Home Owner's Association Questions and Answers
To receive the Davis-Stirling newsletter click here. Enter your e-mail address at the bottom of the page to sign up.A reader asks: Traditionally, our board meetings are on Saturdays. A new member of the board observes Sabbath on Saturdays. Are the remaining directors required to adjust the meeting day to accommodate the new director?
Our Reply: Boards can set their own meeting dates and times, but must reasonably accommodate the schedules of its directors. Accommodating a director's Wednesday night poker game would not qualify; accommodating a well-recognized religious schedule (Sunday mornings church services and Saturday Sabbath) would qualify.
A reader asks: Can the board eliminate a costly amenity such as an electronic vehicle gate or man-made stream, due to high maintenance costs?
Our reply: Assuming the CC&Rs do not mandate the particular amenities, the board can eliminate the amenity, but it does so with some risk. Owners who use the amenity will argue that they bought into the development because of the particular amenity, whether it be security, streams, equestrian trails, tennis courts, etc.
Accordingly, eliminating significant amenities and/or services without membership approval could lead to litigation. It is better to put such issues to a vote of the membership. If the members vote to eliminate the amenity, it minimizes potential litigation.
A reader asks: I was told we had to follow due process before levying a fine. What is due process?
Our reply: Due process means giving the accused homeowner (i) notice of an alleged violation, (ii) a hearing where he/she has an opportunity to see/hear the evidence and (iii) an opportunity to present a defense. For more information, see due process.
A reader asks: In the past two months, a few owners have continually shouted and screamed in board meetings about the association's parking procedures, which 99% of the owners support. Requests that the screamers sit down and act in a civil manner does no good, resulting in the meeting getting out of control and non-productive. What can the board do?
Our reply: Your remedies include fining owners for disruptive behavior, ejecting them from the meeting, calling the police if they refuse to leave, or moving the meeting to a member's unit (if disruptive owners force their way into the unit, it would be trespassing). Before levying fines, the board should adopt rules against such behavior. See our sample agenda for rules you might wish to adopt.
A reader asks: If someone "might" buy a unit, do they have a right to the association's books and records? Then anyone could look at our books, no?
Our reply: Potential buyers do not have a right to review and copy the associations books and records. Only if the person is actually in escrow can he/she request documents. Unfortunately, sellers can get around this by requesting records for themselves and then giving them to the potential buyer.
A reader asks: My board has directed me to write to a homeowner to remove a string of old and faded flags she has hanging in the front of the unit. From what we have been told, they are probably Buddhist prayer flags. Is there any restriction about enforcing a architectural rule because it might be a religious symbol?
Our reply: The right to display a flag only applies to U.S. flags. However, if the flags are small and innocuous, boards could choose to allow the display--much like allowing Mezuzahs to be displayed on door posts.
Japanese Delegation on Condos. Joan Urbaniac, Executive Director of the Los Angeles chapter of CAI, Lynne Collmann, manager of the Savoy Community Association, Mark O'Brien, an attorney in my office who is fluent in Japanese and has worked in Japan, and I recently met with representatives of the Japanese government.
We met with the Senior Deputy Director, Land Policy Division of Japan, the Director of Japan's Housing Division, and the Consulate General of Japan for Tourism, Transport, Infrastructure and Environmental Affairs. They were on a fact finding mission from Japan. They were most interested in how to set up educational and regulatory structures for the growing condominium industry in Japan.
Japan does not have comparable professional organizations such as the Community Associations Institute (CAI) and the California Association of Community Managers (CACM) and is weighing governmental controls versus encouraging voluntary organizations. They had questions about CAI and CACM, about professional designations such as PCAM, CCAM, and AMS, and about how California regulated common interest developments.
Comment: I spoke on the benefits of voluntary organizations versus the problems of excessive governmental intrusion. The meeting was testament to the fact that California is in the forefront of issues involving the community association industry.
- Adrian J. Adams, Esq. ADAMS & KESSLER LLP
posted by SFResidence.com @ 8:12 AM
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