Can I or my contractor drive vehicles on the greenbelts?
The greenbelts of Willow Creek HOA #2 are valuable and in many ways fragile. Driving vehicles improperly on the greenbelts is likely to cause soil compaction, damage to turf, irrigation systems and/or paths. Some damage will be immediately evident, such as indented tracks and broken sprinkler heads. Other damage, such a breakage of underground irrigation lines and soil compaction, may not be immediately evident, but may actually be more expensive to remedy.

Greenbelt damage can be costly to repair. Tree removal trucks recently caused $750 in damage to the Trenton Greenbelt, and last summer a crane did $1,200 in damage near the Mineral Clubhouse. Both events were avoidable and were the result of improper or inadequate precautions. In both instances the involved homeowner and/or the contractor were charged for restoration costs.

Homeowners who back to a greenbelt sometimes desire to drive vehicles on the greenbelt to deliver landscaping or construction materials to, or remove trees from their back yards. However, driving on the greenbelt should be the last option, and permission should be requested only when other options are not available. If there is no alternative, greenbelts may be used, but only if (1) approval is first obtained from the Willow Creek HOA #2 Grounds Maintenance Committee, (2) Written notification of approval is received from WCHOA2 property management company (3) ¾-inch plywood is placed where vehicles will drive and park to distribute weight, and (4) irrigation heads are located by WCHOA2 grounds maintenance contractor, clearly marked and avoided. Homeowners requesting greenbelt access should contact Grounds Committee Chairman, Ken Carlson at 303-792-2839 or by email kcarlson@habitatmanagementinc.com.

Why is the turf in some portions of our greenbelts brown during dry conditions?
Our 25-plus acres of greenbelts actually have three independent irrigation systems, each of which is run from two taps. Each system serves a number of controllers or clocks, which in turn runs zones or stations, which then serve over 2,000 sprinkler heads.

Our system has limitations due to its age and the “loop” design originally installed by Writer Homes to save money on water tap fees. Because of this looped system water pressure is limited and we can only run two stations at one time from each loop. During dry years, Denver Water often requires that watering only occur between 6:00 pm and 10:00 am. We can only water six days per week, because the seventh day is our “mow and trim day.” Mowing wet grass leaves tracks and results in “haying.” Due to these time constraints, in some areas we must operate three stations at one time, resulting in lower water pressure in many areas. In other words, our system is running at its maximum practical capacity.

But capacity is not the entire story. Our system is almost 30-years old, and is not designed to “modern” standards. The supplying taps are of smaller diameter resulting in lower water pressures, and there are too few heads to provide the necessary overlapping coverage within many zones. In some cases vegetation from adjacent homeowner shrubs or trees blocks the spray.

We are being aggressive in seeking out problem areas and changing heads – and even adding them- where needed and possible. We have also received an estimate for redesigning and reconstructing our entire irrigation system, in phases over a number of years. The Association does not currently have adequate reserve funds to begin this project. Until we do have adequate reserve funds we will continue to work with and patch the existing system.

The Maintenance Committee has also identified several areas with south-facing slope exposures where xeriscape plantings, in connection with installation of a re-designed irrigation system, can further reduce irrigation. This would allow us to keep smaller bluegrass areas better watered and thus greener.

Until these things can be accomplished the Maintenance Committee hopes that you will understand the brown spots. We also ask that if your home backs to a greenbelt, you will trim your trees and bushes so that they do not interfere with sprinkler operation.