How to make rules or by-laws eco friendly

An Association is limited in it's authority based on the covenants and applicable statutes.

Typically an HOA has the authority is limited to maintain common areas and common elements along with approving or denying exterior changes to the private properties that are within the Association. Condominiums likely have additional authority.

Ignoring any debate about climate change (which I think we all should do), what is it you think an Association has the power to adopt that would affect the climate?

-- Check to see if any of your state's recent statutes, regarding energy efficiency, now override your HOA's covenants. In some states residential solar energy is now a property right, and HOAs can no longer prohibit solar panels.

-- If your covenants prohibit solar panels and your state's statutes are silent on the point, consider amending the covenants.

Print your rules and by-laws on recycled paper. ;-)

We have done nothing, nada, zippo and I see more of the same unless forced to do something.

We haven't done anything. Even if there was something we could do, if it's not authorized in the CC&Rs we couldn't do it anyway. Ain't nobody burning coal in their furnace here anyway.

Since when?

So if I change the color of our entrance sign to red the color needs to be specified for me to do it?

here is no doubt that associations are going to have to modify/rethink things as technology changes and people become more aware of environmental issues. Rather than fight such, learn to embrace/control the inevitable or it will be forced down your throat at a cost.

Oh, don’t start.

EV charging stations are starting to cause discussions. Who install? Where Installed? Pay for the electricty?

I think it’s great if your community is thinking about taking steps to become more environmentally friendly. No one person can tackle climate change alone, but If everyone did a little bit, it could add up. Doing things to reduce the amount of junk in landfills, reduce or eliminate the use of pesticides that can run off and ultimately wind up in the drinking water supply, may help the community save money in caring for the common area – and that always gets people’s attention.

AugustinD noted some states have passed laws prohibiting HOAs from enacting rules forbidding solar panels, so at some point you may want to discuss some of your proposals with your association attorney because there may be some city/county ordinances that may prohibit certain moves. For example, some people want to rip out the lawn and replace it with more environmentally-friendly plants, but others think they look like weeds or can harbor vermin if not kept under control. As for the solar panels, a town north of me is having a debate right now because a homeowner wanted to put several solar panels in his yard. The HOA doesn’t address the matter, but some of the neighbors are ticked off, saying they’re concerned about property values.

Cathy and George have some great suggestions to start off with – I’d start with seeing what could be adapted to the common area first and then run a poll by the homeowners to see what sorts of things they’d like to see or are considering, and review that against the CCRs. Look for some sort of environmental organization in your community that might be able to send in speakers to educate homeowners about the pros and cons of certain. If you don’t have one, try whatever agency is in charge of trash pickup – even establishing some sort of recycling program would be a good idea, especially if it saves the community money. Good luck!

One thing we have to keep in mind is we are not all in the same association. We vary from small, standalone patio homes in SC (such as mine) to multi high rise buildings in CA (such as Kerry's). Our concerns, guidelines, laws, etc can be quite different. Elevator. What is that? Pickleball Courts. What are they? Forget about snow plowing. Alligators and fire Ants I know a bit about......LOL

Man is pretty amazing, but its not capable of changing the climate of a planet. It has changed throughout history and will continue to change.

The poles are going to reverse soon, we are not capable of stopping that either.

Nor stopping solar flares.

Again, I agree pollution and conserving natural resources are important, but I disagree we have the power to change climates up or down.

I think the jury is still out when it comes to state or local legislative bodies compelling common interest communities to install EV stations. Considering the amount of electric service needed for each EV charger is 30 amps. The cost of the install including the drop fee the utility changes to trench and install electric service could bankrupt some HOA's.. Devils advocate, lets say technology changes, solar panels are incorporated into the vehicle and vesicles self regenerate their energy as they're driven, that would render the EV charging stations useless and a potential waste of money.

Recycling seems to be more and more a waste of time. My county lost its recycling plant early this year after it burned down, so beginning next year the county entered into a contract to send its recycling to a facility one county away. For which the county residents will be on the hook for an additional $200,000 a year. Unfortunately, every county in Florida has a mandate to hit certain recycling goals imposed by the state of Florida.

Such a waste. Recycling is a hoax.

Version of what? The article I linked is one of many reports on recycling that have come out in the last year or two. Ever since China stopped buying our recycled paper and plastic most of it ends up in landfills anyway.

The vicious cycle of stupidity continues.

Research where your recycling goes after it leaves your house.... you will not be pleased. Its true, ever since china stopped importing recyclables, the market has fallen apart. Once towns were paid for recycling, now they have to pay money to get rid of it. And yes..... much of it is going to landfills...... after you spent so much time separating it. Why? Its cheap to send it to a landfill vs doing anything else with it.

Not all recycling program are failures - you have significantly overstated.

I am appalled you would be so negative.

It is obvious you are incorrect.

It is also obvious you have missed the point of the obsolete necessity to make recycling programs successful.

ECUA MRF ... even the rednecks of Escambia County, FL figured out it was important.

Were there issues? Sure. Did they get worked? Yes.

Is it flawless? No. Will there be continuing problems trying to balance cost and utility. Sure.

Is it overwhelmingly important that we try to find ways to deal with the waste? To me, it is.

And a ECUA employee just got caught sealing $510,000. That will be passed on to you too.

Doing a little more digging..... looks like Escambia County (Pensacola) pays the ECUA $45 per ton to pretend to recycle, then ECUA brings it to the landfill and pays them $20 per ton.

What were you saying about rednecks figuring it out? Your paying $25 extra per ton for someone else to toss it in a landfill when you could be saving money by hauling it to the landfill yourself and skipping ECUA.

Geno may not be impressed with the recycling program in his community, but at least they have one. In my town, people have to pay extra to buy a special bin for recycling, plus an additional fee to the county, so the participation rate is very low. There’s been some discussion recently on changing the program to encourage more participation.

One program I support was set up to hire ex-cons, and they’ve been very successful at keeping them off the street and less likely to go back into crime. Most of the stuff they recycle is electronics and after they strip everything down, the metals are sold to other companies.

Recycling alone won’t resolve everything and there will be hiccups along the way, but anything that can reduce the amount of trash that goes into landfills should be considered.

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make” – Jane Goodall

Geno,

Again, I find your broad brush strokes too broad - binary, even.

How could recycling, even if not “profitable,” not reduce the amount going into landfills?

Every community, county, state is desperate to make it work - the easy way is to recycle and sell the recycled material for a profit. Next best is to break even. Then to charge to recycle. All, and others, are being considered and worked.

Clearly, less must be going into landfills, right?

But my this is off the OP topic, right.

If you continue to post on this here, I will respond.

Sheesh ... every pound not going to a landfill is a good thing.

Your turn.

I’ll wait and then respond.