Frequently Asked Questions

As of April 2012

Board & Committee Meetings

Garage Sale Regulations

City Maintenance Request

City Parkway Trees

Missing Tidelines

House Sale & Pending View Impairment

Solar Panels

Security Patrols

Gating Cameo

Beach 3 Maintenance

Wood-Burning Rules for Outdoor Fireplaces/Fire Pits

SPAM - Tidelines in Junk Folder

Have you missed one or two of the Tidelines newsletters?  You might want to check your email's SPAM/Junk Folder to see if it's in there.  If it is, you can fix that problem by adding Info@Cameohoa.org to you email Contacts or Safe List.  That should fix the problem for the future.  We also keep a Tidelines Archive on our website.  You can find past editions by going to http://cameohoa.org/tidelines.html

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City Maintenance - Repair Requests

Is your street light out?  Pothole in the front of your house?  Sidewalk cracked?  Just put in a request to the City's Maintenance Dept.  Their online QUEST system is easy to use and provides a follow-up/status email of your request.  Just go to https://www5.newportbeachca.gov/quest and see how easy it is.

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Board & Committee Meetings - Schedules & Documents

The meeting schedule, agendas and minutes for both the Board of Directors meetings and the Architectural Committee meetings are posted on our website under the Owners Only tab. Agendas are normally posted to our website 5-7 days prior to the meeting date. Minutes are posted after they are approved, normally one month following the actual meeting.

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Garage Sale Regulations
While Cameo does not restrict garage sales, you should consider adhering to the following regulations that both Cameo and the City apply to situations where noise or activity can pose problems for your neighbors after hours:

• Monday through Friday hours between 7:00am and 6:00pm

• Saturday hours between 8:30am and 6:00pm

• Sunday activities are generally not allowed

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Parkway Trees & Plantings
The parkways, trees and sidewalks in Cameo are owned by the City of Newport Beach. The City has an official "tree policy", known as the G-1 policy.  You can review the G-1 Policy on the City's website (click here) or you can contact the City's Municipal Operations, Parks & Trees Division at 949.644.3069 if you have specific questions about city trees on or near your property.

Basically, there are only two ways that the City will remove that tree. The first is if that tree has caused damage to underground utilities (they will require proof) and the second is if the Cameo Association includes that tree in the next phase of our Reforestation Program. The Cameo Board has not taken up the subject of applying for approval of a new phase to our reforestation as of yet and the process takes several months. The Board would have to allocate funds to pay for the project (it cost about $400 per tree), decide on how many and which trees to include, put together required documentation and then submit that to the Municipal Operations Department. If the Municipal Operations Department approves the plan it then goes to the Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission for a hearing and final approval.

As you can see, removing a City tree is not a simple process. That being said, the Brazilian Pepper tree is designated a "Problem Tree" by the City and they would probably approve the removal if Cameo included it in the next Reforestation application to the City. Keep in mind that the City requires that each tree removed will be replaced on a one-for-one basis and the City approved replacement tree in Cameo is the Hong Kong Orchid. You would lose the pepper tree but gain an orchid tree.
 

The City plants the trees and waters them for 90 days (establishment period).  Following that, according to Chapter 13.09.030 NMC, the “abutting property owner has the responsibility to water and fertilize the parkway tree(s) adjacent to their property. The City shall be responsible for pruning and spraying.”  

Turf grass is not required by the City in the parkway.  However, individual HOA's may implement that requirement.  According to City Council Policy L-6 homeowners and/or HOAs may not plant landscape that exceeds 36” in height or loose gravel or rock, and must apply for an encroachment permit if they plan to install hardscape surfacing. The City encourages planting drought-tolerant low-lying shrubs, or low-growing groundcover. Homeowners and/or HOAs may install sprinkler systems in the parkway. 

For additional information on Parkway Tree Maintenance, click here.

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Sale of House - Pending View Impairment

A question came up as to what happens to a View Impairment Complaint, validated by the Architectural Committee, when the non-compliant homeowner sells the home.

Our Villageway management representative states that any validated compliant is against the property, not the owner. So in a transfer of title, during the escrow process, the new owner is informed of the deficiency and has to make a decision as to whether or not they wish to assume the liability or have the issue cleared by the seller before the escrow process is completed.
 

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Solar Panels

The Association cannot stop an owner from installing solar panels. However, the Association can regulate where and how the panels would be installed, the finish of the panels, glare factor and other considerations. Solar panels, like all other residential construction, must go through Cameo's Architectural Application, Review and Approval processes where concerns such as these can be addressed.

In addition to Cameo's rules and regulations, solar panel installations are also covered by a variety of governmental rules and regulations. For example, the City of Newport Beach has permitting requirements that the owner must meet in addition to Cameo's requirements. The Corona del Mar Residents Association (CdMRA) published an article in the April 2011 Newsletter about the Solar Rights Act. You may want to review that article as well (click here - see pg 4)
 

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Security Patrols
Cameo's Security Patrols base their patrol requirements around what are called “Post Orders”. These are the procedures that Cameo develops covering specific security measures for any given contract year.  The patrol company's contact information, hours of patrol service and current Post Orders can be found on our Owners Only secured webpage.  You will need your User ID and Password to access that section.  If you have lost the User Id/Password combination, simply request it again by email.
 

