Article I — Definitions

Section 1.01

“ADU” and “JADU” shall mean and refer to an Accessory Dwelling Unit or Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit as defined in Civil Code section 4751 and Sections 65852.2 and 65852.22 of the California Government Code, respectively, and which meets the requirements of those Civil and Government Code sections and other applicable County ordinances.

Section 1.02

“Annexed Property” is a term that means and refers to portions of the Subsequent Phase Property that is later annexed to this Master Declaration and subjected to the Master Association in accordance with the annexation provisions set forth in Article XIV, below.

Section 1.03

“Architectural Review Committee” means the committee created by the Declarant and subsequently administered by the Association in accordance with Article V, below.

Section 1.04

“Architectural Rules” means the Architectural Rules and procedural rules of the Architectural Review Committee, adopted pursuant to Section 5.05, below. Any Architectural Rules adopted by the Board of Directors of the Master Association shall be consistent with the Rio Del Oro Design Guidelines.

Section 1.05

“Articles” means the Articles of Incorporation of the Master Association, which are filed in the Office of the California Secretary of State, as such Articles may be amended from time to time.

Section 1.06

“Assessment” means any Regular, Special, Special Individual or Emergency Assessment made or assessed by the Master Association against an Owner and his or her Lot or Separate Interest in accordance with the provisions of Article IV, below.

Section 1.07

“Board of Directors” or “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Master Association.

Section 1.08

“Bylaws” means the Bylaws of the Master Association; as such Bylaws may be amended from time to time.

Section 1.09

“CalDRE” means and refers to the California Department of Real Estate which regulates real property sales transactions that are subject to the Subdivided Lands Act, California Business & Professions Code section 11000, et seq.

Section 1.10

“City” means the incorporated municipal City of Rancho Cordova, in the County of Sacramento, State of California, and its various departments, divisions, employees and representatives.

Section 1.11

“Commercial” and “Commercial Use” are terms that mean and refer to any development or use of a Separate Interest, Site or Parcel for non-residential purposes and also to that portion of any Site or Parcel that is developed for mixed use (residential and Commercial). As so defined, “Commercial” includes retail, professional office, commercial storage, warehouse, industrial, and other similar non-residential uses authorized by the Architectural Review Committee and by applicable County ordinances and the Entitlements Documents. The commercial spaces or elements of a Mixed-Use Project are also “Commercial Uses” for purposes of this Master Declaration, although Mixed Use Projects remain subject to the jurisdiction of the CalDRE if the Project includes five (5) or more separate interests (see Civil Code section 11010.3).

Section 1.12

“Commercial/Industrial Act” means and refers to the Commercial and Industrial Common Interest Development Act (California Civil Code section 6500 et seq.), as amended from time to time. The Commercial /Industrial Act applies to common interest developments that are exclusively zoned or dedicated to commercial or industrial uses (Civil Code section 6531). There are no commercial/industrial common interest developments in the Initial Covered Property.

Section 1.13

“Commercial Owner” means any Person who is the Owner of a Lot or Parcel that is zoned for development for commercial, industrial, or multi-family uses. Commercial Owners are a sub-set of Merchant Builders.

Section 1.14

“Commercial Supplemental Declaration” means and refers to an instrument Recorded pursuant to Section 14.05, below, and approved by the Master Declarant that solely pertains to a Phase of the Development that is being developed by either the Master Declarant or a Merchant Builder as a Commercial Area and which imposes conditions, covenants, or restrictions or reserves easements in addition to or different from the conditions, covenants, restrictions and easements established in this Master Declaration.

Section 1.15

“Common Expense” means any use of Common Funds authorized by Article IV, below, and includes, without limitation: (i) all expenses or charges reasonably incurred to procure insurance for the protection of the Master Association and its Board of Directors; (ii) the use of Master Association funds to defray the costs of administering the architectural review and approval process and to enforce the private covenants and conditions set forth in this Master Declaration and the Master Association Rules; and (iii) any other expenses incurred by the Master Association in the performance of its functions or in the proper discharge of the responsibilities of the Board as provided in the Governing Documents.

Section 1.16

“Conditions of Approval” means and refers to two documents by that name relating to the Rio Del Oro development, namely the Conditions of Approval presented in the City Council Staff Report applicable to Project Number DD8403, dated August 29, 2016.

