floor plan that BOTH of us could live with. As we put our home together on paper, we were planning ahead with regards to keeping up with the maintenance as we aged. We wanted a metal roof, fiber cement siding, composite decking (Trex) and metal flashing on all fascia boards because at 80 years of age (if still around) we do not want to climb thirty feet up the roof to replace fascia boards or paint or replace weather beaten siding. We decided to hire a draftsman, not an architect, to draw our plans. The positive part of hiring a draftsman is the cost but the drawback is finding a structural engineer licensed in New Mexico. Once the final plans were in hand, we submitted them to TRLA for approval. After their approval, we called the Albuquerque State Building Permit offices for information on how to go about submitting the plans and applying for building permits. We were told if we plan to build our own home, we should apply for a homeowners building, electrical and plumping permits. If not, the licensed contractor we would hire would be responsible. We always planned to do as much as possible ourselves and subcontract the things we couldn't do. I brushed up on my electrical knowledge because I was required by the state to take a written exam if I wanted to do all the electrical work. I called the state's electrical building permit office and asked what was needed to study for the exam. I downloaded electrical information from their database and bought a 1999 NEC Manual (read 1st four chapters only). After many long nights of re-educating my brain, I went to Gallup, took the exam and passed. The required passing grade at that time was 76%. If you fail the first time, you can take the test more than once.

In May 2002, we hired a local contractor to oversee the excavation, masonry and framing of our new home. The excavation job cost us more than we expected because of bedrock. We had to move the foundation six feet west to bypass the bedrock. After the excavation, came the masonry contractor with the footers, cement slab and stem wall. Next came the framing which took about three months before we were "dried-in". In those months we made the garage (ground floor), first floor and loft our living quarters. We hopped from one floor to another with our sleeping bags and dogs followed by the mice until we were enclosed. We used the bathhouse extensively until it was closed for the winter. Meanwhile, we hired a plumber (again through word of mouth) to do the rough in and I would finish the final plumbing. When the rough in was completed the plumber called for inspection using our homeowner's permit number. That was not acceptable to the plumbing inspector and a second permit (a plumbing contractor's permit) was acquired. Gallup Propane installed a 500 gallon tank and the gas lines to the inside of the house.

We then started with the electrical phase, which included the phone lines and cable for satellite television. Our lot bill of sale stated electrical and phone lines up to the property line. We discovered that we had no phone line at the property line so we called the appropriate realtor and they rectified the problem. Before we submitted our plans to the state we made sure we had enough circuit breaker slots on the sub distribution panel in the garage to facilitate all the house circuitry and for future added circuits. We chose to run the electrical lines underground from the meter loop to the sub distribution panel in the garage for aesthetics. After finishing the plumbing and electrical rough in, we called for inspections. The final phase of our building adventure started with installing insulation, sheet rock, staining/lacquering boards, painting walls, installing cabinets, installing electrical/plumbing accessories, lighting and satellite dish. Then came the plumbing and electrical final inspections. The building inspector who had been inspecting our construction site at different intervals throughout the construction process completed the last inspection. He inspected the entire house including the plumbing and electrical final inspection stickers. He gave us our Certificate of Occupancy the same day, September 11, 2003. We then called our insurance company and converted the construction insurance policy to a homeowner's policy. Overall everything turned out far beyond our expectations. We have our dream retirement home, wonderful neighbors and new friends, and that "word of mouth" - well, they certainly were the right words.

-Danny Montoya

(Note the following is in response to the next article "Inherent Problems With CC&R Enforcement" posted 2-8-06 by Danny Montoya)

(Posted 2-25-06) Alternate Perspective
"Site-built Homes" – "Modular Homes" – "Manufactured Homes"

On the Timberlake Ranch News website, there is an article in the "Community Chat" section authored by Mr. Danny Montoya, dated: 6 February 2006,in which relates his opinions on a number of subjects of concern to the Timberlake Ranch Subdivision landowners. With regards to Mr. Montoya's comments concerning Site-Built Homes, Modular Homes and Manufactured Homes, I agree with him in some cases and disagree with him in others. In order to provide my Timberlake Ranch neighbors with an alternate perspective on Site-Built Homes, Modular Homes and Manufactured Homes, I am providing the following information.

