Community Newsletter

At a Glance

Get to Know Your Community Manager

Every thriving community runs on someone behind the scenes keeping the gears turning. For Canyon Lakes, that someone is Devin Lundstrom — and in this issue, we’d like you to get to know her.

In Her Own Words

I have proudly called Canyon Lakes home for the past 15 years and currently serve as the CLPOA Community Manager, a role I’ve held for the last three years. I bring more than 20 years of administration and management experience, with a strong background in healthcare and insurance. I recently earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and Healthcare Administration, and am currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Business Administration. I am passionate about continuous improvement, lifelong learning, and supporting organizational goals.

During my time with the CLPOA, I have truly enjoyed the opportunity to serve our community, working alongside the Board of Directors and residents to keep Canyon Lakes a wonderful place to live. Outside of work, I am a proud mother to three beautiful daughters who keep me busy, active, and inspired. I enjoy supporting them in their activities and spending quality time with family and friends.

Devin Lundstrom, Community Manager

What Does a Community Manager Do?

Quite a lot, as it turns out. Devin’s role touches nearly every part of how the Association functions. Among her many responsibilities, she:

• Manages the Association’s finances — preparing the annual budget, tracking transactions, billing and collecting assessments, paying bills, and helping maintain our reserves.
• Keeps the community informed — through emails, mailings, the website, and by organizing and attending Board, committee, and annual meetings.
• Works with the Landscaping Committee to inspect property, schedule maintenance and repairs, and hire and supervise contractors.
• Handles rules and enforcement — investigating reported violations and issuing notices, with the Board making the final call.
• Serves as your liaison — fielding resident questions and concerns and connecting them to the right Board member or committee.
• Coordinates vendors and professionals — soliciting bids and working with contractors, accountants, attorneys, engineers, and reserve specialists.
• Maintains official records — including resolutions, contracts, financial records, and the membership roster.
• Works with CLPOA Committees to help fulfill their roles and responsibilities.

In short, when something in Canyon Lakes needs doing, Devin is often the one making sure it gets done. Have a question or concern? You can reach her at clpoa@canyonlakespoa.org or (509) 582-4345.

If It Flies or Explodes, It’s Illegal: Fireworks & Fire Safety This Summer

This is shaping up to be a dangerous fire season. Washington has declared a statewide drought emergency, and the National Interagency Fire Center forecasts above-average wildfire risk for Eastern Washington this June. It has already hit close to home: in mid-June, the OIE Fire burned roughly 820 acres in Benton County — north of the Yakima River and south of Old Inland Empire Highway — damaging five homes and seventeen outbuildings before crews brought it under control. It was a stark reminder of how quickly a fire can spread in our dry conditions.

Know the rules before the Fourth. Kennewick permits only ground-based consumer fireworks — fountains, sparklers, and the like. Anything that goes airborne or explodes is illegal, including sky rockets, missiles, bottle rockets, Roman candles, mines, shells, aerial spinners, firecrackers, and smoke devices. The simple test: if it flies or explodes, it’s not allowed here. Discharge is legal only on the following dates and times: June 28, noon–11 p.m.; June 29–July 3, 9 a.m.–11 p.m.; July 4, 9 a.m.–midnight; and July 5, 9 a.m.–11 p.m. To be sure a firework is legal, buy it from a Kennewick Fire Department–approved stand in town. Illegal fireworks carry City fines up to $500 under KMC 15.30.240. And note: if fire danger reaches Extreme, all discharge may be suspended for the holiday — confirm current fire danger at the Washington DNR fire danger map before you light anything.

Our own Rules apply too. CLPOA’s Rules don’t mention fireworks by name, but Section 12 (Burning) requires reasonable precautions against the spread of fire, and Section 7 (Nuisances) covers conduct that disturbs your neighbors — both of which a stray bottle rocket manages to violate at once.

The safest bet? Leave the big shows to the professionals. If you do light legal fireworks, keep water close, soak the duds before tossing them, and aim well clear of dry grass, fences, and rooftops. In a summer this dry, one spark is all it takes.

Please Pick Up After Your Dog (Yes, Every Time)

Meet Harley — model citizen, devoted neighbor, occasional squirrel chaser, and never without a bag when on walks.

Let’s talk about something no one enjoys bringing up — but every dog owner needs to hear.

Canyon Lakes is a dog-friendly community, and we’re glad it is. Our four-legged residents are some of the best neighbors we have — they don’t park boats on the street, they never run their sprinklers at noon, and they’ve never once filed an ARC complaint. But they do rely on us for one small courtesy: cleaning up what they leave behind.

