September 29, 2012 Announcement
HOA Response to Park Petition
Dear Residents,
Please read the attached letter in response to today’s petition that has be going around. We feel it very important that our community have the correct information when making decisions. If you have already signed the petition and wish to retract your name from their petition after reading this, please contact them and also please email Ryan Poduska at president@vsshoa.org.
Thank you,
HOA Board

Read the Petition Letter Reply Here >>

October 2, 2012 Announcement
Final Decision on Master Park
Dear Residents,
We would like to thank everyone for taking the time to provide feedback in regards to the Master Park improvements near Fox Hollow and appreciate the comments and concerns expressed. We have explored and researched many options in search of the best solution for all, while taking into account everyone’s input from our community. We would like to inform you of our final decision:
On October 2, 2012, The Villages at Saratoga Springs HOA Board has unanimously decided to move forward with the design plans for the Master Park near the Fox Hollow Subdivision that were originally approved back in August 2012, including the number of trees and tree placement. HOWEVER, since our original tree order failed, which we had originally thought was unfortunate, we were presented with an opportunity to take into account some recent suggestions from other residents by changing the “type” of trees that are planted. In favor of selecting even smaller trees, which would enable us to maintain views as much as possible while providing beauty and shade to the park, we have decided to plant Spring Snow Crab Apple trees in place of the Imperial Honey Locust trees and to plant Amur Maple trees along the fence line in place of the Oak trees (please refer to the park map for more details).The Spring Snow Crab Apple tree has a maximum advertised1 mature height of 20-25 feet with a mature canopy width of 15-20 feet. The Amur Maple tree has a maximum advertised2 mature height of up to 20 feet with a mature canopy width of 10-15 feet. Please keep in mind that landscapers and nurseries have mentioned that trees typically grow smaller in our area than advertised, due to the poor soil, wind, and water conditions.
We feel that this decision, to keep the approved plans yet change the trees to a shorter species, is a good balance between those that would like to maintain their views and those who would like to add shade and beauty to our park.
“For those who have seen the Earth from space, and for the hundreds and perhaps thousands more who will, the experience most certainly changes your perspective. The things that we share in our world are far more valuable than those which divide us.”
— Captain Donald Williams, Astronaut
We respect everyone’s opinions and hope that all of the residents can come together in their desire to make our community a better place to live.
Sincerely,
The Villages at Saratoga Springs HOA Board
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NOTES:
October 23, 2012 Announcement
New Renderings of our Master Park
New renderings of the Master Park near Fox Hollow have been created to help visualize a section of trees that will be planted and how they will look as they grow to maturity. These pictures were taken from one of the resident’s back decks that live on the west side of the park.
In order to get the most accurate renderings possible, we had contacted the leading horticulturalist in our state, Dr. Michael R. Kuhns who is the Forestry Extension Specialist for the entire State of Utah. When we had asked him how long it would take for the Spring Snow Crabapple tree to reach its full maturity of 25 feet high by 20 feet wide, he replied that he’s never seen a Spring Snow Crabapple tree reach the full advertised height of 25’x20′ in our state. He said that our starting height of about 12 feet will take about 5-7 years to reach about 15 feet high by 10 feet wide, and a total of 15-20 years to eventually reach a height of 20 feet by about 12 feet wide. So we have applied this information into the renderings so that there is an accurate rendition of what the park could look like (along with the original photos with reference points).
As a disclaimer, these renderings are no guarantee that this is exactly how the park will look and the number of years it will take to reach these sizes, but this is the best information we have from leading experts in the field and hope that this will help residents visualize the immaculate view next to a beautiful park.

 

Click on the images below for a larger view: