With spring around the corner, it’s a great time to start working on your home’s landscaping. Spring weeds are starting to poke through and our plants are starting to grow again. This cleanup activity will make your home, yard and neighborhood look more attractive. Our HOA provides some guidelines provided below for your reference. Thank you for your hard work, and we look forward to seeing great looking landscapes again this spring!
An Owner’s Lot must be kept neat and tidy in appearance. Lawns must be kept mowed, edged and free of weeds and trash. Planters and beds must be kept free of weeds, leaves and other debris. Some latitude is permitted for seasonal leaf shedding. Shrubs and trees must be kept trimmed and attractive. Any dead foliage or limbs must be removed promptly. Nothing on an Owner’s Lot must be allowed to become overgrown or unmaintained.
All visible areas including lawns, flower beds, driveways, sidewalks, curb strips, planters, retaining walls, etc. must be kept free of weeds, grasses or other plants, including within expansion joints, seams, etc. Sidewalks must be kept clear of shrubbery overgrowth and overhanging limbs so as not to obstruct the walkway.
All construction of new beds, relocation of beds, or significant modification of existing beds requires an application to and review by the Architectural Review Committee.
With spring arriving and the weather warming up, it’s a great time to start working on your home’s landscaping. Spring weeds are poking through and our plants are starting to grow again. This cleanup activity will make your home, yard and neighborhood look more attractive. Our HOA provides some guidelines provided below for your reference. Thank you for your hard work, and we look forward to seeing great looking landscapes again this spring!
An Owner’s Lot must be kept neat and tidy in appearance. Lawns must be kept mowed, edged and free of weeds and trash. Planters and beds must be kept free of weeds, leaves and other debris. Some latitude is permitted for seasonal leaf shedding. Shrubs and trees must be kept trimmed and attractive. Any dead foliage or limbs must be removed promptly. Nothing on an Owner’s Lot must be allowed to become overgrown or unmaintained.
All visible areas including lawns, flower beds, driveways, sidewalks, curb strips, planters, retaining walls, etc. must be kept free of weeds, grasses or other plants, including within expansion joints, seams, etc. Sidewalks must be kept clear of shrubbery overgrowth and overhanging limbs so as not to obstruct the walkway.
All construction of new beds, relocation of beds, or significant modification of existing beds requires an application to and review by the Architectural Review Committee.
Our community covenants state that improvements to residences shall not be started until a plan is submitted to and approved by the Architectural Review Committee. What needs ARC approval? Things that you add or change to the outside of your property. Examples include new landscaping, decks, sheds, pools, house additions, solar panels, and house painting or roofing if it’s a different color or material. The only exceptions are routine maintenance – replacing your fence or deck, or driveway as long as the materials, color, and location are the same as what is currently installed in your home. Additionally, all of our DCCR’s are available in the Governing Documents library.
In order to provide some guidelines, here are some of the items that the ARC frequently encounters:
Maintenance of existing landscaping does not require architectural review.
All new or changed landscaping requires architectural review. This includes: new trees, planting beds, vegetable gardens, brick and rock borders, fencing, fountains, ponds, and lighting that shines beyond your property lines.
Professionally installed irrigation systems do not require architectural review. Please be positive of your property line prior to installing.
Basketball Goals Guidelines:
The goal must be positioned a maximum of 8 feet from the garage door.
The goal must be facing on the property in such a manner that errant balls will fall beyond the backboard into the yard of the resident owner of the goal, and not onto the neighboring property.
The goal itself must be kept well maintained.
Temporary or moveable goals are allowed but must not be left in the street or blocking the sidewalk when not in use
Satellite Dishes: Small (18”) satellite dishes are automatically approved for usage in Canyon Creek. However, you must make a written application of the location of where the dish will be placed on the property.
Preferred placement for Satellite dishes are locations where they are not visible from the street in front of the house. These locations include:
Mounted below the fence line on the side or back of a home and not visible from the public thoroughfare(s).
Rear roof.
Behind the chimney
With south-facing homes, placement may require some street-side visibility. In these cases, the ARC will work with you to find the placement that minimizes street-side exposure such as:
Below the fence in the back of the house
High on the back side of the roof near the ridge line
Places blocked by vegetation, roof gables, chimneys or other visual impediments
Exterior attachment cables should be attached in a neat fashion, as far from the public thoroughfares as necessity allows
Please note that most satellite dish installers are contractors and will put the dish in a place most convenient for them and that this placement frequently is not acceptable. Please get ARC approval before installing the dish!
Where is the ARC request form? The Architectural Review Committee Approval Request Form is located at:
Many in our community would like to update their sidewalk strip for easy maintenance and to improve aesthetics in this area. The sidewalk strip is the area between the sidewalk and street. For those who would like to pursue this change, we’d like to encourage folks to use drought tolerant landscaping and plants.
Before you update your sidewalk strip, please be sure to fill out an Architectural Review Form for approval.
Recommendations:
Dig down several inches so the feature is level to the curb rather than raised
Use a double layer of weed barrier
Do not use crushed granite (washes away too easily)
Do not use a raised edging. It can be a trip hazard.
Keep plants small and low to the ground so it doesn’t impede walkers or sight lines for drivers
Maintain and freshen the area as needed. Xeriscape does not mean “no maintenance”. Debris gets in between the rocks and opportunistic weeds will grow. Be sure to pull/treat those weeds.
