An independent homeowner updateBlackstone · Brea, California

Two years.
Same board.
Their decisions.

The same five directors have run Blackstone since June 5, 2024. They changed management, landscapers and security providers, and financed a new camera system with debt. Today, maintenance problems persist, basic contracts remain unavailable and homeowners’ questions go unanswered. This community is living with this board’s decisions. Homeowners are paying the bills. They deserve to know what we’ve learned.

Here from the candidate statement?

The mailed statement focused on three issues:

The records behind each are here.

Review the three issues

We’re an independent group of Blackstone homeowners — not affiliated with the board, HOAWorks or any vendor. We’re not against safety, landscaping, patrol or management. We’re for decisions made in the open, with records homeowners can actually see.

The next
chapter.

Since homeowners began asking questions earlier this year, more records have surfaced. This update brings together the vendor changes, financial commitments, maintenance concerns and unanswered questions those records reveal.

01Landscaping + fire clearance

The landscapers changed.
Costs rose.
Fire-clearance problems persisted.

In July 2025, this board replaced Blackstone’s longtime landscaper. The transition brought an unbudgeted $300,000 obligation. Spending stayed above budget in 2026, while recurring fire-clearance problems culminated in a formal correction notice.

A $300,000 bill. Then more overruns.

At a public meeting, the board said Park West “sent us a $300,000 bill.” That obligation accounts for most of the $362,000 charged to Landscape Repairs in 2025 against a $20,000 budget.

The overruns continued. In the first five months of 2026, landscaping cost nearly $390,000 against approximately $276,000 budgeted — roughly $113,000 over budget.

Review the transition records and financial statements

The fire-clearance problems kept returning.

Fire Department records produced by the City of Brea show a March 2025 complaint under the prior landscaper that was resolved within about six weeks.

After the vendor change:

  • October 2025: Debris left behind after tree trimming.
  • February 2026: A previously cleared slope flagged again for inadequate defensible space.
  • April–May 2026: Overgrowth, dead grass, debris piles and obstructed drainage. Conditions remained non-compliant a month later, and management told the Fire Department it was dissatisfied with the work.
  • September 2026: Further vegetation complaints, with management questioning whether earlier work had been completed.
  • October 1, 2026: A formal, fee-bearing 30-day correction notice.
Read the Fire Department records

This board owes homeowners answers.

  • How did it cancel Park West without budgeting for the $300,000 obligation?
  • What qualified the replacement — and why have the bids, the selection process and the signed contract never been produced to homeowners?
  • If management acknowledged unsatisfactory work in May, why is the same vendor still maintaining our community?
  • Why has the current landscaping contract still not been produced?

The board replaced Park West. Homeowners got higher costs and recurring problems. The board must account for both.

02Landscaper licensing

The Association says “licensed.”
The records identify a different company.

Which legal company did the Association hire to maintain Blackstone? The signed contract should identify it. Homeowners have requested that contract for more than a year. It still has not been produced.

The license belongs to a different entity.

License the Association citesSole proprietorshipPerris
≠
Company identified as doing the workSeparate LLCOrange

Secretary of State and City of Brea records identify a separate LLC, with a different owner and address from the cited license holder. On its own Brea business-license application, the state contractor-license field is blank.

Public-record searches also returned no pesticide-applicator business license for the LLC, despite reports of its crews applying chemicals on community slopes.

Repeated assurances. The same mismatched license.

Management and the Association’s attorney have repeatedly told homeowners the landscaper is licensed. The number they cite belongs to the sole proprietorship, not the LLC.

Management said it was “working to obtain the contracts, licenses and permits.” More than a year later, homeowners still lack the documentation needed to verify those assurances.

Three accounts of how the landscaper was hired.

  • The attorney: A subcontractor arrangement involving another company whose winning bid was later released.
  • Management: A competitive selection among three bidders.
  • The board: Separate landscapers hired one after another.

Those accounts have not been reconciled. The contract remains unavailable.

Homeowners bear the financial stakes.

Licensing and insurance must apply to the company performing the work. A license belonging to another entity does not establish that this LLC is licensed. Nor does a license number establish insurance coverage.

If required coverage is missing or does not apply, the Association could face costs homeowners ultimately fund.

Produce the documents behind the assurances.

The signed contract. The license covering the contracted entity’s work. The applicable insurance documentation.

The Association has repeatedly said the vendor is qualified. It should be able to show homeowners the basis for that claim.

Compare the licensing and business records
03Camera debt + approval

A camera system financed with debt.
No final open-session vote.
No finished rules.

The board committed Blackstone to a debt-financed camera system. Homeowners are paying recurring charges, but the deal never returned for a final open-session vote, the access policy remains unfinished, and the full contract and software-licensing agreement remain unavailable.

Nearly $10,000 a month against a $0 budget.

