With three newly elected board members and a new general manager, the Fairbanks Ranch Homeowner’s Association is looking to move forward after a challenging year that included a closely contested and failed board recall attempt in the spring.
Per the California Corporations Code, a HOA recall process begins when 5% of homeowners sign and submit a petition to the board requesting a special meeting for a recall. In December, the board was served with the recall petition signed by 41 homeowners, representing more than 5% of the community’s 612 lots. The HOA had to bear the cost of the recall election, which was held two weeks before the regular May 24 election to elect three new board members.
The results of the unprecedented recall were nearly evenly divided, with 182 people voting against the recall and 150 votes cast in favor.
After the recall failed, no further action was taken and six new candidates vied for the three available board seats. Candidates Richard Petretti, Hans Stork and James Haas were elected, joining Mark Lindsey and Majid Ahmadi on the board. In their first board meeting in June, Petretti was voted as the board’s new president.
In his short time in the leadership position, Petretti believes the board is working together well for the benefit of the entire community—he said that doesn’t mean they can’t or won’t disagree, but they are headed in a positive direction.
“I think everyone on the board wants to move forward and I think most of the community wants to leave that in the rearview mirror,” Petretti said of the events of the previous months.
The area that now encompasses Fairbanks Ranch was once a Spanish land grant, purchased by silent movie star Douglas Fairbanks in the 1920s. He and his actress wife Mary Pickford made “Rancho Zorro” their home—Fairbanks built his own lake and dam to irrigate his groves of Valencia oranges. The lake and its Lilian Rice-designed Pump House remain among the community’s main amenities, in addition to the lakeside clubhouse, where a large portrait of a dashing Fairbanks in his Zorro costume greets visitors in the lobby.
For many years the community has been wanting to update that clubhouse and the diverse opinions on those renovations became one of the factors that led to the recall effort. The board’s clubhouse design plans and process reinforced some members’ larger concerns with the board’s transparency, member input and governance.
At this point, the clubhouse bathrooms have been given a modern refresh and the staff offices and board conference room have also been updated. The new board members will bring fresh perspective to the table on how to proceed with the rest of the clubhouse, which plays host to events such as happy hours, holiday celebrations and a community dining series such as the upcoming “Night in Spain”.
A Fairbanks Ranch resident for 18 years, Petretti said for many years he kept his head down but he started attending board meetings and getting involved. Friends suggested he run for the board and he felt he could be helpful to his community, bringing his experience as a lawyer and as the chair of his co-op building in New York.
After the election he was selected as the new president and Haas as vice president. Stork will serve as the board’s CFO and former president Lindsey as the board secretary. The board will work with new Fairbanks Ranch General Manager David Norvell who was hired shortly before the election.
Looking ahead Petretti said he hopes to “pull everyone together” and take a systematic approach to managing the community, making sure maintenance is handled efficiently and that projects are done effectively, getting the best value for all property owners in the “lovely” neighborhood they call home.
“It’s really important to work together and remember we’re all neighbors,” Petretti said. “We are a community.”
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