Board E-Vote (Virginia)

June,

You are correct that in general, any issue that can wait for the next scheduled meeting should wait until that meeting. Any issue that can't wait but needs a lot of discussion should have a special or emergency meeting of the Board. Any issue that can't wait and doesn't need a lot of discussion (like a tree fell in the road and needs to be removed), can be done as an action without meeting.

VA § 13.1-865 of the Nonstock Corporation Act applies for Board actions without a meeting.

VA § 55-510.1 of the VPOAA or if your in a condominium, VA § 55-79.75 of the condominium act, would be the applicable law for meetings of the Board.

An action without meeting requires unanimous written approval from all board members and the action along with documentation of that approval must be included with the minutes of the next meeting.

Again, an action without meeting should only be used when an issue can not wait for an emergency meeting to be called or the next scheduled meeting. To me this means something involving the safety of the residents of the community. To give you an idea, some of the things we have used action without a meeting for include:

1) Approval to expend funds to remove a common area tree that fell on a members house.
2) Approval to expend funds to remove snow (not just plowing) from the development (used during snowmageddon).

As you can see, the option is not used often and only when immediate action is needed. To use it for matters that can wait would likely be considered a violation of the open meeting laws enacted in the VPOAA or Condominium Act.

If you care to share what the issue was, we can offer opinions if it warranted an action without meeting or should have been decided in a meeting.

Hope this helps,

Tim

I am on the tree committee. A member of the community wants to remove a private tree on her property (town home community) that is diseased. The tree poses an immediate risk to her property and her neighbor's. To remove a private tree, the homeowner must submit a request for a Variance from the Architectural Control Committee to ensure the tree service is properly licensed and insured (she did that nearly a month ago). However the ACC said it meets every other month, and the process to review and approve can take another 60 days. The chair said the VA sunshine laws do not allow an e-vote to expedite and pass on to the Board for approval so the homeowner can have the tree removed, and they will not have a quorum to call a special committee meeting for a vote before the next official meeting date.

Her tree service recommends the tree be removed as soon as possible.

This matter is further complicated because another homeowner recently decided (within the past month) - as he worded it - "I don't want to waste time jumping through hoops like a trained seal." He bypassed the process, hired a contractor to remove two trees (both relatively healthy and posing no risk to person or property) without committee or board approval. Since there is no penalty for by-passing the process, several homeowners are now asking if the policy may be too rigid and needs to amended, and others are questioning if it is even valid, since it's a privately owned tree on private property.

The Board used to fine people for violations in the past, now they restrict use of the common grounds (Pool, Tennis Courts and Reserved Parking Space). There is nothing in our governing documents that addresses fines. Our association is nearly 50 years old and the governing documents are very vague and have never been updated. We have to use VA law as our guide and pretty much restricted to VA allowed fines and liens.

Two years ago the Board decided that it would not fine a homeowner for violations anymore - except the maximum allowed by VA law - $10/day for 90 days for maintenance violations. And even then, the Board is reluctant to assess those fines and does so only as a last resort ... I suspect it is because of inconsistent enforcement.

Our HOA is pretty good sized - 343 townhouses and 6 single family homes.

Thanks Tim - much of what you have said and recommend has been put to the Board for consideration at the next Board meeting. I just recevied an email from the homeowner's insurance company - they contacted the property management firm and said if the homeowner does not act very soon, the tree will become a liability and the claim may fall to the HOA - the Board is now reviewing the request and told the homeowner she may proceed.

June,

If someone has a speaker phone (heck many cell phones have that function), you can announce a meeting and obtain a quorum by having the person phone in. This way, you can hold the meeting, approve/disapprove the tree and still be in compliance with VA law.

Hope this helps,

Tim