Mr. Montoya's comments are based on information he retrieved from the electronic internet's "Google" search engine. Using "Google" to define site-built, modular and manufactured homes is totally inadequate for any purposes other than generalities. For purposes of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&R's) development and enforcement, it is necessary to rely on the more applicable information contained in the New Mexico Statutes Annotated - 1978 (NMSA 1978), the New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) and case law for definitions, statutes and codes. Printed versions of the New Mexico Statutes Annotated - 1978 and the New Mexico Administrative Code are available from a number of sources. I used the State of New Mexico website as my resource.

Additionally, there are United States Codes (USC) and the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) which cover the subject of home construction. Generally, United States Codes and the Code of Federal Regulations state the laws, regulations, rules, etc. which form the basis for state and local laws and regulations. Some Federal laws and regulations preempt States from changing the laws and regulations while others allow amending to more stringent standards. Seldom, if ever, are states allowed to use less restrictive standards than the governing Federal laws and regulations. For United States Code and Code of Federal Regulations information, my research resource was the United States Government website.

The New Mexico Administrative Code contains the actual rules, etc. governing construction and each "Part" is constructed so as to contain certain information such as:

• The Issuing Agency
• Scope of authority
• Statutory authority (NMSA 1978 citation)
• Duration of effectiveness
• Effective date of the code
• Objective of the code
• Definitions applicable to the code
• Minimum standards applicable to the code
• Contains citations of minimum acceptable standards, codes, documents, publications, etc.
• Other items which are pertinent to the specific code

The New Mexico Statutes Annotated - 1978 contain the statutory authorities which form the basis for the creation of the New Mexico Administrative Codes. Otherwise, as a general rule, the New Mexico Administrative Code states the rules, regulations, etc. for conducting certain functions (nuts and bolts) while the New Mexico Statutes Annotated - 1978 provide the statutory authorities (teeth) for the New Mexico Administrative Code.

In this communication, I have no intention on quoting verbatim the references I will cite.
(I would even bore myself.) I will list references which may be of interest to the members of the Timberlake Ranch Landowners Association, its Board of Directors and certain cognizable committees.

In no way do the laws, codes, rules, etc. which I cite paint the complete picture regarding regulation of the housing construction industry. They are only the major players in a myriad regulatory laws, codes, rules, etc. affecting the housing construction industry.

To save space and time, I will refer to statutes and codes in the following manners.

New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 14 Housing and Contruction
Chapter 7 Building Codes General
Part 3 2003 New Mexico Residential Building Code

The above code citation will appear as:

NMAC 14.7.3 2003 NEW MEXICO RESIDENTIAL BUILDING CODE

Statute citations.

New Mexico Statutes Annotated - 1978
Chapter 60 Business Licenses
Article 13 Construction Industries Licensing
Section 9 Division; duties

The above statute citation will appear as:

NMSA 1978 §60-13-9 Division; duties

"What are site-built homes?"

Site-built home construction is governed by:

NMAC 14.7.3 2003 NEW MEXICO RESIDENTIAL BUILDING CODE
NMSA §60-13-9 Division; duties
NMSA §60-13-44 Trade Bureaus; standards; duties

Types of site-built homes

Wood frame homes

• A wooden framework forms the load bearing and non-load bearing walls of the house.
• The wood framework is then veneered with one of the following materials.
      Brick
      Cement block
      Cement board
      Slump block
      Stucco
      Rock
      Vinyl sidings
      Metal sidings
      Shingle sidings
      (Reserved for those types I left out.)

[Note: Wood frame houses are the only type of houses that are properly referred to as "stick built."]

Log homes

• The outer load bearing walls are constructed of shaped or unshaped logs.
• Inner walls may be made from shaped or unshaped logs.

Structurally Insulated Panel (SIP) homes

• SIP panels are constructed by bonding a sheet of plywood, etc. to each side of a sheet of expanded polystyrene insulation material. The sheets of expanded polystyrene insulation material come in varying thicknesses.
• SIP panels are mostly used to form the exterior walls of a structure.
• Occasionally, the SIP panels are utilized to make the roof.
• SIP panels are very thermally efficient.

Steel frame houses

• The framework of steel frame houses are constructed of steel materials resembling wood framing materials.
• As with wood frame houses, steel frame houses are veneered with the same materials, listed above.

