The Sycamore Ridge Homeowners Association has convened an emergency review of its governing documents. The decorative boulder has been moved again. The HOA requests that residents refrain from speculating about what this means.

SYCAMORE RIDGE, HARLAN’S CREEK — The mailbox cluster at the corner of Laurel Court and Sycamore Ridge Drive has been displaced on seven separate occasions over the past three weeks. Each time, it has been returned to its original position. Each time, it has subsequently moved again. The Sycamore Ridge Homeowners Association confirmed Tuesday that it has convened an emergency review of its governing documents and that no existing bylaw was found to address the situation directly, indirectly, or in spirit.

Property manager Diane Howell, who has managed the Sycamore Ridge common areas for eleven years, described the broader pattern of incidents in a written statement provided to this network. In addition to the mailbox displacements, three recycling bins on the Laurel Court side of the common area were found arranged in a formation Howell characterised as ‘deliberate and frankly insulting.’ She did not elaborate on what the formation communicated or to whom. She noted that the bins had been returned to their designated positions and that the formation had reappeared the following morning in a slightly different orientation, which she described as ‘an escalation.’ One decorative boulder — installed in 2019 as part of a landscaping refresh approved by a 22-to-1 vote — was found fourteen feet from its original placement, resting in the middle of the guest parking area, with no visible means of transit and no damage to the surrounding mulch bed.

Community Notice

We have reviewed the CC&Rs in their entirety. We have reviewed the supplemental guidelines. We have reviewed the 2021 addendum regarding temporary structures. Nothing covers this. We are not saying nothing will ever cover this.

— Diane Howell, Sycamore Ridge Property Manager

Arthur Bellamy of the Department of Cryptid Affairs Harlan’s Creek Field Office confirmed that a report had been received and was under review, and that a formal classification determination would be issued in due course. He noted that the activity as described was ‘consistent with documented patterns’ and that residents should avoid placing additional decorative boulders in the common area until the review was complete. He did not specify what placing additional boulders might precipitate. A DCA spokesperson at the regional level confirmed only that Form DCA-9 had been filed and that processing times were currently running between six and eight weeks. Residents of Sycamore Ridge have been experiencing the activity for three.

Barry Hutchins, a retired resident of Laurel Court who submitted a fourteen-page written account to both the HOA and this network, identified the entity as a ‘classic territorial displacement wraith operating in a low-frequency aggression cycle’ and recommended the HOA post a formal notice of grievance on the community bulletin board. The bulletin board, it should be noted, was among the items displaced. Mr. Hutchins’ account included two photographs described as evidence. The photographs show the guest parking area at night. The boulder is not visible in either photograph. Mr. Hutchins attributes this to ‘phase concealment,’ which he describes as standard. The DCA has received his report. Processing times are six to eight weeks. The HOA has received his report. They have not confirmed a timeline.

At its emergency session, the board voted 4-to-1 to table a motion proposing the activity be formally designated a nuisance under Section 7.4 of the community guidelines, which covers persistent interference with shared amenities. The dissenting vote came from treasurer Nancy Whitfield, who noted that Section 7.4 requires the nuisance to be attributable to a resident or resident’s guest, and that ‘whatever this is, it does not appear on the unit roster.’ The board confirmed it would seek external legal counsel. It also confirmed that Sycamore Ridge’s community insurance policy covers vandalism, acts of God, and structural movement due to subsidence. A call to the insurer to confirm whether the boulder qualified under any of these categories was placed on Tuesday afternoon. The insurer has not yet returned it.

This is Hal Ridgeway. Authorities continue to urge caution. The boulder has been returned to the mulch bed. The HOA has asked residents not to make eye contact with it until legal counsel has been obtained. Reporting continues.