Section 1.17

“Condominium” and “Condominium Project” shall be defined as set forth in Civil Code sections 4125 and 6542. There are no Condominium Projects within the Initial Covered Property (as identified in Exhibit “A” of this Master Declaration). In the event that any portion of the Subsequent Phase Property is developed as a Condominium Project, that Project and the Condominium Units and Common Areas therein shall be subject to the Davis-Stirling Act (if it is a residential Condominium Project) or to the Commercial/Industrial Act (if it is a commercial or industrial Condominium Project).

Section 1.18

“County” means the County of Sacramento, State of California, and its various departments, divisions, employees and representatives.

Section 1.19

“Declaration of Annexation” shall have the meaning given to that term in Section 14.04, below. A Declaration of Annexation is the recorded instrument that subjects portions of the Subsequent Phase Property to this Master Declaration and to the jurisdiction of the Master Association. As stated in Article XIV, below, the Declaration of Annexation can include a Supplemental Declaration that supplements the covenants, conditions and restrictions set forth in this Master Declaration as applied to the Annexed Property.

Section 1.20

“Davis-Stirling Act” means and refers to the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (California Civil Code section 4000 et seq.), as the same may be amended from time to time. The Davis-Stirling Act applies to residential and mixed-use common interest developments (Civil Code section 4100). There are no common interest developments in the Initial Covered Property.

Section 1.21

“Declarant” means Alta Vista, LLC, an Arizona corporation. The term “Declarant” shall also refer to any successors and assigns of the named Declarant, if such successor or assign acquires any or all of any Declarant’s interest in the Initial Covered Property or all or any portion of the Subsequent Phase Property for the purpose of purchase or sale, and the transferor Declarant (with the prior consent of any other Declarant) has expressly transferred or assigned to such successors or assigns its rights and duties as a Declarant to any portion or all of the Rio Del Oro development. For any successor or assignee of the Declarant to be deemed a Declarant under the terms of this Master Declaration, the Declarant or the co-Declarants (as the case may be) shall Record in the County a certificate so designating the successor assignee as the Declarant or as a co-Declarant.

A successor Declarant shall also be deemed to include the beneficiary under any deed of trust securing an obligation from a then-existing Declarant encumbering all or any portion of the Initial Covered Property or any real property subsequently annexed thereto, if the beneficiary has acquired any such property by foreclosure, power of sale or deed in lieu of such foreclosure or sale.

So long as expressly consented to by the Declarant named herein (or its successors in interest who have been expressly granted this consent authority) there may be more than one Declarant at any given time; provided, however, that in the case of multiple Declarants, each Declarant shall be a Declarant only with respect to those portions of the Development owned by that Declarant and the rights and obligations of the Declarants with respect to the Master Association and its Members shall be exercised as agreed among the co-Declarants with the consent of the Department of Real Estate.

Section 1.22

“Design Guidelines” is a document by that name which was prepared by the Declarant to identify general principles of development and construction within the Rio Del Oro development that are intended to be advisory in nature. The Design Guidelines address the design of parks and open spaces, circulation and streetscape, residential, commercial and industrial land uses, and design details such as lighting, fencing and signage. Accordingly, the City’s Design Guidelines are broader in scope than the Architectural Rules of the Master Association and in the event of any conflict between the Design Guidelines and the Architectural Rules, the requirements of the Design Guidelines shall prevail.

Section 1.23

“Development” means and refers to the Rio Del Oro development that is being constructed, marketed and sold by the Declarant in accordance with the Entitlements Documents. Initially, the Development is comprised of the Initial Covered Property and the improvements constructed by the Declarant therein. However, portions of the Subsequent Phase Property can be subjected to this Master Declaration and made a part of the Development in accordance with the annexation process set forth in Article XIV, below. At times the Development is referred to herein by its common name for identification and marketing purposes, which is Rio Del Oro.

Section 1.24

“Development Agreement” means and refers to the “Amended and Restated Development Agreement by and between the City of Rancho Cordova and Alta Vista, LLC Relative to the Rio Del Oro Project,” that was recorded in the Official Records of Sacramento County, California on June 10, 2020, as Document No. 202006101878.

Section 1.25

“Emergency Assessment” means and refers to an Assessment imposed by the Master Association pursuant to Section 4.05, below, in response to an Emergency Situation.