Prefabricated homes

Homes that are built using prefabricated sections, consisting of individual walls, floor sections, ceiling sections, etc. which are built in an off-site factory, transported to the home site and assembled on-site.

Poly Steel homes

This is a relatively new form of site-built home construction which utilizes high-density expanded polystyrene and welded steel forms filled with concrete for the exterior load bearing walls.

Earthen materials built homes

The construction of earthen materials built residences is governed by:

NMAC 14.7.4 NEW MEXICO EARTHEN BUILDING MATERIALS CODE
NMSA §60-13-9 Division; duties
NMSA §60-13-44 Trade Bureaus; standards; duties

Types of earthen materials built houses:

Adobe
Compressed earth block houses
Rammed earth houses

Baled straw houses

The construction of baled straw housing is governed by:

NMAC 14.7.5 NEW MEXICO NON-LOAD BEARING BALED STRAW CONSTRUCTION BUILDING STANDARDS
NMSA 1978 §60-13-9(F)

As you can see there are quite a few different types of site-built homes available. I only touched on those types with which I have experience.

"What are modular homes? (Deltec)

First off, to infer that all modular homes are "Deltec" is wrong. "Deltec" actually refers to Deltec Homes, Incorporated, one of many modular home builders. Other manufacturers of modular homes include Fleetwood Industries, Inc.; Cavco Industries, Inc.; and Palm Harbor Homes, to name a few.

Construction of modular homes is governed by:

NMAC 14.12.3 MODULAR STRUCTURES
NMSA 1978 §60-13-9 Paragraphs (F) and (K)
NMSA 1978 §60-13-44 Paragraphs (H) and (I)

The only section of Mr. Montoya's assessment of modular homes where there is divergence between he and I, concerns inspection. Inspection of modular home general construction, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems is conducted "in-plant" at the manufacturers location. After passing inspection the modular home a "Compliance Decal" is issued to the subject home, and must be displayed in a conspicuous location before leaving the manufacturing plant. Only after the modular home is properly placed at the home site do State and County inspectors have work to do such as determining the safety and correctness of electrical, mechanical, fuel gas, plumbing hookups, etc.

"What are manufactured homes?"

Construction of manufactured housing is governed by:

THE NATIONAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING CONSTRUCTION AND SAFETY STANDARDS ACT OF 1974
      42 USC 5401 et seq;
      24 CFR 3280
      24 CFR 3282
NMAC 14.12.2 MANUFACTURED HOUSING REQUIREMENTS
NMSA 1978 §60-14-4 Manufactured Housing Act

Some of Mr. Montoya's assessments of manufactured housing are correct and others are wrong. Mr. Montoya would have you believe that all manufactured housing is totally inferior to other forms of construction, but I am in disagreement with his opinion.

At the time the Timberlake CC&R's were recorded, the manufactured housing industry was in its infancy. The term manufactured housing came about to combat abuses of the early mobile homes, house trailers, etc. The early and even late mobile homes, house trailers, etc. were a far cry from today's manufactured home. The mobile homes and house trailers, of the past, were specifically made to be readily mobile with the intention that the owner could easily relocate his home without having to build another residence at the new location. Frequent and even infrequent moving of the mobile homes and house trailers could and did result in damaging the structure. Moreover, these mobile homes and house trailers were not designed to look like site-built houses. The poor construction, looks, etc. of early mobile homes and house trailers resulted in a bad image. Unfortunately, the bad image of early mobile homes and house trailers continues today, and still affects the manufactured housing industry.

In the vast majority of cases, today's manufactured home is every bit as good as a site built house. They are not designed and so constructed as to be readily mobile. They come in sizes varying from 800 square feet to over 3,000 square feet. The same materials are used in the construction of manufactured homes as are used in site-built homes. True, they are built in a factory, on an assembly line, on a heavy steel frame, transported to the home site on their own unpowered chassis towed by a tractor; this is where the major dissimilarities end. If you had two homes, built side-by-side from the same plans, set on the same type permanent foundation and constructed of the same materials, I would doubt that the average person could tell a site-built home from a manufactured home if they could not see the manufactured home's metal framework.

The foundation, permanent or non-permanent, plays a very important part on how a manufactured home is treated with respect to valuation, taxation, financing, insuring and resale potential.

