Important Information From the City of Urbana
Thursday, August 3, 2023
1:00 PM to 2:30 PM
City of Urbana
City Hall - Council Chambers
400 South Vine St
Urbana, IL 61801
After our first meeting in March, the City of Urbana
hosted a public meeting to share project information
and launched a survey to gather feedback on increasing
the stormwater utility fee in 2024 to ensure proper
maintenance and improve resilience. The City also
shared information through multiple interviews
with the media, postcards sent to residents and
businesses, booths at local events, and much more.
At the upcoming Technical Advisory Committee
meeting, the project team will provide an update on
project developments and public feedback. Input from
this meeting will help inform the recommended program
and rate increase presented to Council later in August.
ON THE AGENDA:
+ Project Recap
+ Activities to Date
+ Public Feedback
+ Updated Stormwater Program Costs
+ Recommended Program & Rate Increase
+ Next Steps
Contact Lisa Mentzer at (630) 510-3944 ext. 104,
or via email at lisa.mentzer@imagesinc.net.
www.urbanaillinois.us
Meetings and Events
Welcome Letter
On behalf of the Stone Creek Subdivision Homeowners Association (HOA) and its Board of Directors, we would like to welcome you to our wonderful community. We are so pleased that you decided to live in Stone Creek, and we hope that you will enjoy the many amenities close to us such as walking and biking paths, and our proximity to many local parks, grocery stores, pharmacies, downtown Urbana, as well as the University of Illinois. Below are some important information items about our subdivision and HOA.
The HOA has an annual assessment that is used primarily for the maintenance of the Commons Areas, which are principally the medians along Stone Creek Boulevard as it winds its way from Windsor Road to High Cross Road. We maintain one pond at the Windsor Road entrance and some of the flower beds at the Windsor Road and High Cross Road entrances. The annual assessment is presently $150 and is payable in January of each year. The HOA meets in October to discuss pertinent subdivision business.
Homeowners and vacant lot owners are reminded that all lots (whether occupied by a residence or vacant) shall be maintained at all times free of weeds, high grass, and debris. Neither the Golf Course nor the HOA is responsible for mowing vacant lots as this is the responsibility of the owner of the lot.
We have an Architectural Committee, which reviews not only your initial building and home plans but also must review and approve any significant changes to the outside of your home that might occur in the future. The Covenants and Bylaws are available on the website to allow you to familiarize yourself with them (see the tab "Covenants & Bylaws"). There is a section about the role of the Architectural Review Board and Architectural Restrictions that we would like you to read carefully.
Other Important Information:
- The City of Urbana provides us with Recycling Services on Tuesday of every week unless there is a holiday. Garbage pickup is the responsibility of the individual homeowner. Pickup is generally on Tuesdays along with recycling. There are many excellent providers at www.urbanaillinois.us/GarbageHaulers
- There are several Internet Groups that often have information about service providers in our area. They are Nextdoor Neighbor, Nextdoor Stone Creek, and Nextdoor Digest and all have websites that you might find helpful.
- Please make sure that we have your contact name, address, phone number, and primary email address. You can send your information to our treasurer, Linda Matkowski, at Linda_Matkowski @yahoo.com
We are so happy to have you as a member of the Stone Creek community and for you to join us in our efforts to maintain and beautify this area that we all call home.
The Stone Creek Subdivision Homeowners Association
Current Covenants & Bylaws
Click on the link below to access a copy of the Covenants.
Covenants
Stone Creek HOA Covenants (Revised March 2020)
Clarification of Acceptable Building Materials
When the Covenants were revised in 2019 and 2020, the term “Premium Architectural Grade Siding” was added. This was intended as a recognition that materials may be available currently that may not have been present at the time the original covenants were drafted. Because material development is always changing, we felt it was important to identify brands that currently meet this criteria on an annual basis. This is not intended to limit the choices to only these brands but rather to present a level at which any choices will be measured against.
For 2023, the following products would represent the definition of ‘Premium Architectural Grade Siding’.
Please note that equal or equivalent products will be considered if submitted to the Architectural Committee for review.
"Alside" ASCEND Composite Cladding System
"James Hardie" Fiber Cement Siding
"Everlast" Advanced Composite Siding
Bylaws of Stone Creek Subdivision HOA
Click on the link below to access a copy of the Bylaws.
Maps & Plats
Board of Directors
Tom Roth (President) troth@primelending.com
Chad Beckett (Vice President) chad@beckettlawpc.com
Jessica LaRosa (Chair of Grounds Committee) 217-840-7429 shawlarosa@gmail.com
Jon Reichard (Chair of Architecture Committee) jreichard@ar-mech.com
Leslie Mason (Secretary) lesmmason@gmail.com
Linda Matkowski (Treasurer) 630-981-4995 Linda_Matkowski@yahoo.com
The Grounds Committee oversees and facilitates maintenance of all common areas of the Subdivision.
