Can HOA board close our swimming pool?

When we closed our pool a few years ago, we put a vote to the homeowners and the majority voted to close it as the board recommended. Our documents required a 75% approval rate, but some may state the decision to alter, drop or offer amenities is a board decision, so check yours.

It would have been a good idea for your board to provide information on maintenance costs, how much they've increased over the years, usage, etc., and how all that factored in its decision. I was on the board at the time of our pool vote and prepared a fact sheet listing the pros and cons and all that information so homeowners could make an informed decision. If your board didn't provide any details on its decision, you should ask for them.

Probably

Our declaration states the following:
"The judgement of the Board of Directors in establishing Annual Assessments, Special Assessments, and other charges, and the expenditure of such funds shall be final and conclusive so long as such judgement is exercised in good faith"

If there's a clause like that in your declaration then it stands to reason that the Directors have the right to not expend funds on the pool and close it.

A more community friendly option however would be for the board to poll the community, explaining the problem, and offering the community the opportunity to weigh in on either closing the pool or raising assessments to the degree that would enable the pool to remain open. The procedure for increasing assessments above the annual rate ceded to the board would also be in your governing documents

Was this decision, Liz, made in an open meeting that Owners could have attended? Are there minutes from that meeting that you can read to understand the decision better?

In many US states, decision like this may not be made behind closed doors in secret.

I agree with those who say that the board can decide to removed common area items.

I also agree that the board should have explained their reasoning prior to the meeting when they made their decision.

One thing I was trying to say, Liz, is that depending on your Bylaws and TX law, the board may have not acted legitimately if it voted on this behind closed doors. Nigel will know.

Yes, the board should have survey owners for their opinions with pros & cons, etc. Some Board fail implement this courtesy becasweu they don't know it's a good idea. Other Boards don't survey owners because they're arrogant or lazy.

Board meetings are required to be open and they have to be announced at least 72 hours prior to the meeting to include the agenda.

Sec. 209.0051. of the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act provides specific information about open board meetings and the manner in which they should be announced and conducted.

Can you cite, from your CC&Rs, LetA, that the board may not remove any common area amenities? Ours don't say that.

Trust me there would be so much grief in closing down the pool, what would the BOD do with the land? They would almost have to sell it and you as a declarant
would be entitled to the proceeds of the sale.. And if they sell it, would the BOD want to be a developer or just sell the land..That is something that I don't think they even considered..

This BOD must do this properly, or they will end up in a sticky mess. Our Covenants say the BOD will maintain the common area and amenities in good working order.

So, even if 51% wanted the pool closed, the CC&R's would have to be changed first. Now, and here is where it can get messy, if you close the pool prematurely and the use permit expires or is cancelled, the pool will have to meet the new codes and regulations before it can be reopened.

Scenario (please comment if you feel this wrong)

Covenants say "...must maintain in good working order..." and require 2/3rds affirmative vote to amend.

The Board receives a motion to close the pool, puts the motion on the agenda and receives 51% affirmative votes.

The pool is closed, drained, covered, filled with dirt, etc (whatever the case may be)

One homeowner who did not want the pool closed get's legal counsel and challenges the BOD decision and the methods used.

It goes to court.

The court finds in favor of the plaintiff.

The pool now has to have anti-slip decking, additional depth markings, dual vacuum ports at the bottom and a VFD pump that shuts off automatically, IN ORDER to receive a new use permit.

The right way to close this pool is to amend the CC&R's first.
Good Luck

There are state HOA laws that dictate what HOAs can and cannot do. Changing elements linked to the deed (i.e., covenants) are not generally allowed without a vote. I believe, in some cases, changes cannot be made to substantially change the property in any case, vote or no vote.

Think of this example. At the end of a long paved road inside an HOA exists only three homes. The community could easily vote to stop paying to pave that road just for three owners. This is unfair, yes, but I think we could all see a possibility that a *vote* might pass to save money at the expense of those three residents. As such, state law generall protects from Boards and communities from changing properties in a substantial way that may hurt owners, take away amenities or change property value once they've purchased in a community.

I'm not a lawyer or expert--just giving my interpretation based on state board training and past board experience. Hope it's helpful.