Committee Issue & Conflict of Interest Resolutions?

Last night at our monthly BOD meeting, the BOD 'acted in the capacity of the Arch Committee' and approved 3 Arch Review Applications including one belonging to a Board Member. The reason they were acting as the committee is because they had not read the documents and realized that the committee is defined in the CCRs and requires 3 or more members. Only one Member was appointed in September at our annual meeting. About 20 minutes after they approved these applications, they appointed the rest of the committee.

One Homeowner has requested that the new Arch Committee review the applications due to the fact that they were not the "Architectural Committee."

We have been told by an Association Attorney, that the BOD cannot 'act in the capacity of any committee' unless it is stated in our CCRs. Does anyone know if this is true? Our documents do not list it as a duty of a board member nor is it under any of the committees. I really have read these documents inside and out and cannot find anything.

Is this Homeowner right? Should the Applications be turned over to the Arch Committee and reviewed (again)? I know this sounds like a waste of time, but the Attorney has said that any 'stipulations' that were added may not be able to be upheld unless approved and/or denied by the actual Committee Members. For example, one application was approved to install a fence with the stipulation that the fence not be painted or stained until a color has been submitted for approval.

Also, this Board Member did not abstain from the vote taken, nor did they even mention that one of the homes was theirs. The address was on the agenda and the Homeowner made the connection after the meeting. Should the Board Member have abstained from the vote?

The Homeowner feels as though this Board Member rushed the rest of the board through the vote. One of the Board Members had never even seen the plans and was still reviewing them when the Board Member asked 3 times..."Do I have a motion to approve these Architectural Applications?"

What should or does the BOD need to do to rectify this situation?

Thanks for any feedback.

Christina,

I don't see that anything was done wrong. The BOD stepped up and made the A/C decisions because there was not a committee in place. Most CCRs state that appeals are made to the BOD and their decision is final, so it's not as though the BOD cannot be involved in A/C decisions.

With regard to the case that was approved with the stipulation that the fence not be painted until the color is approved by the A/C: Even though the attorney stated stipulations may not be able to be upheld unless ruled on by the A/C, in this case I think his opinion may not apply if paint colors are already required to be approved by the A/C.

Yes, the board member who voted on the request for her home should have abstained from the vote. However, if her vote was not a tiebreaker or if the request made was not controversial, then no harm done. Forget about it and move one.

Christina,

May I ask in which county do you live in Maryland? The Attorney Generals office has established that county's may establish the HOADRB (Homeowners Association Dispute Resolution Board). Three counties have them currently, they are: Montgomery, Prince Georges and Charles. The OAG attempts to mediate complaints to the satisfaction of both parties. An easy-to-understand publication, The Consumer's Edge, Issue #132, which explains OAG HOA and Condo homeowner services is available by clicking here, going to the Home section and clicking on Common Ownership Communities (COCs). If you live in Prince George's County, you can contact the Office on Common Ownership Communities. This office offers training sessions, assists during transition periods, offers mediation services and provides needed information. Call 301-952-4729 or go to the Office of Community Relations web site and choose Common Ownership Communities. The e-mail address is [email protected].

If you live in Montgomery County and are concerned about arbitrary or illegal actions by your Board, you can contact the Commission on Common Ownership Communities at: 1-240-777-3636

If you live in Charles County, you can file a complaint with the Charles County Homeowner’s Association Dispute Review Board. The primary purpose of this Board is to help resolve conflicts between property owners and their governing associations. They can be reached at 301-645-0597.

If I understand you correctly, in order to see if they violated the Bylaws or Committee Guidelines, we would need to review those documents. I would be happy to assist you as I am the Vice Chairman of the Charles County Homeowner’s Association Dispute Review Board.

Mark

Christina,

As long as this type apathy exists in your assn and the members don't care about having a board with no regard for the members' rights, etc. then there isn't much you -- one person! -- can do about it. Sorry, but that's the way it is in many assns. Until something happens that hits the members in their pocketbooks they'll be content to just sit back and let the BOD do as they please. Actually some assn members don't even care about assessment increases. An HOA in my community is required to raise their assessments by a certain % each year. The BOD asked for an amendment to the declaration to remove this requirement but couldn't get enough votes. I'm not saying there were too many "no" votes; there just weren't enough ballots sent in!