The Architecture Committee reviews all proposed building plans for new homes and modifications to existing homes for compliance to the Covenants and restrictions, and any waivers granted by the Architecture Committee.
CONTACT Address
Please make checks payable to:
Stone Creek Subdivision Homeowners Association
c/o Linda Matkowski, Treasurer
2725 E. Stone Creek Blvd.
Urbana, IL 61802
If you have any questions about the HOA, our website, annual assessments, or if you need a paid assessment letter at the time of selling your home or lot, please direct your inquiry to Linda at Linda_Matkowski@yahoo.com.
Fall Clean Up Gallery
Spring Clean Up Gallery
Previous Document Archive
Click on any of the links below to access copies of original governing documents before being replaced on May 5, 2020.
These documents are no longer in effect.
Subdivision-No.-1(dated 8/21/1997).pdf
Subdivision-No.-1-First-Amendment(dated 1/9/1998).pdf
Subdivision-No.-2(dated 8/16/2005).pdf
Basic-Covenants-Restrictions.pdf
Newsletter Archive
SPRING CLEAN UP 2022
Spring Community Beautification Day
Saturday, April 23, 2022
9 am - noon
(Rain date Sunday, April 24, noon – 3 pm)
Come one – come all, individuals and families!
Meet your Board members and neighbors and help keep the boulevard beautiful!
Check in stations:
Windsor Road entrance and High Cross Road entrance
Bring any or all of the following: Gardening gloves, weed diggers, kneeling pads, weed whackers, pruners, leaf blowers, hedge clippers, rakes, buckets, shovels, edgers, wheelbarrows (lawn and trash bags will be provided)
Activities to do:
- Cut down ornamental grasses
- Cut back sedum and mums
- Cut back catmint
- Weed and edge flower beds
- Spread mulch in flower beds
- Weed and rake up needles and twigs under pine trees (Muirfield and High Cross)
- Pick up trash & clear and collect leaves, debris from storm sewer grates
Please email Jessica, shawlarosa@gmail.com, to indicate your willingness to help, name and number in family, which activity you can do, and which station you plan to check-in
Water and granola bars will be provided.
Fall Beautification Day 2021
Stone Creek Subdivision Fall Community Beautification Day
Saturday, October 16, 2021 (9 am - noon)
(Rain date Sunday, October 17, noon – 3 pm)
Come one – come all, individuals and families!
Meet your Board members and neighbors and help keep the boulevard beautiful!
Check in stations:
Windsor Road entrance and High Cross Road entrance
Bring any or all of the following: Gardening gloves, weed diggers, kneeling pads, weed whackers, pruners, leaf blowers, hedge clippers, rakes, buckets, shovels, edgers, wheelbarrows (lawn and trash bags will be provided).
Activities to do:
- Trim grass and suckers from around trees, trim out dead branches
- Rake and gather dead grass from sidewalk edges, trim grass by curbs
- Cut back day lilies
- Weed flower beds
- Weed and rake up needles and twigs under pine trees (Muirfield, Windsor, and High Cross)
- Pick up trash & clear and collect leaves, debris from storm sewer grates
Please email Jessica, shawlarosa@gmail.com, to indicate your willingness to help, name and number in family, which activity you can do, and which station you plan to check-in.
Wear face masks/practice social distancing during the project. Water and granola bars will be provided.
April Updates Spring 2021
From the Grounds Committee: Clean Up Day Report, Volunteers Needed and Tree Planting
Thank you to all the volunteers whose hard work made our April 17th Spring Clean-up Day very successful. I think we all enjoyed the perfect weather and being able to work alongside our friends and neighbors. We were able to spread mulch, pull weeds, edge part of the boulevard walk, define garden edges, clean storm drains, and seed some bare areas. Thank you to Don Pilcher for graciously providing the funds for snacks and water to keep us going.
The Windsor Road Crew – Jessica LaRosa, Paulette and Jim Cantrell, Chad Beckett, John and Therese Quarton, Doug West, Ching Muyot, Janis Grace, and Phil Huchel along with his very helpful son and daughter.
The High Cross Crew – Diane Durbin, Dave Tjaden, Cindy Capek, Ed Harvey, Otis Williams, Suzanne Leifer, Randy Blackman, and Carolyn and Jim Wanagat
Storm Drain Crew – Dolly and David Strausser.
