rewriting the by-laws and Covenants

I would look at other posts on here related to that question. I believe there is one here about "costs of filing" that would be beneficial.
It is NOT an easy process and should be undertaken every 5 years in my opinion. Laws change and what the people want does too.
It took us 2 years to change our By-laws/CC&R's and it was just simple issues such as address change, deleting developer references, and having separate water meters.
First I would examine your documents and find out exactly how much majority vote of the members you will need. (This is NOT a majority board member vote.) Our By-laws had a 75% vote to change and the CC&R's a 90% requirement. The CC&R's supercedes ANY conflicts between the 2 documents if there are any. So it may be necessary to change BOTH if possible. The CC&R's are the most important.
There are available form packets at your local Office supply store that may provide guidance. They are near "sell your own home" and "incorporation forms". Your HOA should be a non-profit corporation by now. If it isn't you may want to pick up those related forms/cd as well. They are under $20.
I would recommend an attorney if everyone is soo unfamiliar with what to do. You will need to have a SPECIAL MEETING that is SEPARATE from the regular meeting to discuss the proposed changes. Any changes to the By-laws/CC&R's has to be done by SPECIAL meeting. Unless your documentation states otherwise. Invite the attorney to this meeting to get started/guidance.
Remember ANY costs this is going to cost is going to have to split amongst ALL the members. If your HOA has enough money in their budget then I wouldn't expect dues or special assessments to be used to cover the costs. However, if your HOA is on a limitted budget, expect to have to take steps to raise the money. Attorneys, court costs, filing fees, and distribution isn't cheap. I would expect to spend between $2,000 to $5,000 conservatively. It really depends on the size of the HOA and the attorney costs. Good luck!!! It was NOT an easy undertaking but worth it completely in the end.

My guess is that you'll have a very difficut time getting 75% (or whatever is required) of the members to agree on anything. Our former board proposed voting on three ammendments and the resident troublemaker jumped up, interrupted the meeting, and accused the board of "trying to put something over on us". A loud discussion ensued and needless to say, the ammendments have not been passed.

You may end up having to vote on each ammendment seperately and that could be cumbersome and possibly expensive depending on the voting requirements specified in your CC&Rs or Bylaws.

Also, if you are considering restricting situations that were not restricted in the past (such as parking boat trailers or RVs), what do you do about owners who are doing these things already? Is it fair to tell someone who's been allowed to park a boat in the back yard for several years that he can no longer do so? On the other hand, if you "grandfather" the existing conditions, how do you respond to a future owner who moves next to this boat and you tell him he can't keep a boat but his neighbor can?

As I look at our CC&Rs, I would like to add or change much of the wording to address issues that weren't around in 1989 when our were written (portable basketball goals near the street for one) but I think it would just pit homeowners against each other and nothing good would come of it.

You need to do some serious thinking and communicating with the members before you take this very far. Many homeowners feel their HOA is "against" them every step of the way.

One suggestion is a written survey or poll asking members how the community could be improved and asking them what changes should be made.

Hi Eric:

A word of caution on this: if you've just gone through turnover and are a completely new board, you may want to get a year or so of experience before you start changing the documents (passing resolutions is different). Talk with your community manager to discuss some things, such as: what problems have you encountered that aren't covered by our documents? What problems do you see with what is in our documents? What are things that you see in other, comparable communities' documents that aren't in ours?

There may be some owners who are dissatisfied with your documents simply because they don't like particular restrictions and would like to see them gone. Carefully consider the owners' input about the documents - what they would like to see taken out, as well as what they would like to see put in - and consider how your community would look/run with those changes in place.

I worked with a Board that passed some ammendments to their documents when I did portfolio management. They had 40 owners and a 75% approval (of ALL owners) required for passing. It took several letters sent out from our office, followed up by the Board going door-to-door for those who had not yet responded. It took approximately 4 months (we didn't set up a final date on replies, and nobody requested a secrecy ballot, so we were able to keep track of who had replied and how they voted). We had two "No" votes, it took 30 yes votes to pass. While it is not impossible, the standard is very high to change documents. If it's needed, then go for it; but consider the cost in time/money/energy of the board, before proceeding.

Best of luck with the new board!

J. Patrick Moore, CMCA
Compliance Coordinator
Forest Heights Homeowners Association
Portland, Oregon

Comments? Yes, Tina, start a new thread and be a little more organized with you writing. Writing a new subject title will help.

Is the issue only about the proposed playground? Or the annual meeting? Or, what else? Perhaps it's better if your HOA member friend write to us instead of you won't know all of the details.

John,

With the thread being from 2007 and the fact that Eric only has 1 post since that time frame, I suspect that Eric has left the forum.