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Posted By MaxB4 on 07/19/2021 2:57 PM
Posted By LarryD13 on 07/19/2021 2:51 PM
We are a Texas HOA. The Board does all the ACC work. We have no ACC committee.
Our management company is telling us that we must form an ACC committee which will make all decisions. The Board’s only role will be to hire and fire committee members and to hear appeals. Is the management company correct? Thank you.
What do you CCRs say? That is where the answer lies.
Alas the Texas legislature amended the state property code during the last legislative session and now, regardless of what CCRs say, no member of an architectural review committee can be a board member, spouse of a board member or reside in the same home as a board member.
Larry - your manager is mostly correct. If you are a single family association with more than 40 lots and are no longer under declarant control, you are subject to this new law. The board will appoint ACC members, (and dismiss if necessary) and hear appeals of their denials. But the board can also reverse an approval, if the approval doesn't align with existing rules. For example, if your documents don't allow above ground pools and the ACC approves one, you can veto that approval.
You can (and should) read the full text of the bill here: https://legiscan.com/TX/text/SB1588/2021
The law goes into effect on September 1, so between now and then: 1) start vetting potential ACC members so you find reasonable people you can work with and 2) review your documents and past ACC decisions. Are there community standards that aren't in the docs but that you've enforced via ACC requests? Going back to our above ground pool example... maybe the docs don't say you can't have above ground pools, but the ACC has never approved one so you de facto don't allow them? It may be possible, and you'll have to talk to your lawyer to be sure, that you can implement some architectural guidelines or standards for your new ACC to follow, so they aren't starting from scratch.