Section 1.26

“Entitlements Documents” is a collective term which means and refers to:

(a) The Conditions of Approval (see Section 1.16, above);

(b) The Design Guidelines of the City of Rancho Cordova (see Section 1.22), above; and

Section 1.27

“Governing Documents” is a collective term that means and refers to this Master Declaration and to the Articles of Incorporation and the Bylaws of the Master Association and to the Master Association Rules. With respect to particular future Phases of Rio Del Oro that may be annexed to the Development in accordance with Article XIV, below. In the context of future Phases that are Annexed to the Development, any Supplemental Declaration shall also constitute a Governing Document as to the Lots or Separate Interests within that Annexed Phase.

Section 1.28

“Improvement” is a term that is used in this Declaration to identify improvement and construction projects that an Owner (other than the Declarant or a Co-Declarant) may wish to pursue on his or her Lot that require the prior written approval of the Master Association’s Architectural Review Committee in accordance with Article V, below. In that context, the term “Improvement” includes the following, without limitation: the construction, installation, alteration or remodeling of any Residence, garages, permitted out buildings, walls, fences, swimming pools, landscaping, landscape structures, patio awnings, solar heating equipment, spas, antennas, television satellite reception equipment, utility lines, the addition of parking areas on Lots that were not part of the original construction by the Declarant, or any other structure of any kind. In no event shall the term “Improvement” include any improvement, alteration or construction project located entirely within an existing Residence structure.

Section 1.29

“Initial Covered Property” means and refers to the first Phase of the Development, namely the real property that is more particularly described in Exhibit “A,” and any improvements constructed, erected or maintained thereon. The Initial Covered Property is being developed by the Declarant as a Standard Subdivision, as defined in Section 1.54, below.

Section 1.30

“Lot” means any parcel of real property designated by a number on the Subdivision Map for any portion of the Development. When appropriate within the context of this Master Declaration, the term “Lot” shall also include the Residence and other Improvements constructed or to be constructed on the Lot. As used in this Master Declaration there are two types of “Lots” namely: (i) Lots which are numbered Parcels on a Subdivision Map for a Standard Subdivision; and (ii) Lots which are numbered Parcels on a Subdivision Map for a Planned Development (Civil Code sections 4175 or 6562) in which case the Lot also constitutes a “Separate Interest” as defined in Civil Code section 4184 or 6564). Within the Initial Covered Property, all Lots are Standard Subdivision Lots.

Section 1.31

“Maintenance Manual” refers to the manual which may be prepared by the Declarant or its agents and provided to the Master Association and to each Owner specifying obligations for maintenance of Lots, Separate Interests, and Residences by the Owners, as updated and amended from time to time. In the event that a Phase of the Subsequent Phase Property is sold to a Merchant Builder, it is anticipated that the Merchant Builder will prepare and distribute to future Owners its own Maintenance Manual.

Section 1.32

“Maintenance Obligations” means the obligations imposed by Civil Code Section 907 on each Owner to perform, which shall include: (i) all reasonable maintenance obligations and schedules identified in the Maintenance Manual that pertain to the Owner’s property at the times and in a manner consistent with the terms, recommendations and requirements of the Maintenance Manual; (ii) any maintenance obligations and schedules contained in any warranty offered by the Declarant or any manufacturer of any products or components originally installed in a Residence; and (iii) any maintenance obligations and/or schedules otherwise provided, in writing, by the Declarant or a manufacturer to the Owners. “Maintenance Obligations” shall also include and refer to any commonly accepted maintenance practices to prolong the useful life of the materials and construction of the Residences within the Development.

Section 1.33

“Majority of a Quorum” means the vote of a majority of the votes cast at a meeting or by written ballot when the number of Members attending the meeting in person or by proxy or the number of members casting written ballots equals or exceeds the quorum requirement for Member action, as specified by the Bylaws or otherwise by statute.

Section 1.34

“Master Association” means the Rio Del Oro Master Association, a California nonprofit mutual benefit corporation, its successors and assigns.

Section 1.35

“Master Association Rules” means the rules, regulations and policies adopted by the Board of Directors of the Master Association, pursuant to Section 3.08, below, as the same may be in effect from time to time. Once the Architectural Review Committee is a committee whose members are all appointed by the Master Association’s Board of Directors (see Section 5.02, below), the Master Association Rules shall also include the Architectural Rules.

