Architectural Features removed that were part of the Condominium plan--Can they do this?

The porch balconies on our condos were old and needed replacement. It would have been expensive, so our board had them removed--with no intention of replacing.

The balconies that were removed have been an architectural feature of our buildings for 32 years. They are part of the original Condomium Plans approved by the City and are on file in the County archives.

Question: does the Board have the right to remove an architectural feature that was a part of my home? Without the balconies shading my porches, my A/C bills are higher and the A/C cannot properly cool the lower level of my house any longer. In my opinion, and the opinion of the 12 other units that are affected, this also diminishes the value of the buildings we purchased.

Please advise

Thanks for your prompt response, Roger. The question I am asking is more about the latitude HOA's have to change things approved by the civil authorities. If structural and architectural changes are made from approved Condominium Plans, is there any recourse from City, County or State agencies such as planning and code enforcement or the Real Estate Commission. Is there nothing that protects property within an HOA?

Removal of my balcony leaves my second story sliding glass door with a sheer drop off of 10 feet to a stone porch below! Is there no legal recourse?

I believe this is a code violation. Request your Board correct this or else you will contact the City or County Code enforcement group.

Our New and IMPROVED CC & R's have clearly outlined owners' obligations in every little facet of the operation of the HOA, while removing most obligations of the HOA. There is not a single word about a requirement of a vote of members for changes to the units. It is left to the latitude of the Board with no membership approval required.

The rules do require that the HOA be responsible for maintenance, repair and replacement of the common areas. That's it. So, there's no replacement in this situation.

Our reserves are pitifully low and the complex is older and in need of repairs. There are many lawsuits against the HOA by homeowners, and insurance premiums are thru the roof. We are in trouble. We are being assessed for roof repairs big time, already.

All this said, 12 units have still lost a substantial feature of our units, and the question is still: can the HOA remove an architectural feature of the buildings that are part of the original Condominium plan and just determine not to replace them. Could they fill in pools if they determined we could lower our expenses not having them, or eliminate our hot tubs for the same reason? It all amounts to about the same thing, really--can they do this?