Legal term: Spot Assessments

An attorney for one of our members recently commented that our Covenants do not provide for "Spot Assessments". I have tried to find some reference/basis for the term, but so far without success.

Has anyone heard of this terminology?

As background we are in Georgia. The comment was made in connection with an Impact Fee, charged on each new home construction. It was voted into place at our AGM. The fee is a proactive approach to support a section in our Covenants that makes the Lot owner responsible for any damage to roads or common areas. Members considered the Impact Fee, paid before construction starts, as a more manageable approach than getting into arguments and/or litigation after the fact; (unless damage is major and the culprit clearly identifiable).

Any information or comments would be appreciated.

Our attorney said the fee is legal, and suggested recording the resolution at the courthouse so it is a matter of public record for any potential buyer in future.
When formulating the Fee we did consider the "rational nexus" principle and have background to support the $ value which represents 0.25-0.3% of a typical house cost. We are a new HOA and we do not want to spend any more on legal fees unless necessary.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Martyn

Thanks for explaining the term "spot assessment".
The term spot assessment was raised by (the attorney) one of the few members who does not like the idea of the Impact Fee.

I am a little confused by your comment about the action our(the HOA) attorney recommended. Do you think the idea of recording the resolution is not a good idea?

Our members think the Impact Fee is a good idea and voted it into place by a clear majority. The proposal for the Impact Fee came from the membership and not the Board. The fee will be collected at the time final approval of plans is given by the Architectural Control Committee.

As background. The developer spent about $20,000 on road repairs immediately before establishing the HOA. This brought the roads to standard and we appreciated his taking this action. As a developer he has sstood by his word and takes great personal pride in the development. He must have decided it was easier to spend the money rather than try to collect for the damages, but we will not have that ability. Hence, based on the $20,000 being approx. $1000 for each house completed to that point, the proposal for the Impact Fee of $750 was made.

Would appreciate if you are able to comment further on this matter.

Thanks,
Martyn

Thanks again for your rapid reply.
Our attorney did advise that the boiler plate/watertight approach would be to amend the Covenants, as this would have a higher standing than a resolution from the AGM. The thought of recording the resolution is to avoid the possibility of a new buyer saying they didn't know of this Fee until we get to changing the Covenants. We have a number of other areas where we want to amend the Covenants, most importantly to bring the Association under the Georgia Property Owners Association Act. This requires that the Association submit to the act in the Covenants. Rather than making a number of changes we think it may be best to combine these into one. A Covenants change requires a 70% affirmative vote and we will hopefully work towards this by the end of the year.

Since the AGM all members have been advised of the resolution(Impact Fee) and asked to submit comments:
A). if they think it imperative to amend the Covenants, or
B). think it is not in the interest of the Association. Interestingly those who have commented positively have in most cases added their own words of encouragement and agreement. Those who have checked that it is not in the interests of the Association have not given a single thought/explantation of why.

As is often the case,it is diffucult to know how much information to include with the question. Sorry I didn't give more information at the outset, but I thought it may be boring to most folks.

Hope this clarifies the situation without getting too involved.

I very much appreciate your sharing your thoughts and learned opinion.

Martyn