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Gating Cameo

(Extracted from the February 2007 edition of the Tidelines Newsletter)

For those of you that attended the 2006 Annual Meeting in Roxbury Park, you probably took note of several homeowners emphatically advocating some action on gating the community. The Board has also received several emails through our web site that asked questions about gating Cameo. This article is intended to answer some of your questions on this issue without taking any side.

Gating the community has been discussed by our association board of directors numerous times over the last ten or fifteen years. The Board even had a reserv study done about 6 years ago to look at some projected costs. Unfortunately, the real issues on gating the community are not the cost or security issues (there is also some debate as to whether gated communities have lower crime rates) but rather seemingly insurmountable legal and regulatory obstacles.

First, according to our CC&R’s, gating the community would require 75% of all our homeowners to vote in favor of doing so. Also, a 75% vote would be required to enact an assessment to fund the construction of gates and fund a substantial deposit to the reserve fund that would be required to provide for future repairs to the streets, sidewalks, street lighting and parkway trees that Cameo would acquire from the City.   In the last 20 years, there has never been 50% of our homeowners vote on anything.

There is also a significant number of homeowners that are adamantly opposed to gating and it is doubtful that even if we got a 100% voter turnout that we could achieve a 75% vote in favor. Even asking for a vote from our homeowners would essentially be a waste of time because two other issues would most probably block any chance of gating Cameo.

These two seemingly insurmountable obstacles are getting the City and the Coastal Commission to approve the gating.

City approval is required because they own the streets, sidewalks, street lighting and parkway trees that would have to be deeded to Cameo. The City’s proposed Local Coastal Plan (LCP), which is pending approval by the Coastal Commission, would probably not allow them to approve gating of Cameo.   Here is what the proposed LCP says regarding gating.

• 54. 3.1.5-1. Prohibit new development that incorporate gates, guardhouses, barriers or other structures designed to regulate or restrict access where they would inhibit public access to and along the shoreline and to beaches, coastal parks, trails, or coastal bluffs

• 55. 3.1.5-2. Prohibit new private streets, or the conversion of public streets to private streets, where such a conversion would inhibit public access to and along the shoreline and to beaches, coastal parks, trails, or coastal bluffs.

There are a couple of former Board members that think the City could be persuaded to approve the gating, using the argument that there is currently no public access to our beaches and bluffs. However, the Coastal Commission has told us that public parking on Cameo’s streets for people walking over to the State Park is considered public access to the shoreline.

Cameo’s recent discussions with the Coastal Commission to obtain a Coastal Development Permit for the PCH entrances and wall has led those of us involved in those discussions to believe that the Commission would reject outright, any request to gate an existing oceanfront community, thus leaving us with the only option of appealing the decision of the Coastal Commission to the California courts. Many famous people and large corporations have taken on the Commission through the courts in the past and most have lost, after expending huge sums in legal fees.

Both the Shores and Highlands are within the boundaries of the zone that requires Coastal Commission approval for projects such as our entrances and gating of our community.   In addition, our Coastal Development Permit granted to Cameo by the Coastal Commission to refurbish the entrances and build a new wall along PCH contains a clause that requires Cameo to seek Coastal Commission approval for any future changes to the entrances.

It is not as if the Board has been remiss in not considering the issue; Gating our community does not appear feasible now or in the foreseeable future.

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Beach 3 Maintenance
The City does not do maintenance at Beach 3 in Cameo other than removing dead seals or boats that go ashore.  They cannot get machinery down to our beach (like they do at Little Corona).  That is why it is up to each and every one of us who has access to Beach 3 to make sure that we haul whatever trash we create (or find) on our visits there.  It is up to Cameo residents to preserve the natural beauty and health of this amazing resource that we have at our doorstep.

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Wood-Burning Rules for Outdoor Fire Pits or Fireplaces
Cameo has Architectural Guidelines on fireplaces (indoor and outdoor) and they mimic the City codes regarding placement. The Board and Architectural Committee have little influence what is burned in these devices. The City does, however, prohibit the burning of rubbish, construction materials, treated and/or painted wood, etc.  Obviously Cameo was graded to allow our magnificent views. It’s uphill from Brighton in the Shores to Surrey in the Highlands. The wind is generally from the southwest at about 10 miles an hour, so any smoke from either an outdoor or indoor unit will quickly offend the surrounding neighbors.  The South Coast Air Quality Management District does have some rules on this topic.  Links can be found below.  Bottom line, wood burning is offensive to many of your neighbors. Your fireplace should have natural gas or propane as a fuel and you should only burn approved materials.

According to the Air Quality Management District (AQMD):
 

8. Fireplaces and barbeques - freestanding.

a) Front setback area. Freestanding fireplaces (gas only) and barbeques with a maximum height of 42 inches (not including the barbeque hood) shall be allowed to encroach into the required front setback area provided the total length of the barbeque and counter does not exceed 6 feet.
 

b) Side and rear setback area. Freestanding fireplaces (gas only) and barbeques with a maximum height of 6 feet shall be allowed to encroach into the required side or rear setback area provided a minimum 36-inch clear path of travel is maintained adjacent to any habitable structures.

For more information on wood-burning devices and outdoor burning, click on these AQMD links:

• http://www.aqmd.gov/rules/reg/reg04/r445.pdf

• http://www.aqmd.gov/rules/doc/r445/general_faq.pdf

• http://www.aqmd.gov/rules/index.html

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