A few gentle reminders:

• No excuses — we’ve made it easy. Canyon Lakes has dog clean-up stations placed throughout the community, each stocked with bags and a waste container. So there’s no need to carry your own or pretend to admire the landscaping while your dog does its business — a bag is almost always just a few steps away. Grab one, use it, and drop it in the bin.
• It’s not fertilizer. A common myth holds that dog waste is “good for the grass.” It is not. It’s unsightly, unsanitary, and a fast track to an unhappy neighbor — and an unhappy neighbor’s lawn is exactly where it always seems to land.
• The Rules back this up. Under CLPOA Section 5 (Animals), dogs must be leashed whenever they’re on public property and may not become a nuisance to other residents. Leaving waste on a neighbor’s lawn, the common areas, or the walking paths is precisely the kind of nuisance the Rules are meant to prevent — and repeat offenses are subject to fines.
• The common areas count too. Our shared green spaces and paths aren’t a giant litter box. Same rule, same bag, same thank-you from everyone who walks there after you.

We know the overwhelming majority of our dog owners already do the right thing, often while wrangling a leash, a coffee, and a dog who has spotted a squirrel. Thank you. For everyone else: the bag is cheap, the goodwill is priceless, and your neighbors will appreciate your diligence.

Recent Board Resolutions

Your Board has been busy this quarter building the governance framework that will carry Canyon Lakes into full compliance with WUCIOA — the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (RCW 64.90), the state law that will govern Washington homeowner associations beginning January 1, 2028. The following resolutions were adopted since our last newsletter. Full text of every resolution is available in the Board Meeting Minutes at www.canyonlakespoa.org.

Get to Know Your CLPOA Committees

Did you know that your community has five standing committees, as well as ad hoc committees formed as specific needs arise? These committees are the engine of Canyon Lakes — staffed by homeowner volunteers who give their time to keep our neighborhood well-run, well-maintained, and well-informed, with support from our community manager.

Your five standing committees are:

• Architectural Review Committee (ARC)
• Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC)
• Communications Committee (including the Welcoming subcommittee)
• Rules and Regulations Enforcement Committee
• Landscaping Committee

In each quarterly newsletter, we’ll shine a light on one of them — what they do, who serves, and how their work touches your home and your property values. We’re starting with the committee homeowners interact with most directly when they want to improve their property.

Canyon Lakes History — Part One: A Diamond in the Rough

The first in a series on how our community came to be.

In July of 1977, a piece of land Harold Thompson had been watching for more than ten years finally came up for sale. Where others saw dry, rugged ground running through Zintel Canyon, Thompson saw something else entirely — an 18-hole golf course and a self-sufficient residential community. “A diamond in the rough,” as he put it. He and his wife Arlene purchased roughly 640 acres stretching east and south from the corner of Highway 395 and 27th Avenue. People scoffed, and told him there would never be a golf course out there.

Thompson set out to prove them wrong. He traveled to California to study golf courses and hired the San Francisco firm of Hall, Goodhue & Haisley as master planners. Neither Thompson nor his planners cared for the name “Zintel Canyon” — and so, together, they came up with Canyon Lakes.

To design the course, they brought in golf architect John Steidel, who relocated from California to Kennewick to personally oversee construction. The front nine opened in 1980. When skeptics insisted a second nine would never follow, it only fueled Thompson’s determination — and by 1981, all 18 holes were playable. Business Week soon named Canyon Lakes one of the top 20 new courses in the nation. Today it remains the highest-rated course in the Tri-Cities, a 4½-star Golf Digest course whose 12th hole boasts what’s said to be the largest green in the Pacific Northwest — 12,000 square feet.

The golf course came first. The neighborhood grew up around it — and that story, including the partnership that built our community and the hard years that nearly undid it, continues in our next issue.

Source credit: Adapted from histories prepared by Jerry Martin and Bob Fowler (2010) and updated by Harold Thompson (2013).

Is It Time to Let Our Duck Fly?

The duck in question: our longtime logo. Keep it, refresh it, or let it fly? Watch for results in a future newsletter.

For as long as most of us can remember, a duck gliding through the reeds has been the face of Canyon Lakes — on our signs, our letterhead, and the masthead of this very newsletter. It’s familiar, it’s ours, and it has served the community well.

But neighborhoods evolve, and so do the ways we present ourselves. As Canyon Lakes looks ahead — toward new governance, new amenities, and a refreshed presence both online and in print — the Board would like to ask a simple question: is it time for a new look?