When installing pavers, use polymeric sand to fill in the joints between the pavers. Filling in with concrete is not recommended as it does not provide for relief of the impervious cover requirement in your yard and it won’t look as nice.
Some good ideas are shown below.
This is the preferred method as it is nice and clean looking and requires virtually no maintenance.
This document presents an outline of the Q2 CCHOA meeting held on May 14 2018 and gives an important update on the bathhouse renovation. The first half of the meeting covered topics such as Firewise clean up, Spectrum Management’s report, violation notices, Traffic safety and control. The later half of the meeting the Board presented a new option, named “Option 2.5”, to the bathhouse renovation project. Residents can read the details about this option, along with the budget breakdown, reserve breakdown, and renovation timeline starting at page 27 of the PDF document. Please send your comments, suggestions, and questions to board@canyoncreek.net regarding the information in this PDF document.
With Spring just around the corner, Site Manager inspections will begin to focus more attention on landscape appearance and maintenance. Under the Master Declaration of the Association, all owners, at their own expense, are obligated to keep their Lot in good condition and repair and in a well-maintained, clean and attractive condition at all times. Failure to comply with the association’s restrictive covenants can result in fines levied under the association’s fine policy. As a reminder, penalties can begin accruing after only one courtesy notice. To help residents comply and avoid fines, the board has prepared the following information on appearance and maintenance expectations.
Landscape Maintenance and General Appearance
An Owner’s Lot must be kept neat and tidy in appearance. Lawns must be kept mowed, edged and free of weeds and trash. Planters and beds must be kept free of weeds, leaves and other debris. Some latitude is permitted for seasonal leaf shedding. Shrubs and trees must be kept trimmed and attractive. Any dead foliage or limbs must be removed promptly. Nothing on an Owner’s Lot must be allowed to become overgrown or unmaintained. Owners with xeriscaping are reminded that “low-maintenance” does not mean “no-maintenance.” Xeriscaped beds must be equally maintained, edged and kept free of weeds, leaves and other debris.
Sufficient water must be applied to the landscaping, in accordance with any mandatory watering schedule in effect, to maintain the sod and plantings on the Lot. Landscape irrigation systems must be kept in good working order. Sod must not be allowed to die due to lack of water. Bare spots are not allowed although some latitude is permitted in heavily shaded yards where sod is difficult to grow. In this case, it may be more attractive to create a bed and to mulch or use shade tolerant plants. Be aware that construction of new beds requires an application to and review by the Architectural Review Committee.
Driveways, sidewalks and curbs must be kept edged and free of clippings and leaves. All hardscape including driveways, sidewalks, curbs, planters, retaining walls, etc. must be kept free of weeds, grasses or other plants within expansion joints, seams, etc. Sidewalks must be kept clear of shrubbery overgrowth and overhanging limbs so as not to obstruct the walkway.
Residents are also prohibited from discarding yard waste, brush, compost, trash or any other item on any Greenbelt or Amenity Area. This applies equally to Owners of Lots bordering the Greenbelt. The City of Austin provides weekly yard waste collection and twice annual large brush collection for this purpose.
Fences
Fences must be kept attractive and in good repair. Each owner must promptly repair and replace any missing, broken or rotted fence pickets, posts and gates. Fencing must not be allowed to lean or sag excessively. Gates must be kept closed except when entering or exiting. Wooden fencing may be stained upon prior approval by the Architectural Review Committee. If a fence is already stained, repairs must be similarly stained. Stain must be maintained from time to time due to the effects of natural weathering and sprinkler spray.
Trash and Recycling Containers
These may be placed at the curb no earlier than 8pm the evening before the designated collection day and returned to their storage area no later than 8pm on the day of collection. At all other times, carts must be screened from view and not visible from the street. Use of privacy screens for carts is permitted but requires prior approval by the Architectural Review Committee.
Thank you for helping us keep Canyon Creek looking its best. If you have questions about these requirements or need to report a violation, please reach out to the board at anytime.
Page Revision History:
2020-04-23 (jmw): Page moved to WordPress platform.
Many folks within Canyon Creek are considering transitioning from high water requirement lawns to drought tolerant landscapes. Below is a quick synopsis of our guidelines for Canyon Creek homeowners. Please remember to submit an Architectural Review Form before commencing any projects. An HOA resolution was adopted in 2014 to guide homeowners about xeriscaping in our neighborhood.
Xeriscaping refers to a method of landscape design that minimizes water use. Use plants whose natural requirements are appropriate to the local climate. (see the list below)
Guidelines:
70% or more plant cover at maturity; 70% evergreen plants. (less than 70% causes “heat island effect”)
Use weed barrier under gravel/rocks (hardscape)
No decomposed granite or other very small (under 3/4″) gravel within 2 feet of the street, driveway, walkway, etc.
No artificial turf. During the hot summer months, the surface temperature of the turf can reach 165°
Maintain! Regularly pull weeds, re-mulch, trim plants, refresh rocks, etc.
Recommendations:
Plan on over-planting in the beginning. It’s easier to remove what doesn’t work or survive, than it is to put in more plants once the weed barrier and hardscape is in place.
Consider using an Olla – a watering option
Convert to drip irrigation and cap current irrigation
Avoid large areas with no plants
Vary the size and color of the rocks for visual interest
Plant trees for shade
Aggressively keep weeds out – pull them, dig them, kill them, but don’t let them detract from the beauty of your new landscape
