Scott Templeton, HOA Board Chair
The last three months of Covid closures and pandemic social distancing have certainly been an interesting time period here in Albuquerque. In our neighborhood it has led to a daily sight of residents walking for exercise, strollers out in the warm afternoon and the sound of children laughing and playing most afternoons. All wonderful activities in Seven Bar North that sometimes get lost in the hustle and bustle of daily life. During our walks, Wiley and I have seen the painted message rocks and chalk writing on the sidewalks with encouraging words. They bring a smile to my face. A big Seven Bar North ‘Congratulations’ to all our graduates – the car parades through the neighborhood have been a nice celebratory activity!

Hopefully everyone has had a chance to walk down our trail between Seven Bar and Sierrita. It is the longest of our trails and its refurbishment was completed in March. The overall feedback is that the new rock, plants and trail path make a wonderful stroll in the cool mornings and evenings. One improvement that we’ve noted is that the path seems easier for strollers. Check it out and let us know what you think by email or by contacting Corder and Company. We are looking at completing the trail from Farola to Seven Bar in the autumn. Thank you to John Currier and the Landscape Team for their efforts in managing the upgrade.

The other big news this spring is the proposed development of the vacant lot west of Carreta Drive. The planned effort is for a luxury apartment complex that includes four 4-story buildings (total of 208 units) covering the southern end of the vacant lot. The HOA was notified of the plans in March and since then there have been two virtual meetings with the engineering firm discussing the concerns of the neighborhood. The last meeting included over 30 residents of Seven Bar voicing their concerns. There will be another meeting on June 18th with the engineering firm to further discuss concerns from the homeowners. These neighborhood meetings are part of the Albuquerque Planning IDO process and are the step before proceeding to the DRB. The most current details of the project and meeting minutes can be found on our website in the Announcements area. The role of the HOA in this process is to enable communication between our residents and the engineering firm.  We encourage any resident of our community to attend these meetings and have their concerns heard and questions answered. One item to note is that the HOA is primarily communicating via email.  We currently only have approximately 75% of our residents’ email addresses. So, please contact Corder and Company to provide your email if you haven’t done so already.

Speaking of the website, we hope that you love the new look and feel. Our Communication Team Chair, Nena Perkin, has been busily at work upgrading the site. She is now embarking on our next phase of the project which is to create a Member’s Only area where we can provide content and discussions that are private to Seven Bar Residents. Stay tuned for new capabilities on our website regarding these changes. The HOA Board would like to give a huge “Thank You” to Nena for all her work on our website.

The Communications team has also established a Seven Bar North social media presence to increase communication with everyone.

On a final note, as the spring weather continues toward summer and home projects become more prevalent while we social distance please remember to check your items against the HOA Covenants. Painting, raising cinder block walls, new stucco on the house all require ACC review and approval. Please remember to complete your application before starting work. Approval typically is very quick – an answer provided within a week.