The non-cancelable financing carries payments of roughly $9,000–$10,000 a month, alongside a long-term software commitment.

In April 2026, the Association recorded $9,899.56 against $0 budgeted for that line. Homeowners are funding an obligation absent from that budget.

Review the camera charges on the financial statements

A major commitment without a final public vote.

The deal was never brought back for final approval in open session. Blackstone’s bylaws restrict contracts extending beyond one year without membership approval. The board still needs to explain its authority for this commitment.

Homeowners have requested the full camera contract and software-licensing agreement. Neither has been produced in full.

Payments began before the rules were finished.

Months after installation began, homeowners still lack a clear accounting of how many cameras were installed, where they are, who can access footage and how it may be used. The access-and-use policy remains unfinished.

The contract and licensing agreement would establish the scope, cost and terms. A finalized policy would establish the rules. Homeowners are paying while still waiting for both.

This is additional security spending.

Blackstone already spends roughly $325,000 a year on patrol. The change from Allied to A-Source appears in the minutes as a report rather than an open-session contract approval.

The board should explain what each service delivers and how it evaluates the results of the combined spending.

This board owes homeowners answers.

  • What authority supported the multi-year commitment without a final open-session vote or membership approval?
  • How are the unbudgeted payments being funded?
  • When will homeowners receive the full contract, licensing agreement and camera inventory?
  • When will the access-and-use policy be finalized and voted on?

The board committed the money before giving homeowners a complete account of the cost, the authority or the rules. The payments are underway. The explanations are overdue.

Review the camera agreements and records
04How we got here

These decisions happened
under the same board.

The five directors serving today were seated on June 5, 2024. During their tenure, Blackstone changed its management company, landscaping arrangements, patrol provider and camera system.

  1. Current board seated

    The five directors serving today take their seats.

  2. Management + spending controls change

    HOAWorks is hired and a spending control is removed.

    The board replaces Blackstone’s management company with HOAWorks. At the same transition meeting, it votes to remove management’s monetary authorization limit — the cap governing how much management could spend without further board approval.

  3. Landscaping transition

    Park West is terminated and a transition obligation follows.

    The board terminates Park West on 30 days’ notice. It later acknowledges an approximately $300,000 transition-related financial obligation.

  4. Patrol provider changes

    Blackstone moves from Allied to A-Source.

    The public minutes identify the change as a report rather than a contract-approval vote.

  5. Camera agreements executed

    The camera purchase and financing arrangements are entered into.

  6. Formal fire correction notice

    Brea Fire issues a 30-day correction notice.

    The notice addresses brush-clearance and defensible-space conditions.

The timeline establishes when these decisions and events occurred. The linked records provide the details behind each.

Review the board and management records
05The financial picture

Beyond the individual decisions,
the budget raises wider questions.

The landscaping and camera commitments form part of a broader financial picture.

The Association’s statements also show scheduled reserve contributions not being made, landscape repairs far above budget and legal spending substantially above plan.

Money budgeted for reserves was not contributed.

Reserves help pay for future major repairs and replacements.

From January 2025 through May 2026, the Association budgeted approximately $600,000 in reserve contributions. The financial statements show $0 contributed during that period.

Scheduled reserve contributions were not made.

Period: January 2025–May 2026. This describes contributions during the reporting period, not the Association’s total reserve-account balance.

Homeowners need an explanation of why the contributions were not made and a plan for addressing the shortfall.

Landscape repairs cost far more than budgeted.

The 2025 Blackstone-class financial statement records approximately $362,000 in Landscape Repairs against a $20,000 budget.

Landscape Repairs cost approximately 18 times the budget.
One block = $20KFilled: $362K

Budget approximately $20,000; actual approximately $362,000. Period: 2025. Accounting class: Blackstone. This is a separate accounting line from the 2026 landscaping expense above. The Association maintains separate Blackstone, Amber and Sorano accounting classes; this comparison applies specifically to the Blackstone class, not combined totals.

The statement alone does not explain everything included in this expense. The Association should provide an itemized explanation and the supporting approvals.

Legal services also exceeded the budget.

Blackstone recorded approximately $77,000 in legal services against a $25,000 budget in 2025.

Legal spending was roughly three times the budget.

Budget Actual · $0–$400K scale

Budget approximately $25,000; actual approximately $77,000. Period: 2025.

Homeowners need an explanation of the major drivers of that expense and the Association’s plan for managing ongoing legal costs.

The question is how the Association is managing the whole picture.

How are operating expenses, transition obligations and debt payments being funded? Why were scheduled reserve contributions not made? What does the current financial plan provide for future repairs?

Each figure above has its own reporting period and accounting category. These amounts should not be added together as a single total.

Read the financial statements
06Contracts + records

Homeowners are still waiting
for basic agreements.

Homeowners have repeatedly requested executed contracts and supporting records covering landscaping, security and other major Association expenditures.

