HOA Board will not respond

Started by KellyG8 • 2 replies • 645 views

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KellyG8 (North Carolina)
Posts: 10

Posted:

A homeowner submitted an ARC request that sparked a bit of controversy in the community because his request is setting precedence. Needless to say, the ARC sent the request to the Board with a recommendation to approve. I am the board President and have sent the request to the Board on multiple occasions and they do not respond. We have 5 members of the board, including myself. If I cannot get them to respond what authority do I have, if any to make the decision?

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

If it's a Board decision, you can't take executive privilege and approve it just because the others haven't responded. You're the president, so preside - you don't say how long this has been going on, but if you've sent emails, it may be time to make some phone calls and visit some homes to see what these people are doing and set a deadline when they must state if they approve or disapprove.

Check your documents to see if they say anything about ARC requests being automatically approved if the board doesn't take action within X number of days - if you haven't hit that deadline, all the more reason to push the board for a response. At the next board meeting, be sure to bring this up and talk about setting deadlines from this point on because it's rude to keep people hanging.

That said, remember people could be preoccupied with other matters due to COVID19 - for example, if your work hours have been reduced or you've been laid off, that will (and should) take up more of your thinking than an ARC request.

If the board has questions about the project, they can bring them up and the owner contacted for responses before a decision is made. In the meantime, send a letter to the owner and apologize for the delay, assuring him/her the board is considering the decision carefully since it IS setting precedence. If they have questions, they need to bring them up so the owner can provide more information before a decision is made

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

AugustinD
Posts: 5,144

Posted:

-- Is this a condominium or a community of stand-alone homes? This will determine in part which NC statutes apply.

-- What do the Bylaws say about when Board meetings must occur?

-- Do your CC&Rs have a clause that states that, if the ARC/Board does not approve/disapprove after so many days, then the application is approved?

-- If you want to do this by email, then you have to comply with the following NC statute:
§ 55A-8-21. Action without meeting.
(a) Unless the articles of incorporation or bylaws provide otherwise, action required or
permitted by this Chapter to be taken at a board of directors' meeting may be taken without a
meeting if the action is taken by all members of the board. The action shall be evidenced by one or more written consents signed by each director before or after such action, describing the action taken, and included in the minutes or filed with the corporate records reflecting the action taken. To the extent the corporation has agreed pursuant to G.S. 55A-1-70, a director's consent to action taken without meeting may be in electronic form and delivered by electronic means.
(b) Action taken under this section is effective when the last director signs the consent,
unless the consent specifies a different effective date.
(c) A consent signed under this section has the effect of a meeting vote and may be
described as such in any document.

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