Anyone dealing with Use Restrictions requiring a supermajority to amend?

Typically CC&R's changes take 90 to 100 % of the owners to change/modify. By-laws or Articles of Incorporation usually take less percentage of votes to change. Ours it was 75% but seen others as low as 51%. Once voted then it is filed with the county or the state. County it's the CC&R's and State for Articles of Incorporation. It does cost money to file. We spent $750 in filing fees on top of lawyer fees.

Little confused on what your HOA is trying to change. Your saying your documents say you can ONLY own horses? Your county allows for other forms of livestock? A HOA can be a bit more restrictive than county/city laws but still need to comply. It's a good idea your HOA is taking this route in changing their documentation to reflect these changes.

So what is your problem? That rule changes will effect you personally?

The answer is in whatever documents are on file at the courthouse. 67% of the vote may be for the by-laws changes not CC&R's. The thing they are trying to change may not be in the CC&R's as that is a general outline type document. The By-laws are internal HOA document and fills in the gaps with more details than the CC&R's.

We made changes to our CC&R's, by-laws, and Articles of Incorporation. It took about 3 years and about $3K. Ours was changing the reference to our water meter and address of the developer change. 5 changes altogether. These were minor changes and it was a struggle.

Atleast your HOA doesn't have apathy on the issue. That can really be much worse.

IF this is about allowing pigs or other livestock besides horses, there are serious bona fide reasons why to NOT allow this. It may put the horses in danger of getting diseases not to mention humans. I lived up the road from a pig farm. The wind would hit it sometimes and whew the smell!

Pigs/cows (Other livestock) can really have an effect on the environment. They can easily pollute the water supply. Not to mention if the horse walks across that land, it will spread any potential contamination. Owning such livestock also invites their use to business purposes. Something typically banned in HOA's.

I have always felt there is something special about people who love and own horses. They usually put the horse above anything else. It sounds like the intent of your original HOA was laying this groundwork for the future to keep the land for use of horses for the horse/horse owners best benefit. Hence why your HOA's documents are written as such.

When I lived out in the county we had a natural spring that came out of a hill. It was common for everyone in the community to stop and fill up a jug. Especially whenever there were water issues. (Our pipes broke and had no water for a week except for this spring). Unfortunately, the county discovered there was a farm nearby with cows. They had to close off the spring because the farm run-off polluted that water. It also made much of that land unable to be used for planting.

So your HOA needs to look the original intent of the HOA. Plus the change of conditions introducing livestock will have on it's long term use. The HOA works by majority vote and the minority opinion will always be effected the most a majority of the time. It's just the way the cookie crumbles.