Red Rock Ranch Homeowners,
We, the Board, would like to take this opportunity to address misinformation, concerns, accusations, rumors, and claims regarding the lawsuit and the Special Assessment.
In March of 2025 a lawsuit was filed with El Paso county by Craig Pryor, homeowner. He is listed as the sole plaintiff in this lawsuit. The Red Rock Ranch Homeowners Association (the RRR HOA) is listed as the defendant. All homeowners in Red Rock Ranch are members of the Homeowners Association and in the opinion of our legal representation defendants.
The lawsuit alleges the Covenants terminated in January of 2010, they were not extended, and the HOA doesn’t follow the entirety of the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (CCIOA). It seeks a declaratory judgment on these points. Mr. Pryor also claims unspecified damages, seeks payment of his attorney fees, and requests a trial by jury.
Our position in this dispute is: the 2010 Board took reasonable actions to restore the Covenants. There is no proof that the Covenants were not reinstated to the 2010 standards for our HOA. Legal documents have not been presented to the HOA, by anyone, from any court, supporting the position that the Covenants are not valid. Until a court makes a ruling to the contrary, the Covenants are valid and we will continue to abide by them. The RRR HOA is an exempt HOA, as provided by and allowed for in the provisions of CCIOA. The RRR HOA adheres to selected statutes of CCIOA as required by Colorado law.
Your board determined most of you believe covenants are a key factor in maintaining your property values. The Board would be negligent in our duty to you, the homeowners, if we had simply caved to Mr.Pryor’s claims and abandoned the Covenants when there is no legal justification. Defending the community from these accusations requires legal representation to advise us, and take us thru trial. The Board filed a counter-suit against Mr.Pryor in an attempt to recoup the cost of our lawyer fees which have come directly out of the HOA’s limited funds.
To date the Board has spent $32,875.25 fighting this claim. We have paid these fees directly from the coffers of the HOA because the insurance company has denied our claim three times only offering “pre-existing conditions” for their reasons. This money could have been used on community improvement projects such as refurbishing the tennis courts and park but instead went to lawyer fees.
The Board participated in court ordered mediation with Mr.Pryor from 9:30am to 6:30pm on August 21, 2025. The outcome was no resolution to any part of the dispute and further depletion of our meager funds. A proposal was made by Mr.Pryor during mediation. This proposal did not include any offer to drop the lawsuit. Mr.Pryor, as of this date, has not responded to the Boards counter proposal sent during mediation and later to his lawyer after the session ended.
Before filling his lawsuit we have no record of Mr.Pryor requesting a public meeting, public hearing, or neutral third party mediation with the Board to discuss a resolution to his dispute. The Board will not conduct business or negotiations in private meetings with homeowners on matters that pertain to the common interests of the entire Association.
The Special Assessment was not something the Board choose to do lightly. We are asking for the support of the entire HOA to have funds for the defense of the entire HOA. That money will pay for the continuing costs of a lawyer if this is to proceed thru trial. If the Assessment does not pass the HOA may have to go to court without representation.
Many of you received a letter from fellow homeowner Ketch Nowacki which appears to believe the “process of reinstating the covenants” would resolve the whole issue. There is no proof such an action would have any impact on the lawsuit. As the only plaintiff only Mr.Pryor has the power to drop his suit. Until we receive notice this has happened we must proceed with preparations for a trial.
If the HOA loses the lawsuit we will still be an HOA, our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws are still in place, but we will not have Covenants. There will be no restrictions on short-term rentals, hobby farms, number and types of structures on a lot, or businesses. Creating and implementing a new set of covenants requires voluntary agreement of 100% of homeowners in the association. One homeowner refusing to sign means no new covenants. On top of that we will need to bring our organization in line with CCIOA. Becoming compliant we project will cost upwards of $80,000 for the implementation of policy amendments and fiduciary studies. Keeping up with on going costs would also most likely force a change from the voluntary $75.00 dues to much costlier mandatory dues.
For 15 years our covenants have been a valid acceptable set of standards agreed to by multiple member votes. In an effort to ensure those standards continue and to help maintain your property values in the future we will prepare a ballot to seek an affirmation by the HOA members that the 2010 Covenants (as further amended and filed with the county) have been and continue to be a positive, underlying resource related to their property ownership. The Board has a responsibility to make every effort to ensure we have the funds to effectively defend ourselves.
The Board is committed to the Covenants. We are committed to serving this community. We have been and continue to be committed to moving forward together in a manner beneficial to the community as a whole. If you have further questions or concerns please visit the HOA website rrrhoa.org and email the Board.