The grounds committee currently has two tasks for which we a seeking volunteers:
- There are several locations where the Stone Creek Blvd. sidewalk intersects a street. Some of these locations have small stop signs attached to wooden posts. We are seeking a volunteer to scrape and paint these posts. The HOA will supply the materials necessary.
- The ornamental crab trees on the boulevard grow many troublesome suckers from their roots. One way to stop this problem is to cut the suckers and then apply a product called “Sucker Punch” to the exposed area. The product is applied to each cut with a small brush – a somewhat tedious job; but could be enjoyable on a nice day with some good music, or a friend to work with. We are looking for a volunteer to take on this project.
The Grounds Committee work continues throughout the growing season, so let us know if you are interested in being on our list of helpers. We have something going on every week. Contact Jessica LaRosa, shawlarosa@gmail.com, to volunteer.
Additionally, tree planting has begun. Locations are being marked and planted based on scheduling. The City is watering and mulching trees as they are planted and will continue watering the first year. After all planting has been completed, individuals who purchased trees will receive a letter from the City concerning long term care.
Thanks to everyone for making Stone Creek a little greener!
Your Grounds Committee,
Jessica LaRosa, Diane Durbin, Isabel Cole, Cindy Capek, Paulette Cantrell, and Chris Billing
Golf Course Update
Improvements and construction have begun on the Golf Course. Residents are reminded to refrain from walking on the golf course cart paths or anywhere on the course grounds. There is heavy equipment working in many areas and it can be potentially dangerous. Please use the sidewalk in the median of Stone Creek Blvd. for walking and jogging! It is anticipated that the course will reopen for golf in late summer or early autumn.
May Newsletter 2021
Golf Course News
Construction Set to Begin on Illinois’ Atkins Golf Club; Troon Management Company Selected
For more details please check out the link below.
The University advises the public to stay off the golf course grounds, including golf course cart paths, while maintenance and construction are ongoing.
For more information, contact Cassie Arner (217) 300-2714 or arner@illinois.edu
Local Park District News
The Urbana Park District is planning to construct a Health & Wellness Center. The Parks Foundation is looking for contributions to aid in financing this project. If you have any interest in this, please check out this link.
Anyone interested in finding out more, or making a gift, can contact Caty Roland, Urbana Parks Foundation, 303 W. University Ave., Urbana, IL 61801 or by phone at (217) 367-1536.
University of Illinois Updates on the Undeveloped Areas
The University of Illinois, University of Illinois Foundation, and Spencer Atkins have made the following tentative arrangements for the 2021 planting season:
- The two large eastern tracts (#2 and #4), which were formerly planted with sunflowers, will be planted with prairie grass and wildflowers.
- The other large non-developed tracts (#1, #5, #6, #8, and #9), which border the golf course and total approximately 54 acres, will be planted with soybeans or hay/alfalfa.
- A map showing planting locations has been included for your reference. Map of Planned PlantingsPDF • 216KB
These undeveloped areas within Stone Creek are a portion of the land donated by TAG to the U of I in 2020. These areas do not include any of the vacant lots that were part of the same gift that are being actively marketed for sale. This undeveloped land is owned by the U of I and not by the HOA. As such, the HOA is not responsible for its maintenance/mowing nor is the HOA responsible for mowing any of the vacant lots that are for sale or that may be privately owned. The U of I has retained a lawn care service that will be handling the maintenance on the unsold lots, mowing twice a month.
Grounds Committee Update
- The Grounds Committee would like to remind homeowners and lot owners not to leave grass clippings in the streets or sidewalks or deposit them on adjoining vacant lots. If a landscaper/mower is employed, please remind them.
- Garbage containers shall be kept out of the front yard except on collection day. Storage of garbage containers shall be in the garage or shall be screened from view.
- You may have noticed that several of the trees that were donated through the cooperative program with the City of Urbana are small. In a follow up conversation with City Staff, it was noted that they are at the mercy of the nurseries supplying the trees. However, despite their size, they have had good luck when planting native species from these nurseries. All trees are guaranteed for one year.
- If a donor requested a specific location for their tree, the City attempted to get as close to the location as possible. Additionally, several trees were spaced throughout Stone Creek Blvd. in an effort to provide trees in areas that were barren. Once planting is completed, the donor will receive a letter regarding the care and watering of the tree. If a resident cannot maintain the watering schedule, they should contact Kevin Sanderson, City Arborist, ktsanderson@urbanaillinois.us, (217)384-2303.
- Tree List Chart.pdf
- Thanks for Greening up Stone Creek Blvd.
- 2021 Annual Meeting Scheduled
The Board tentatively set the date for the Annual Meeting of home and lot owners for Tuesday, October 19, 2021 to begin at 7pm. More details will be available as we approach that date.