Section 1.36

“Master Declaration” means this instrument, as it may be amended and supplemented from time to time in accordance with Articles XIV (Annexation and Supplemental Declarations) and XVIII (Amendment), below.

Section 1.37

“Member” means every person or entity who holds a membership in the Master Association and whose rights as a Member are not suspended pursuant to Section 12.06, below.

Section 1.38

“Merchant Builder” means a person who is designated by the Master Declarant as a Merchant Builder in a Declaration of Annexation, Supplemental Declaration or other Recorded instrument and who acquires a portion of the Development for the purpose of developing the acquired property for resale to the general public. The term “Merchant Builder” does not include the Declarant, although a Merchant Builder can be designated as a Co-Declarant with respect to the property in the Development that the Merchant Builder has acquired. The instrument designating a Merchant Builder as a “Co-Declarant” may also give that Co-Declarant the authority to designate another builder who acquires a Phase or other portion of the Development then owned by the Co-Declarant as a Merchant Builder.

Section 1.39

“Mixed Use Project” or “Mixed Use Projects” means and refers to a Phase of the Development or to a Parcel within the Development that is developed to include both commercial and residential Separate Interests, whether integrated in a single building or located in separate self-contained buildings or areas within the same Mixed-Use Project.

Section 1.40

“Mortgage” means any security device encumbering all or any portion of the Development, including any deed of trust. “Mortgagee” shall refer to a beneficiary under a deed of trust as well as to a mortgagee in the conventional sense.

Section 1.41

“Owner” means any person, firm, corporation or other entity which owns a fee simple interest in any Lot, Parcel, or Separate Interest in the Development. The term “Owner” shall include the Declarant for so long as the Declarant possesses any Lot, Separate Interests or Parcels within the Development, and, except where the context otherwise requires, the family, guests, tenants and invitees of an Owner. If a Lot, Parcel, or Separate Interest is transferred or conveyed to a trust, the Owner is the trustee or the co-trustees of such trust. If a Lot, Parcel or Separate Interest is conveyed to an entity other than a trust, the “Owner” who has the right to represent the interests of that Lot, Parcel or Separate Interest in matters relating to the Master Association must be a principal of that entity-Owner.

Section 1.42

“Owner of Record” means any person, firm, corporation or other entity in which title to a Lot or Separate Interest is vested as shown by the official records of the Office of the County Recorder.

Section 1.43

“Parcel” means any separate plot of land within Rio Del Oro that is shown on any Recorded Subdivision Map, or shown on or described by a Recorded parcel map, lot line adjustment, re-subdivision or certificate of compliance, or the like, which is not a Lot, common area (as defined in Civil Code section 4095), a Separate Interest, or a separate plot to be dedicated to the City, the County or some other governmental agency.

Section 1.44

“Phase” means the Initial Covered Property and one or more Lots or Separate Interests within any portion of the Subsequent Phase Property that is annexed to the Development.

Section 1.45

“Planned Development” shall be defined as set forth in Civil Code section 4175 (residential Planned Developments) or Civil Code section 6562 (commercial or industrial Planned Developments). There are no Planned Developments in the Initial Covered Property. In the event that any portion of the Subsequent Phase Property is developed as a Planned Development, that development and the Separate Interests and Common Areas therein shall be subject to the Davis-Stirling Act (if it is a residential Condominium Project) or to the Commercial/Industrial Act (if it is a commercial or industrial Condominium Project).

Section 1.46

“Public Report” means a final subdivision public report issued by the Department of Real Estate in compliance with California Business and Professions Code section 11000 et seq., or any similar California statute hereafter enacted. Standard Subdivisions that are located entirely within the jurisdiction of a City and which include Lots improved with completed Residences are not required to obtain a Public Report (Business & Professions Code section 11010.4) however it is the intention of the Declarant to obtain a Public Report for all Phases that are subjected to this Master Declaration and developed by the Declarant.

Section 1.47

“RCMC” shall mean the Rancho Cordova Municipal Code.

Section 1.48

“Record” means, with respect to any document, the recordation or filing of such document in the Office of the County Recorder.

Section 1.49

“Regular Assessment” means an Assessment levied against an Owner and his or her Lot or Separate Interest in accordance with Section 4.02, below.