We’re exploring whether to refresh the Canyon Lakes brand, which could include updating or replacing our longtime duck logo. This isn’t a decision the Board wants to make on its own. It’s your community, and your identity, so we want to hear from you before anything changes.

A few things worth saying up front:

• Nothing has been decided. This is a conversation starter, not a done deal.
• Your voice drives this. If the community loves the duck as it is, the duck stays. If there’s appetite for something new, we’ll explore it thoughtfully.
• Costs would be kept minimal. Any new logo would be used primarily in digital media — our website, email, and this newsletter. We would not replace our monument signs; instead, the new look would simply appear on signs as they naturally wear out and need replacing.

Community Volunteer Opportunities

Canyon Lakes runs on the time and talent of homeowners who step up to serve. Our committees are always looking for neighbors willing to lend their skills — and in this issue, the Landscaping Committee is putting out the call.

Landscaping is the single highest-cost item in our yearly assessment budget, which makes thoughtful planning and engaged volunteers all the more valuable to the community.

Interested in a different committee? Reach out to Devin and let us know where you’d like to help — every committee welcomes new volunteers.

Your Assessments at Work

Ever wonder where your assessment dollars go? Sometimes the answer is right there at the entrance to your neighborhood.

The Estates at Canyon Lakes has two entrances along Ely Street, each marked by its own monument sign. The Landscaping Committee has completed Phase I of a project to transform the first of these — the entrance at the corner of Ely Street and 37th Avenue. An aging row of overgrown, dying arborvitae has been removed and replaced with an attractive and substantial new masonry wall and fresh landscaping, giving the entrance a clean, durable, and welcoming new look.

Before — the overgrown, dying arborvitae at the Ely & 37th entrance.

After — the new masonry wall and landscaping.

Phase II is already underway at the second Estates entrance, at Ely Street and 40th Avenue. Designed to complement the Phase I improvements, it will be finished soon — extending the same refreshed appearance to the community’s second gateway. Watch for the before-and-after in an upcoming issue.

Projects like these protect property values, reduce long-term maintenance costs, and keep Canyon Lakes looking its best. This is what your assessments make possible.

Show Us Your Canyon Lakes!

Every one of us has caught that moment — a sunrise setting the lakes on fire, a heron standing guard on the golf course, the neighborhood blanketed in that one good snow of the year, or your dog looking heroic in front of the monument sign. Those moments deserve a bigger audience than your camera roll.

We want your photos. Canyon Lakes is full of talented neighbors with an eye for a good shot, and we’d love to fill future newsletters with images taken by the people who actually live here. Sunsets, wildlife, common areas, seasonal scenes, community events, blooming yards, frost on the fairways — if it captures the spirit of our neighborhood, we want to see it.

A few friendly guidelines:

• Make it Canyon Lakes. Photos should be taken within our community so neighbors can recognize the spots they love.
• Bigger is better. Send the highest-resolution version you have — phone photos are perfect, just don’t shrink them first.
• Keep it neighborly. If people are recognizable in your shot, please make sure they’re okay with appearing in print.
• It’s still yours. You keep ownership of your photo. By submitting, you’re simply confirming it’s your own work and giving CLPOA permission to use it in our newsletter, website, and other community communications — always with your name credited.
• Tell us about it. A quick note on where and when it was taken helps us write a caption and give you proper credit.

Send your best shots to Community Manager Devin Lundstrom at clpoa@canyonlakespoa.org. Selected photos may appear in upcoming newsletters — with your name right alongside, of course.

Advertise in the Canyon Lakes Newsletter

Our first advertiser — thank you for supporting a local business!

Paid advertisement. The appearance of an advertiser does not constitute an endorsement by CLPOA.

Introducing Yard of the Month!

Canyon Lakes is full of beautiful yards, and we think it’s time we celebrated them. Each month we’ll select a Yard of the Month to feature in an upcoming newsletter and on our website — a small way to recognize the neighbors whose hard work makes our community shine.

Canyon Lakes at its finest — a sunset view across the lake from one of our neighbors’ backyards.

And we want your nominations. Know a neighbor whose yard deserves a little recognition? Proud of your own? We’d love to hear from you. Send a few photos of the yard along with the homeowner’s name and address to Community Manager Devin Lundstrom at clpoa@canyonlakespoa.org. If a nominated yard is selected, we’ll reach out to the homeowner for permission before publishing.

June’s Yard of the Month — Steve and Zola’s home on W. Canyon Lakes Drive.

June’s Yard of the Month belongs to Steve and Zola on W. Canyon Lakes Drive. Congratulations, and thank you for setting such a beautiful example for the neighborhood!