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NEW
LIFE
IN
THE
EIGHTIES
It
was
the
new
board
elected
in
1980
that
began
to
transition
FCHOA
to
it's
role
as
a
positive
force,
not
only
within
the
subdivision
but
in
the
foothills
area
and
the
County.
The
first
order
of
business
being
the
low
membership,
the
Board
looked
for
ways
to
expand
participation
of
Flecha
residents.
The
first
of
these
efforts
was
the
creation
of
THE
ARROW,
the
more
or
less
quarterly
publication
that
has
become
a
vital
means
of
keeping
the
homeowners
informed
and
in
touch.
While
there
may
not
be
one
hundred
percent
readership,
comments
suggest
that
most
people
at
least
glance
at
it.
New
committees
were
formed
to
deal
with
matters
related
to
the
exploding
development
of
the
foothills
and
of
transportation.
Another
positive
move
was
the
result
of
a
tragic
event
when
a
house
burned
to
the
ground
because
Rural
Metro
firefighters
could
not
find
the
right
street.
A
large
portion
of
the
treasury
went
toward
renovating
the
street
signs
and
using
reflective
lettering
on
these
and
the
standard
mailboxes
to
increase
visibility at
night.
Another
early
move
was
to
convince
the
County
to
close
off
the
streets
leading
north
from
River
Road
during
the
development
of
Heatherwood
Hills,
which
lies
to
the
north
of
Flecha
#5.
The
comfort
and
safety
of
those
living
on
the "four streets",
as
the
project
was
called,
was
vastly
increased
then
trucks
had
to
take
alternate
routes,
one
of
which
was
built
by
Wood
Brothers
to
create
a
construction
entrance
to
the
new
subdivision.
Formation
of
the
new
committees
and
new
attitudes
did
not
occur
a
moment
too
soon.
Early
in
1983,
then
District
One
Supervisor
Conrad
Joyner
and
County
Transportation
Director
Chuck
Huckleberry
approached
the
Board
about
paving
all
of
Flecha’s
roads.
With
maintenance
of the
dirt
roads
becoming
more
and
more
difficult
as buried
utilities
were
constantly
exposed
and
ruptured,
the
idea
appealed
to most
residents
surveyed.
A single
improvement
district,
something
of a
departure
from
the
usual
smaller
ones,
was
about
to
be formed
and
the
County
offered
minimal
cost
because
of government
EPA
grants
and
some
materials
available
from
other
projects.
Plans
were
underway
when
the
floods
in the
fall
of 1983
put
everything
on hold
as
the
County
had
to rebuild
bridges
and
roads,
as well
as create
retention
basins
and
other
methods
of controlling
the
flow
of water
downhill.
The
next
major
event
was
the
development
of
La
Paloma
Resort
entering
the
community
to
the
north
and
west
of
the
Flechas.
Relations
with
other
area
homeowners'
groups
proved
to
be
of
great
value
during
this
time.
After
talking
with
Supervisors
and
other
groups
and
seeing
the
drastic
zoning
and
building
code
changes
proposed
by
La Paloma,
FCHOA
joined
with
others
to form
the
Foothills
Coalition,
which
eventually
caused
major
modifications
to
the
original
designs
for
the
resort.
Thousands
of
signatures
were
collected
and
hundreds
of
residents
attended
hearings
and
meetings,
eventually
forcing
the
developers
to
decrease
density,
limit
building
heights
to
one
story
above
ridge
lines
and
create
retention
basins
for
flood
control
from
the
water
hazards
on
the
golf
course.
The
result
has
been
an
attractive
and
unobtrusive
addition
to
the
foothills
landscape.
During
this
time,
following
the
problems
caused
by
the
floods,
FCHOA
was
instrumental
in
influencing
a
new
ordinance
regarding
septic
tanks.
When
county
health
officials
proposed
that
septic
tanks
be
cleaned
out
every
three
years,
many
residents
of
communities
above
the
valley
were
alarmed.
While
everyone
agreed
that
leaching
fields
should
not
be
close
to
water
resources,
there
seemed
no
problem
with
systems
several
hundred
feet
above
the
water
table.
The
Board
wrote
a
letter
to
the
Supervisors
and
health
officials
recommending
that,
apart
from
areas
subject
to
sheet
flooding,
septic
systems
are
cleaned
only
as
needed
or
upon
sale
of
the
property,
similar
to
the
law
requiring
termite
inspection
as
part
of
sales.
This was
adopted
unanimously
and FCHOA
was thanked
for its
solution to
the problem.
Meanwhile,
the paving
project
languished
and nothing
was
done.
The
next
chapter
in
the
saga
was
the
widening
of
Swan
Road
from
Fort
Lowell
north
to
Sunrise,
which
involved
some
major
changes
in
the
Flechas.
Several
major
problems
existed:
the
roadway
needed
to
be
modified
in
grade
to
improve
sight
lines;
Calle
Barril
would
present
a
problem
with
its
then
offset
egress
off
Swan;
lowering
one
of
the
major
hills
would
mean
moving
several
driveways
off Swan
to other streets.
The
Board
worked
with
County
design
engineers
and
an
excellent
solution
was
reached
on
each
of
these
problems.
Property
owners
paid
nothing
for
their
new
driveways,
others
were
compensated
for
property
taken
to
create
a
feeder
road
west
of
Swan,
and
the
County
donated
a
number
of
plants
to
re-landscape
many
properties.
A
postscript
involved
one
homeowner
involved
in
the
driveway
moving
who
also
owned
a
lot
just
to
the
north
of
Calle
del
Pantera,
one
of
the
streets
flooded
in
1983.
The
Board
suggested
to
Chuck
Huckelberry
that
he
give
this
individual
some
additional
planting—and
a fair price—for
the lot,
which
is now
a retention
basin.
Thus,
Pantera
no longer
presents
a flooding
problem,
nor do
several
other
areas
protected
by the
retention
basins
at La
Paloma.
As
work
on
Swan
was
progressing,
another
problem
surfaced
alter
a
fatal
accident
on
River
Road
at
Dead
Man's
Curve.
The
County
asked
a private
engineering
firm
to
design
a solution
to
the
constant
problems
on
this
section
of
road,
which
resulted
in
a plan
to
create
four
lanes
and
a
new
right
of
way
right
through
a number
of
homes
to
the
south
of
River
Road.
FCHOA
again
joined
a
coalition
with
these
homeowners
and
others
concerned
about
the
threat
of
making
River
into
a major
east-west
artery
at
great
expense.
The
result
was
an
acceptable
modification
by
County
engineers
to
straighten
the
curve
and
add
turnout
lanes,
as well
as the
limiting
of
the right
of way
at Craycroft
to prevent a major
arterial
at
that location.
These
were
some
of the
major
battles
of the
eighties,
which
ended
with
a
constantly
growing
membership,
Boards
with
the
experience
and
enthusiasm
to
take
on
big
projects
and
a
well-managed
organization.
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