Can ARC votes be secret?

My HOA is trying to setup an Architectural Review Committee. It is required by our bylaws, but I don't think the HOA has had one in the last 30+ years.

The only people who have expressed interest in being on the committee are mean. One has all but said she wants on the committee so she can go after her next door neighbor. I suspect the others have similar intentions.

I have asked several people to volunteer, but they have all said no. One told me it was because she fears retaliation from other residents if she doesn't vote their way. Can ARC votes be kept secret?

Aaron

Many BOD's also act as the ARC. After all is is the BOD with the final say be there an ARC or not.

The Board should Appoint the ARC committee to be comprised of people who see that decisions are somewhat objective - based on written ARC guidelines. So the board needs to be sure that ARC rules are clear and concise and updated. That's their job.
.

Anyone who "all but says" they are volunteering to get back at someone should not on the committee.

It's hard to get volunteers today. I think that certain people need to be "invited" to be on a committee by the Board. Sometimes one-on-one visits to recruit a select group is best.

If you bylaws require an ARC and you can't get someone to do it, hire an outside consultant (a licensed builder)

I've been asking people, one-on-one. That is how I know they are afraid of harassment and retaliation. I am hoping that if the votes are anonymous, they may be more willing to volunteer because they'll have plausible deniability.

Yes, there is a problem with the board. Specifically, the people who want to go after their neighbors are on the board. I though we were going to get rid of one of them at the last annual meeting (two open seats up for reelection, three candidates), but a board member was bullied into stepping down so there would be three open seats.

The fear of harassment is real. Since I have been advocating for not having board members on the ARC, I have been receiving angry phone calls daily, early in the morning (these people know I work at night, and I am usually asleep when they call). I started turning off my phone, and now I get people ringing my door bell, or slamming my screen door.

Our covenants and bylaws only say that votes by the board can't be secret. The only thing I can find in NM law is that we are required to maintain "records of all
actions taken by a committee in place of the board or on behalf of the association for the previous five year." Would "The ARC voted to..." or "By a 2-1 vote, the ARC decided to..." be sufficient to meet the requirement for a record?

Originally, the HOA was responsible for everything up to the patio and exterior walls, including painting and other exterior maintenance. The details in the CCR basically say the HOA can deny anything it considers not in keeping with the harmony and conformity of the community. Since originally the only things an owner could change were the doors. windows, and patio plantings, that lack of detail was probably ok.

At some point, the CCR was amended so that owners were responsible for the "yard" in front of their patio, and for all exterior maintenance. No additional directions were added to the CCRs. The only guidelines that have been in use since I have lived here are the paint colors.

Are there any sample ARC charters I could use as a template? Or sample guidelines?

Authority for the ARC is usually found in the CC&Rs because the CC&Rs are the only document that can give you authority over private property. So, in my opinion, a charter for the ARC would serve no purpose unless it is in the CC&Rs.

Many HOAs make the mistake of thinking that they can create additional control over private property using guidelines, bylaws, rules, etc.

I agree with Richard here.

Perhaps, Ben, because we're a high rise HOA, there are plenty of ARC-type rules in our CC&Rs. More, the CC&Rs, give the authority to the board to elaborate on these CC&R details so long as, to Richard's point, they do not conflict with the CC&Rs.

So.... we do, in fact, have a charter for the ARC so that committee members know what is expected of them. Their charter IS an elaboration of some details in our CC&Rs and also complies with CA laws.

As a high rise, Aaron, our Guidelines wouldn't be useful to you. But in what ways could a nasty ARC or board member make it hard for an owner to make changes?

Good grief, your neighbors need to find something constructive to do instead of plotting against each other - are there people who really want to stick it to the folks next door because of a damned door????

Maybe what your community needs are design standards, which could address things like color, type of windows and doors, etc. The main idea of requiring approval for exterior changes is supposed to maintaining the community's original look and design, and hopefully ensure a reasonable quality of workmanship. Unfortunately, some people get bogged down on issues like picket style fences vs. shadow box, houses painted pink vs. purple vs. beige and why Mrs. So and So has a hedge in her yard for a fence.

It seems the board will have to take more of the ACR approval process since there don't appear to be homeowners who are adult enough to behave in a fair and consistent manner. The committee can brainstorm over design standards (the board can tell them what to focus on, such as doors and windows) and then make recommendations to the board. Take them out of the approval process altogether, but they can have a hand in setting the design standards (all of which should be approved by the board before it takes effect). For this to work, I'd expect to see committee members walking around the communities, perhaps talking to people about what they'd like to do, colors and styles they prefer, and then the board can send draft standards to the homeowners for their input before tweaking them and signing off on them.

Unfortunately, the people who aren't adult enough to behave in a reasonable manner are on the board.

I've gotten two reasonable people to volunteer for the board, and I'm working on a third. Saturday we have a board meeting and I'll find out if the board will actually vote to form the committee, and appoint these individuals.

I do intend to ask them to cite the applicable part of the CRR, but other than some things about service yards(?), about the only thing it cites is "harmony and conformity."