Manufactured homes set on a non-permanent foundation are valued as personal property, much like motor vehicles. NMSA 1978 §7-3-26. Special method of valuation; manufactured homes. covers non-permanent foundation valuation. While in transit from point of manufacture and while set on a non- permanent foundation, a manufactured home is treated as a trailer and is titled and registered pursuant to the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Code, NMSA 1978, Chapter 66, Articles 1 - 8, (excepting NMSA §66- 7-102.1). Additionally, a manufactured home is required to display a vehicle registration plate as long as it placed upon a non-permanent foundation. This registration plate is a special permanent plate and is to remain with the manufactured home.

A manufactured home can be treated as real property (enjoined with the land), valued as such and taxed as such if the following conditions of NMAC 3.6.5.33.(D) MANUFACTURED HOMES - WHEN VALUED AS REAL PROPERTY are met.

      ...(D)(1)(a): the valuation authority has received a request from the owner of a manufactured home that it be taxed as real       property;
      ...(D)(1)(b): the tongue and axle(s) have been removed from the manufactured home and the manufactured home has been       affixed to a permanent foundation in accordance with NMAC 14.12.2;
      ...(D)(1)(c): the owner of the manufactured home owns the real estate to which the manufactured home is affixed, and;
      ...(D)(1)(d): title to the manufactured home, issued pursuant to the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code, is deactivated in       accordance with NMAC 18.19.3.16 and evidence of the deactivation has been provided to the valuation authority.

[NOTE: NMAC 18.19.3.71 DEACTIVATION OF TITLE TO A MANUFACTURED HOME is identical to NMAC 18.19.3.16.]

Available from the McKinley County Assessor's is a packet containing an Owners Request and Agreement Form to Change Valuation Status for a Manufactured Home, a State of New Mexico, Regulations and Licensing Department, Application for a Manufactured Housing Permanent Foundation form, and McKinley County's PERMANENT FOUNDATION SYSTEMS guidelines issued pursuant to NMAC 14.12.2. Although I have not checked with Cibola County, I tend to believe Cibola County has promulgated a similar document.

Mr. Montoya's statement, "They conform to a federal building code, called the HUD code, rather than to building codes at their destination." is extremely misleading. First off there is no one specific code call the "HUD code." "HUD" is the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The United States law which applies to manufactured housing is The National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.; 24 CFR Part 3280 and Part 3282. This act is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The State of New Mexico is bound to comply with this act as well as the New Mexico Manufactured Housing Act. It is very important to note that the provisions of The National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 preempt any State and local laws which are not identical to the Federal standards.

The inspection of manufactured homes is governed by:

      • NMSA 14.12.2.37 INSPECTIONS:
      • NMSA 14.12.2.38 GENERAL
      • NMSA 14.12.2.39 REQUESTED INSPECTIONS
      • NMSA 14.12.2.40 INSTALLATION INSPECTIONS
      • NMSA 14.12.2.41 INSTALLATION PERMITS
      • THE NATIONAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING CONSTRUCTION AND SAFETY STANDARDS ACT OF 1974

Inspection of manufactured homes is not a haphazard or perfunctory process. New Mexico Construction Industries Division inspectors or Division authorized inspectors conduct inspections of manufactured homes at any point in the life of a manufactured home, from the in-plant construction, through the installation process and during its lifetime as a residence. To fully appreciate the manufactured home inspection requirements and process, it is necessary to read and understand the stated references.

Following completion of in-plant construction of a manufactured home there are requirements to permanently affix two devices to the manufactured home prior to its departure from the point of manufacture. 24 CFR 3280.5 Data Plate requires a permanently embossed identification data plate to be permanently affixed to the manufactured home, "...near the main electrical panel or other readily accessible or visible location." 24 CFR 3280.11 Certification Label requires that certification label be permanently affixed to each transportable section of a manufactured home. The label is to display the serial number of the manufactured home along with other pertinent information. The certification label is to be located at the taillight end of the transportable section. This certification label certifies that the manufactured home has passed a required U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development inspection and has been constructed in accordance with the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974. This Federal inspection certification, in no way, relieves the State of New Mexico, Construction Industries Division of its required inspection responsibilities.

Homeowner's Insurance Policy costs for a manufactured home are on par with comparable site-built home.

