California law provides minimum steps for architectural review procedures. (Civil Code §4765) If an association’s governing documents require association approval before a physical change is made to a separate interest or the common area, the association must provide a fair, reasonable, and expeditious procedure for making its decision. See “Architectural Enforcement Procedures for Community Associations.”
Adjourned Meetings
Member meetings may be adjourned to end the meeting or to postpone the meeting if quorum is not obtained. Corporations Code section 7511(d) mandates that no meeting may be adjourned for more than 45 days. The quorum at an adjourned member meeting may be reduced to a lower amount, if the bylaws so provide.
Articles of Incorporation
Articles of Incorporation (“Articles”) are the formation document for incorporated corporations and are a part of an association’s governing documents. Articles are filed with the Secretary of State. Articles spell out the name, basic corporate purposes and powers, and character of the corporation (i.e., common interest developments are nonprofit mutual benefit corporations). Articles can be amended in accordance with the requirements in the Articles and the Corporations Code.
ADR
Asbestos
An association must provide notice to owners and non-owner residents of the project of the presence of asbestos. See California Health & Safety Code Sections 25915 et seq. There is some ambiguity regarding the applicability of the statutes. Sections 25915 through 25919.7 are part of Chapter 10.4 of the Health & Safety Code. Section 25919.2 states in part that “‘Building,’ as used in this chapter, means all or part of any ‘public and commercial building,’ … except that ‘building’ shall not mean residential dwellings.” However, Section 25915.2(d), also part of this chapter, states in part that other subparagraphs in Section 25915.2 “shall not be construed to require owners of a building or part of a building within a residential common interest development to mail written notification to other owners of a building or part of a building within the residential common interest development,” if certain conditions are met. The implication is that these requirements do apply in residential developments if the conditions are not met, or that a community association must meet the conditions when there is asbestos in a common interest development. Although there may be an ambiguity, we believe associations are better protected by following the requirements of Section 25915.2.
Agenda
The Open Meeting Act requires each board meeting to contain the meeting agenda. (Civ. Code §4920(d)) This requirement applies to both executive and open session board meetings, with limited exceptions for emergency meetings. In general, the board may not discuss or take action on any item at a non-emergency meeting unless the item was placed on the agenda included with the notice for that meeting. (Civ. Code §4930(a)) Limited exceptions exist for cursory and/or emergency action on non-agenda items. (Civ. Code §4930(b)(c)(d)) Boards should especially exercise caution in determining an appropriate level of detail for the executive session agenda, so as not to publish confidential or privileged information. See each statute for specific requirements and limitations.
Assessments
Every member of an association is obligated to pay a share of common expenses through payment of assessments. As an association is funded and operates using assessment income, collection of assessments is one of the most important functions a board can undertake. When assessments go unpaid, associations can suffer from deferred maintenance and other problems that can ultimately affect the value of property in the community.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
This process is designed to resolve disputes without litigation. ADR can take the form of internal dispute resolution (also known as informal dispute resolution), mediation or arbitration. Under the Civil Code, an association must generally offer and, if accepted, participate in ADR prior to filing a lawsuit against a member.
Assignment of Rent
CC&Rs may provide that if a member becomes delinquent in assessments, that member is deemed to have assigned rental income from their association property to the association. (Civ. Code §2938) In the absence of such a provision, if the association has a judgment against a member, it may seek a court order for an assignment of rents to be paid toward satisfaction of that judgment. (Code Civ. Proc. §708.510 et seq.)