Section 1.50

“Reserves” and “Reserve Accounts” mean and refer to those funds that the Board of Directors of the Association has identified and set aside for use to defray the future repair or replacement of, or additions to, the major components of the Development that the Association is obligated to maintain, repair and eventually replace in one or more Reserve Accounts. The amounts required to properly fund Reserves (the “Reserve Funds”) shall be determined annually by the Board in accordance with the standards prescribed by maintenance cost guidelines prepared in accordance with California Civil Code section 5550 and prudent property management practices generally applied in “common interest developments” in the geographic region in which the Development is located. Among other elements, the Reserve planning process set forth in Civil Code section 5550 requires the Board to conduct periodic studies of Reserve Account requirements (each a “Reserve Study”) which must include a “Reserve Funding Plan” that indicates how the Association intends to fund the contributions to Reserve Accounts required to meet the Association’s maintenance, repair and replacement obligations. Due to the limited mission of the Master Association under this Master Declaration it is not anticipated that the Master Association will have any Reserve Funding obligations --- at least not for the Initial Covered Property.

Section 1.51

“Residence” means a dwelling that is designed and intended for use and occupancy by a single family, whether constructed on an individual Lot or Separate Interest in a Planned Development or as part of a Condominium Project or as a Residence in a Standard Subdivision. The term “Residence” applies to individual dwelling units whether the dwelling unit is detached or part of a multi-unit building so long as it is intended for residential occupancy.

Section 1.52

“Residential Phase” means any Phase of the Development that is so classified in this Master Declaration or by any Supplemental Declaration or any Separate Interests that are developed and sold solely for residential occupancy or as part of a Mixed-Use Project that includes both Residential and Commercial uses and spaces.

Section 1.53

“Separate Interest” means and refers to an individual Unit in a Condominium Project, a separately owned Lot or Separate Interest, or Common Area parcel or area in a Planned Development, or any other type of Separate Interest that is defined as such in either section Civil Code section 4185 (residential common interest developments) or Civil Code section 6564 (commercial or industrial common interest developments).

Section 1.54

“Single Family Residential Use” means occupation and use of a Residence for single family dwelling purposes in conformity with this Master Declaration and the requirements imposed by applicable zoning or other applicable laws or governmental regulations limiting the number of persons who may occupy single family residential dwellings.

Section 1.55

“Special Assessment” means an Assessment levied against an Owner and his or her Lot or Separate Interest in accordance with Section 4.03, below.

Section 1.56

“Special Individual Assessment” means an Assessment levied against an Owner and his or her Lot or Separate Interest in accordance with Section 4.04, below.

Section 1.57

“Standard Subdivision” means and refers to a subdivision that does not include any Common Areas, as defined in California Civil Code sections 4095 or 6532. As in the case of Rio Del Oro, the Lots in a Standard Subdivision may be subject to a declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions in accordance with Civil Code section 1468 and that declaration may call for the formation of an owners’ association to perform certain maintenance or enforcement obligations in the development, however that association cannot have lien and foreclosure rights that are granted to common interest owner association pursuant to Civil Code sections 5700 through 5705 (residential common interest developments) or 6820 (commercial/industrial developments).

Section 1.58

“Sub-Association” means and refers to an association that is comprised of the Owners of Lots or Separate Interests that is formed pursuant to a Declaration of Annexation or a Supplemental Declaration and which has jurisdiction over all or portions of the real property identified in a Declaration of Annexation for a portion of the Subsequent Phase Property.

Section 1.59

“Subdivision Map” means the map for any Phase or portion of the Development.

Section 1.60

“Subsequent Phase Property” This Master Declaration contemplates that all or portions of those real properties more particularly described in Exhibit “B” attached hereto, which are not initially subject to this Master Declaration, may, from time to time, be made subject to this Master Declaration by the annexation process described in Article XIV, below. Any portion of the real property described in Exhibit “B” that is not, at a particular time, subject to this Master Declaration is referred to as “Subsequent Phase Property.”

Section 1.61

“Supplemental Declaration” means any declaration Recorded pursuant to Section 14.05, below, which supplements this Master Declaration and which may solely affect an annexed Phase of the Subsequent Phase Property.

Section 1.62

“Voting Power” means those Members who are eligible to vote for the election of directors or with respect to any other matter, issue or proposal properly presented to the Members for approval at any time a determination of voting rights is made. To be part of the Voting Power, a Member must be in good standing as defined in the Bylaws and/or the Master Association Rules.