Today's manufactured home, when affixed as real property, is subject to the same interest rates and mortgage time terms as is a site-built home.

The most glaring difference between manufactured homes and site-built homes is the diversity of plans available for site-built homes. Site-built homes have plethora of sizes, shapes and elevations available to them while manufactured homes are generally limited to a rectangular or square floor plan and one-story, in height even though two-story manufactured homes are beginning to enter the picture.

The old adage that manufactured homes always depreciate in value has bit the dust. A well kept manufactured house, set on a permanent foundation, will appreciate in value as does a well kept site-built home.

Another old adage which has passed into oblivion is that the presence of a manufactured home in your neighborhood will cause your property value to decrease. The presence of a manufactured home has had no bearing on property values for several years.

My Wife, Sandy, and I have done a lot of leg work and research in our endeavor to determine the type of home in which we intend to reside permanently within the Timberlake Ranch community. This research has come at the cost of quite a bit of time, travel and funds. At the current time we are leaning towards a home constructed of SIP (Structurally Insulated Panels) because of the inherent heating and cooling efficiency. Even though we have done a whole bunch of research, the truth is, we have even more to do.

Stu Dutcher
21 February 2006

(Posted 2-8-06) Inherent Problems With CC&R Enforcement

Timberlake Ranch association (TRLA) is composed of four subdivisions with their own set of CC&Rs: Cloh Chin Toh (recorded April 3, 1978), Timberlake Unit 1 & 2 (recorded June 23, 1981), Timberlake South (April 19, 1996). Just a few months ago TRLA won the Allen case. On January 2002 Mr. Allen sued TRLA because the association placed a lien on his property for nonpayment of his yearly assessment dues. On December 2002 the District Court ruled for Mr. Allen finding that TRLA was a voluntary association and therefore the Allens, who chose not to be a member, were not required to pay dues. TRLA appealed the District Court decision to the New Mexico Court of Appeals, and on June 28, 2005 the Court of Appeals filed their decision, reversing the District Court and finding for TRLA on all issues. TRLA tried negotiating with Mr. Allen before going to court but to no avail. The majority of the board members of 2004 lead by Pat Wallace were determined to drop this case without achieving a final judgment from the appellate court. Concerned landowners pressured the board members not to reverse direction on this case and two others. If the board of 2004 had dropped this case, we would have been unable to enforce the CC&Rs and collect past dues or any other dues and place liens on delinquent landowners. This is why it's imperative that TRLA not waiver when any of the subdivision's CC&Rs are challenged.

The second lawsuit TRLA filed was against the Garcias in 2001. TRLA argued that the Garcias moved a second primary residence onto their lot without Architectural Committee approval. This was a doublewide manufactured home. My understanding is that the first court ruling went against TRLA because the judge could not determine what set of CC&Rs applied to the Garcia's. The Garcias argued there were two other manufactured homes in the subdivision. The fact is that in 1995 the TRLA board, lead by Mr. McGarry, publicly announced that manufactured homes were going to be allowed. During that year two landowners got permission from the board to move manufactured homes onto their lots. There was such a public outcry that the following year Mr. McGarry was forced off the board. The new board considered litigating to have the two manufactured homes removed but were advised against it by their legal counsel because the previous board had approved them. Therefore, from that day on no manufactured homes have been allowed. There has been some mention of guesthouses on lots. There are some lots with so-called guesthouses, but to my knowledge these second structures are not manufactured homes. They are site built. TRLA appealed the Garcia judgment and the appellate court overturned the district court summary judgment on December 29, 2005 and remanded this case for further proceedings. What does this mean - TRLA and the Garcias are back to square one.

The only current and well-written CC&Rs cover Timberlake South. Cloh Chin Toh's and Timberlake's CC&Rs are antiquated. Previous boards have discussed and even formed CC&R committees to rewrite or make amendments to them but have failed to implement any change because of the tremendous amount of dedicated volunteer time required in order to achieve 75% approval of landowners.

In my opinion, the only option TRLA and the Garcias have is to continue the litigation and have the New Mexico legal system tell us what changes are needed to revise our CC&Rs. No neighbor likes to be a "snitch" and file complaints. However, it is evident that many infractions are present, i.e. a few trailers left sitting for years on lots, <600 sq. ft. shacks hidden out of sight, etc. At this point, a court ruling is the only way we can legitimately enforce and prevent these from continuing.

