It's early on a Sunday morning, the windows and doors are open and the cool morning air is simply awesome. Within an hour or so the sun will begin to climb and the color explosions behind the low cloud cover will leave viewers breathless yet again. Its been these kinds of features that helped Sun City and other areas across the Southwest become a dream come true. I suspect you've read and heard countless stories of those earliest of visitors who came to Sun City in the beginning. They've been dubbed "pioneers" for a variety of reasons, but the one I like the best is they took a tiny community with absolutely no blueprint and carved it into the first age restricted of its kind. Working in conjunction with the DEVCO (Webb) employees they shaped, molded and reshaped it. As the community grew, their needs, wants and expectations were ever changing. It was and still is a work in progress though now those changes happen at a far slower pace. Just the way it is in long-standing organizational structures. What's been lost in the shuffle though is just how unique Sun City is because of that evolution. The construct here was wholly different from near on every other age restricted community that came after it. Some would argue they refined them, I would argue the opposite. While those that came after are more tightly framed, I see them as having less freedom and more sterile. Let me explain: If you travel down the road to Sun City West you will find our most closely mirrored imagine. But, even that community began to define and expand the governing body's role. The best example is they have an organization similar to our SCHOA, theirs is called PORA. They have many of the same obligations but the ultimate authority to enforce their rules falls back on the Rec Centers of Sun City West (RCSCW). It was one of the changes DEVCO built into the community. Sun City Grand became even more so a hybrid. They began building in 1996 and included in their community governance was not only the management of the centers, golf courses and grounds, but also their home owners association is all one in the same. It was the way communities could best control all facets of the kind of setting they wanted. It is the way that most are run today because it's easier to control those living within the community. Sun City was built on a wholly different platform. From the beginning, each organization was free-standing. Roles were assigned and over the years some have expanded those roles, but after 53 years of existence, they remain individual entities. The best example of course is with SCHOA and the RCSC; their obligations are clearly defined and they exist within themselves to do what they are charged with. It makes it more difficult, but it also gives us freedoms to do things that others can't come close to doing. I would argue we are better off because of our uniqueness and it forces us to be more creative than if we were one entity that existed with absolute power. The good news is, for most, they pay little or no attention, simply get up in the morning to exploding color schemes that defy logic while enjoying a cup of coffee on the back patio. Nice!
Thanks for this article -- helps understand where we began. I like it just the way it is. And, my time on the patio isn't optional--it's the way I stay grounded.