Many remain outstanding. Some homeowners have retained their own counsel and spent thousands of dollars trying to obtain basic Association records.

Without the contracts, basic questions remain unanswered.

Homeowners cannot fully verify:

  • Which legal company was hired.
  • What the Association agreed to pay.
  • What services were promised.
  • How long the agreement runs.
  • What cancellation rights, insurance and other protections apply.

These agreements are funded by homeowner assessments. Access to them is essential to understanding the decisions described on this page.

Producing the records would help resolve the questions.

The Association should provide the outstanding executed agreements, related approvals and supporting financial records, with a clear schedule for anything still being assembled.

Review the records requests and Association responses
07What needs to change

Blackstone needs
professional management
and accountable oversight.

The issues on this page concern how the Association selects vendors, approves commitments, controls spending, maintains the community and responds to homeowners.

The board and management should provide

  • A clear financial plan

    Explain the major budget variances, account for the missed reserve contributions and show how current obligations and future maintenance will be funded.

  • Documented vendor selection and verification

    Identify the contracted legal entities, verify applicable licensing and insurance, and document the selection and approval process.

  • A plan for outstanding maintenance conditions

    Explain what work is required, who is responsible, when it will be completed and how completion will be verified.

  • Major decisions made in the open

    Provide clear agendas, approval records and minutes so homeowners can trace significant commitments.

  • Timely access to records

    Produce executed contracts, current financial statements and other requested Association records.

Homeowners should not have to hire lawyers just to find out how our money was spent, who was hired or who approved it.

08What homeowners can do

Read the records.
Ask clear questions.
Participate.

The records are only useful if homeowners use them. Here are concrete things any homeowner can do.

  1. 01

    Review the documents behind the three issues.

    Start with the landscaping and fire records, the licensing comparison and the camera agreements.

    Open the document archive
  2. 02

    Request the outstanding records and current financials.

    Ask for the executed vendor agreements, related approvals, missing financial statements and updated meeting minutes.

    Ask the board to explain the current financial position, reserve contributions and performance of the HOAWorks management arrangement.

  3. 03

    Attend board meetings.

    Read the agenda, attend open session and ask about the corrective plans, financial oversight and vendor decisions affecting the community.

    Confirm meeting dates and attendance details through the member portal or HOAWorks.

  4. 04

    Participate in the election.

    Review the candidates, consider the records and vote.

  5. 05

    Share your experience.

    Have you encountered missing records, unanswered questions, delayed responses or maintenance concerns?

    Email us with what happened and when. Please indicate whether we may share your account publicly, anonymously or only retain it for the homeowner record.

    Email us
09The source material

Read the
documents yourself.

You should not have to take our word for any of this.

The archive brings together Association records, financial statements, public filings, City records and other source material supporting this page. Documents are also linked alongside the relevant issues above.

01Landscaping transition + contracts
02Landscaper identity + licensing
03Fire safety + correction notices
04Security + camera agreements
05Board + management decisions
06Financial statements + records requests
10Questions + answers

A closer
look.

More context behind the decisions, spending and records.

Isn’t this the previous board’s fault?

The five directors serving today were seated on June 5, 2024.

The management change, landscaping transitions, patrol change and camera commitments described here occurred during their tenure.

This page focuses on those decisions and the records supporting them.

Didn’t the old landscaper leave the fire problems behind?

City records show a March 2025 complaint under the prior landscaper that was cleared within weeks.

Later complaints, including the same slope being cited again and the October 1, 2026 correction notice, followed the vendor change.

The City records produced do not show an outstanding prior-vendor notice carrying forward into the current arrangement.

Does “$0 contributed” mean Blackstone has no reserves?

No. It means the financial statements show no reserve contributions during the stated reporting period, despite approximately $600,000 being budgeted.

The total reserve balance is a separate figure.

Are Landscape Repairs and Landscaping the same expense?

No. They are separate accounting lines.

The approximately $362,000 Landscape Repairs figure concerns the Blackstone class in 2025. The nearly $390,000 Landscaping figure concerns January–May 2026.

Each should be reviewed against its own budget, period and supporting records.

Why does the licensing discrepancy matter?

The Association cites a contractor license belonging to a sole proprietorship, while City records identify a separate LLC associated with the landscaping operation.

Homeowners need the executed contract and applicable licensing documentation to establish who was hired and what authorization covers the work.

Is this opposition to cameras or patrol?

No. Homeowners should be able to understand the services they fund, the commitments made on their behalf, the approval process and the rules governing camera access and use.

What records are still being requested?

Executed vendor agreements, supporting licensing and insurance documentation, related board approvals, financial records and other Association records needed to verify the decisions described here.

The records-request documents identify the specific requests and responses.

What is this group asking for?

Professional management, real financial oversight, properly vetted vendors, clear records and major decisions made in the open.