Meanwhile, a few landowners scrutinize TRLA's architectural requirements. Some believe TRLA has no authority to require landowners to submit their blueprints for review before submitting them to the Construction Industries Department (CID) of New Mexico for acquiring building permits. Why do people continue to buy property in Timberlake when they know there are bylaws and CC&Rs. I can only assume they prefer to live in a community with guidelines. When my wife and I bought property in Timberlake, the realtor said up front Timberlake has an association and we had to abide by their CC&Rs. He gave us a set of CC&Rs. Whether or not we got the right CC&Rs for our subdivision was of no concern to us because we were going to comply with their intent for the sake of not devaluing property values and negatively impacting on the basic premise of why CC&Rs are written.

Below are a few of Timberlake Ranch Units 1 & 2 subdivisions CC&R Articles that need clarification and amending. If they are not amended TRLA will not be able to enforce their CC&Rs because of all the ambiguities they contain. These ambiguities will only continue to foster more challenges from landowners and possibly developers who may want to build condominiums, apartment complexes and manufactured home parks on a single lot. Grandfathering all the infractions in Timberlake Ranch is not the answer. Others will follow and will expect no less.

FYI:
TR CC&Rs Unit 1 & 2 (1981):

Article II (Use Restrictions)
Section 1. Uses other than Residential Prohibited. All of the lots in Timber Lake Subdivision and tracts within such real property as may be annexed thereto shall be used exclusively for private, single-family residential purposes, condominiums, low rise apartments not exceeding 4 units, and no part of any such lots shall be used directly or indirectly, for any business or profession or for any commercial, manufacturing, mercantile, mail-order, storing, vending, civic, educational, religious, musical, medical, hospital, crematory, institutional, or other non-residential purpose, for the drilling thereon for oil, gas or any other mineral substance; for the manufacture of sale of malt, vinous or spirituous liquors or for the carrying on of any noxious activity or pursuit of any act or thing which may be or become an annoyance or nuisance to the neighborhood.

Article III (Building and Planting Restrictions)
Section 1. Single-Family Residence. On each lot or property in Timber Lake Subdivision, or any other tracts annexed thereto, not more than one detached, single-family residence shall be erected, constructed or maintained, together with the customary accessory outbuildings appurtenants thereto. Garages may be attached to, or detached from, the residence. No lots shall be divided. Buildings supported on posts shall have
exterior wall material covered to grade or lattice having sixty percent (60%) solid area surface.
Article III continues:
Section 2. Moving a Building onto Property. Except as provided in Section 3 or Article III, no residence or other structure shall be moved onto any lot or prop~ said tract or tracts.

Go to www.google.com and type in these different types of housing. This is what I found.

What are site built homes?
1. They are constructed entirely at the building site.
2. They conform to all state, local or regional codes where the house is located.
3. Often called 'stick-built' houses.
4. A well built, cared for site-built home generally increases in value over time, although its location plays a key role in value.

What are modular homes? (Deltec)
1. Modular homes are built in sections at a factory.
2. Modular homes are built to conform to all states, local or regional building codes at their destinations.
3. Sections are transported to the building site on truck beds, then joined together by local contractors onto the foundation where they are permanently anchored.
4. Local building inspectors check to make sure modular home's structure meets requirements and that all finished work is done properly.
5. Modular homes are sometimes less expensive per square foot than site built houses.
6. A well-built modular home should have the same longevity as its site-built counterpart, increasing in value over time.

What are manufactured homes?
1. Formerly referred to as mobile homes or trailers, but with many more style
options than in the past.
2. Manufactured houses are built in a factory.
3. They conform to a federal building code, called the HUD code, rather than to building codes at their destinations.
4. Manufactured homes are built on a non-removable steel chassis.
5. Sections are transported to the building site on their own wheels.
6. Multi-parts manufactured unites are joined at the destination.
7. Segments are not always placed on a permanent foundation, making them difficult to re-finance.
8. Building inspectors check the work done locally (electric hook up, etc.) but are not required to approve the structure.
9. Manufactured housing is generally less expensive than site built and modular homes.
10. Manufactured homes sometimes decrease in value over time.

-Danny Montoya