Yosemite West Property & Homeowners, Inc.

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Mountain Living

Go to >>  | Road Conditions  | Mariposa County Services  | YNP Vehicle Sticker  | Residence Signs  | Locked Mailboxes for Sale  | Guests Visiting Yosemite West Property Owners  | Controlling Light Pollution  | Garbage Disposal  | Energy Efficiency in Your Home  | Commercial Sevices  | Get to Know Your Neighbors |

Road Conditions

Call (209) 372-0200 (press '1' and '1' again from the menu options) for recorded information about the status of park roads and any chain requirements.


Mariposa County Services

Call toll free (800) 736-1252 to reach county administration offices, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.


YNP Vehicle Sticker

Yosemite West property owners are required to obtain a YNP vehicle sticker for each of their currently registered vehicles. The free sticker is issued by the National Park Service and allows you and your families to avoid being charged the national park entrance fee to access your property.

Mail or fax a copy of your driver's license, vehicle registration card and County of Mariposa tax statement (or other document verifying property ownership) to:

Yosemite National Park
P.O. Box 2500
Wawona, CA 95389

Call the South Entrance office at tel (209) 375-9532.

The stickers will be mailed to you.


Residence Sign

Emergency service personnel strongly encourage residents to post a three-inch reflective address numbers against a contrasting background at the end of their driveways (and at any fork in your driveway) and on their houses. Should an emergency arise, emergency service personnel cannot help you if they cannot easily find you!

Make sure the address is clearly visible from 100 feet in all directions of travel from the road. The sign should be installed approximately four feet in height above the ground and no higher than six feet.

Residence signs are available from the SPCA, 5599 Hwy. 49 North, Mariposa, (209) 966-5275. Download the order form, which you can complete and mail in with your payment. The SPCA is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

You can also purchase address numbers from these places:


Locked Mailboxes for Sale

Available mailboxes: 7 (as of 12/19/2009)

The locked mailboxes in the mailbox shed were all purchased many years ago. In recent years, many of you have expressed an interest in purchasing locked mailboxes. A vote of the membership at the YWPHI annual meeting on September 6, 2009 approved a $2,000 budget to install a new mailbox cluster.

The installation fo the new mailbox cluster is complete as of November 23, 2009. The cluster has 12 individual medium size locked mailboxes, one parcel locker and an outgoing mail slot.

YWPHI is offering the mailboxes for sale to its members. The cost per mailbox is $160. This is a one-time fee based on our costs to buy and install the mailboxes, not an annual rental fee. Once you purchase the mailbox, it's yours to use and resell and you wish.

To purchase a mailbox, mail a check payable to YWPHI to 7585 Henness Ridge Road, Yosemite National Park, CA 95389-9108 or send your payment via PayPal to treasurer@yosemitewest.org.

Mailboxes will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis determined by when your payment is received. First preference will be given to ongoing YWPHI members. We cannot guarantee that there will be mailboxes for everyone who wants one.

If your membership has lapsed or you are not a member, please visit the Membership page for instructions on how to join YWPHI.





Guests Visiting Yosemite West Property Owners

Invited guests may request an Entry Slip from a ranger at any of the national park entrance stations and avoid being charged the national park entrance fee. The ranger will write the property owner's name and address, the guests' name(s) and date(s) of visit on the Entry Slip (a half page of yellow paper). When the guest arrives, the property owner signs the Entry Slip and returns it to the guest who gives it back to a ranger at any entrance station when departing the park.

Bear Activity

Bears are active in Yosemite West this fall and broke into several homes this summer. Moose Mutlow of the NPS Bear Council presented suggestions to the community at the YWPHI 2004 annual meeting. Read about what you can do right now to decrease your risk from Living With Bears.

Guidelines

Please read the Guidelines for Yosemite West Residents & Guests online or print a downloadable version.


Controlling Light Pollution

The non-profit International Dark Sky Association addresses the problem of light pollution to help preserve dark skies while maximizing the quality and efficiency of outdoor lighting. Here are some of their suggestions to minimize light pollution without compromising nighttime safety, security or utility:


Garbage Disposal

All garbage dumpsters in Yosemite West are privately owned since there is no public garbage disposal system. Yosemite West residents can join the Yosemite West Trash Cooperative to obtain a means to dispose of household garbage. This consists of a four-yard dumpster on Henness Circle (at 7476 Henness Circle during summer and at the corner of Henness Circle and Azalea Lane during winter) and is available to cooperative members who pay a fee. The current fee is:

The fee is collected approximately every five months and depends on the number of participants. The more members, the longer the period. The dumpster is emptied weekly by Total Waste Management. Anyone interested in joining the Yosemite West Trash Cooperative should contact Pete Ulyatt at 323-258-6316 or by email at ulyatt@sbcglobal.net.

Dumping household waste in the National Park Service dumpsters is illegal and subject to a fine.

Bears are active in Yosemite West and have broken into several homes. Read about what you can do right now to decrease your risk from Living With Bears.

Also refer to the Guidelines for Yosemite West Residents & Guests.

Fish Camp Transfer Station

Residents can haul oversized household trash and other materials to the Fish Camp Transfer Station, located on the Mt. Raymond Road next to the Goat Meadow Snow Play Park, approximately two miles north of Fish Camp along the east side of Highway 41. They accept household garbage, recyclables, appliances and furniture. Charges apply to some materials. They do not accept construction debris or hazardous materials. It is open 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays only, starting November 17, 2004.


Energy Efficiency in Your Home

Replacing older appliances and fixtures can reduce energy and water consumption while saving you money. For example, a front-loading clothes washer uses 85% less kWh/year and 50% less water per load than conventional top-loading washing machines. A typical household doing two loads of laundry per week can conserve more than 2,500 gallons of water annually. The savings will cover the cost of the appliance in less than two years.

Sears in Oakhurst occasionally offers rebates for free delivery of appliances to Yosemite West. Visit their website for offers.

Related Energy Efficiency Links:

Call PG&E's Smarter Energy Line at (800) 933-9555 or visit their website. Look for Energy-Star rated appliances; visit the Energy Star website for tips. The Consumer Energy Center offers statewide rebates.


Commercial Services

Go to the Commercial Services page.


Classifieds

Contact the webmaster to post your notice here in addition to putting it on the community bulletin board in the mailbox shelter.


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Copyright Yosemite West Property & Homeowners, Inc. 2003-2010
Copyright photographs © John Mock 2004-2010
All rights reserved. Unauthorized redistribution of this document is prohibited.
Updated June 29, 2010