Getting around making Covenant Changes

Hi, New member here,

I am a newly elected Board member of our POA (HOA)
This is about Road Bonds but has wider implications

Our POA is in North Carolina which has a state wide statute NCGS 47F for Planned Communities
It says nothing about this issue.

Curious, Our Covenant document states that a refundable $1,000.00 road bond will be collected before construction is allowed to start.
We have an Architectural Review Board (ARB) which has a Guidance Document (GD) issued to all new builders.
There has been some discussion among board members to raise this due to excessive wear on roads and rising costs to repair.
Knowing the difficulty in making a covenant change (we need a 67% vote to approve) a board member has proposed that instead we add new, higher amounts to the ARB GD instead of going through an arduous process to change the covenants.

Is this a standard practice and more importantly , is it even legal to do it this way? How legally binding is a Guidance Document?

Any assistance would be appreciated.

Gary

Thanks, I am in full agreement.

Having recently become a member of the board I was struck by how much of this type of thinking is and has happened in the past. I seem to be in the minority when it comes to doing things like this.
Should I be contacting a lawyer to get clarity?

Honestly, right now I am sorry I ran for this office. Every board meeting we have feels like a Kangaroo Court and we just make decisions unilaterally about everything.

I found out that just before I took my place on the board a "deal" was struck with a new lot owner conveying common property for a deed to a boat slip. our General Statute 47F expressly states that conveying Common Property must be approved by a vote of 80% of the membership of the association.

I don't know what to do. It seems like a run away board.

Since most states and local jurisdictions don't provide much oversight to associations, from a practical point boards can get away with a lot that is not proper. Unless somebody sues and the issue ends up in front of a judge, the board's decisions will effectively stand.

Your dock issue is a great example. Any owner could sue the association to force return of the property, and probably win based on the facts you have stated. If nobody sues, then the owner has their private dock.

Hi Gary
Can you explain who gets the road bond funds, how they can be used, and who has control of disbursements?
Thanks.

The hierarchy of documents makes your covenant superior to your GD. In other words, the GD cannot be in conflict with your Covenant.

I agree that the $1k seems inadequate. But trying to raise the Bond fund will need to go to a vote. IMO, no workaround.

In an HOA (in Florida anyway) the common elements are not owned by "all the homeowners". That's typically a condo concept where unit owners own an "undivided interest" in the common property".

In an HOA the common property and elements are owned by the Association itself, the incorporated entity. Insofar as homeowners are members of the association they may influence what happens with the common property by voting for Directors who sit together as a Board and make all the decisions, but the homeowners technically do not own any part of it.

Meant to say In North Carolina