GARDENING GUIDELINES FOR GRAN VISTA
(Approved by Gran Vista Zona Central, October 28, 2019)
OBJECTIVE: To have a document approved by the General Meeting of the community of owners (Central Zone) where it is defined what type of garden we want and how it should be managed.
CONTENTS:
– Guiding principles for garden design (Garden Policy)
– Garden committee. Objective. Composition. Operations.
– Action procedures (problems, requests, extraordinary actions).
– Classification of gardening work. Financing.
Guiding principles for the Gran Vista Gardens
– To create open spaces that invite use and because of their aesthetics and design offer a special attraction and added value to Gran Vista.
– Combining large areas of grass and trees that allow for the privileged views of our location while providing shade in the hot summer and shelter for small birds that enrich our garden with their presence.
– To have floral species that give color and charm to the whole urbanization.
– Optimize the irrigation systems to minimize water consumption.
– To prioritize, when renewing plantations, the use of species that adapt well to the Gran Vista climate and do not need large amounts of water.
– To have at one’s disposal lookout points that are equipped for relaxing and enjoying the views of our urbanization.
– Have adequate shade areas in the pool area.
– Ensure the safety of garden users by checking large trees, especially after periods of rain.
– Act on the plants that generate problems to the houses or facilities, to avoid damages to them.
Garden Committee
Objective: To have a work team, made up of the owners of the urbanization, that is in coordination with the Gran Vista Gardeners to ensure that the Guiding Principles or Garden Policy are maintained at all times, and that the approved procedures regarding the management of the gardens are complied with. It will also be used to propose improvements
in the design of the gardens, in accordance with the aforementioned principles, as well as proposals for solutions to problems or conflicts that may arise.
Composition: The maximum number of members will be 7. If possible, at least 3 members should be from the Central Zone. Priority will be given to the representation of the greatest number of Phases, with a minimum of 3 represented. If there are more candidates than the maximum number of members, they will be elected by Zona Central. The Committee shall
have a Chairman, elected annually by the members of the Committee, who shall be in charge of calling the meetings and acting as moderator in them. There may also be a Secretary who will prepare the minutes of the meetings. If the members of the Committee agree, the Chairman may also act as Secretary, if necessary.
Operation: There shall be two ordinary meetings per year, which shall be called for a date set a few weeks prior to the Zona Central meetings, with the purpose of preparing a report to be presented at said Zona Central meeting by the Chairman of the Committee with all the issues related to the management of the gardens in the months elapsed since the previous Zona Central meeting. At these meetings, the members of the Committee will visit the points or zones related to possible problems and prepare proposals for action.
In addition to the ordinary meetings, the Chairman of the Committee may convene extraordinary meetings to deal with any conflict or problems that may have arisen or to agree on urgent action.
The Garden Committee may be advised by a technician from outside the urbanization, an expert in gardening or tree species, in addition to the head of the Gran Vista Gardeners.
The proposals or actions analyzed by the Committee may be on its own initiative or by requests coming from a phase, through their President, or coming from the President of the Zona Central. They can be classified into three types:
Major proposals: when they are related to important changes in garden management, such as cutting down or transplanting a tree or significantly modifying the design of a certain garden area, or fitting out a corner-view.
– Minor proposals: those related to easily reversible changes, such as replanting some shrub or flower species in some areas.
– Urgent matters: Those which, for safety reasons, must be acted on as soon as possible or those which should not wait for their solution for several months, until the next Zona Central or Phase meeting. Examples of these issues are trees or other types of plants that are at risk of falling down or that are clearly damaging some housing or infrastructure, such as blocking the sewage system, raising the ground, invasion of roots inside the housing, branches that hit the
facade or roof, etc.
Procedures for action
Depending on the type of case involved, the procedures for action varies:
Major Proposals: If they are in the common area of a Phase, they must be approved at a Phase meeting, and for this they must be part of the meeting agenda. Once the proposal has been approved, the President of the Phase notifies the President of the Garden Committee, who may call an extraordinary meeting to analyze the proposal of the Phase, or may coordinate with the rest of the members of the Committee by e-mail to agree on the approval of the decision by the Phase. Otherwise, the subject must be approved by Zona Central. If the proposals are located in the common area of the whole urbanization they must be approved by Zona Central. In both cases, once the proposal has been definitively approved, the Chairman of the Garden Committee will inform the person in charge of the Gran Vista Gardeners in order to execute the proposal.
Minor proposals: Both the Phases and the Garden Committee can execute them directly, without the need for any other type of consensus.
Urgent matters: If they are in a common area of the urbanization the proposals of the Garden Committee must be approved by the Zona Central President. If they are in the common area of a Phase the Committee’s proposal must be approved by the President of the Phase. With the aforementioned approvals, the Chairman of the Garden Committee will communicate this to the person in charge of the Gran Vista Gardeners in order to execute these agreements as soon as possible.
A PRIVATE HOUSE OWNER CAN IN NO CASE GIVE INSTRUCTIONS TO THE GRAN VISTA GARDENERS, EXCEPT FOR THE GARDEN OF HIS OWN HOME.
If a private individual has a proposal related to common gardens he/she must communicate it to the President of his Phase, or Zona Central if applicable. If it is a major proposal the President will communicate it in turn to the Garden Committee for proposals. This includes proposals for drastic pruning of any type of tree.
Classification of garden work
Ordinary activities (excluding pool work)
– Manual hose irrigation
– Manual open/close drip control
– Mobile sprinklers maintenance
– Automatic irrigation maintenance
– Sweeping
– Pruning
– Fumigations
– Fertilizer
– Restoring deteriorated areas (bald patches of grass, dry plants, etc.)
– Removal of fallen branches (and trees, if applicable)
– Cleaning (maintenance of bins, etc.)
Extraordinary activities
They imply a separate budget, charged to the Zona Central budget, related to materials and machinery or external labor.
– Transplanting large trees
– Installing automatic irrigation
– Significantly modifying the design of a given garden area
– Fitting out of viewing areas (installation of benches, etc.)
– Construction of anti-root wall trenches
Tree felling (unlike the other points this would be within the regular budget, but for its implementation it would have to be coordinated with the Garden Committee).
October 2019
The Garden Committee