HOA rules that are suggestions

JohnM39, I think you have some vocabulary and documents confused.

CCRs have a section explaining the procedure to amend. I would bet your HOA's CCRs require a majority (or more likely, super majority) of owners to vote for an amendment (among other things) before the amendment is lawful. Under the law, the board cannot amend the CCRs.

The CCRs often have a section stating that the Board may create 'reasonable rules' that have a solid basis in the CCRs. This sounds like the authority your President wants the Board to exercise with these "suggestions."

Regarding putting suggestions into the board-created rules: If I were on your board, then I would not support this. But if a majority of the board wanted such suggestions in the booklet that contains the board-created rules, and as long as the wording is crystal clear that this is only a suggestion, then I could live just fine with the suggestions.

One reason I do not like suggestions is that they may yield confusion. E.g. a new ACC is appointed. They're not legal beagles. They see the suggestions and incorrectly read them to be requirements.

Also owners may think those parts of the board-created rules that are requirements are mere suggestions.

Putting suggestions into the board-created rules is just something else the board gets to try to explain to owners who are already fairly illiterate when it comes to HOA/COA law.

If they're only going to make it a suggestion and not enforce it, why waste time even debating this - either make it a rule or drop it. I'm sure there are other issues that may require a rule.

In fact, tell this guy to Google "putting landscaping in front of air conditioners" - does he knows that it's a good idea to meet plants two or three feet away from the thing, otherwise airflow could be obstructed, resulting in more repairs? Maybe it's best to leave the things alone - I doubt property will take a dip just because you can see an air conditioner from the street.....

I don't have a problem with CC&Rs having clauses that are merely suggestions but I do not see any point in changing the CC&Rs for this purpose. CC&Rs are usually difficult to change. Why go through the trouble and expense if you are not going to make a meaningful change?

Actually, I don't have them mixed them up. We only have CC&Rs and they don't reference any rules or regulations. Nothing even specifically saying the board can create a document called "rules and regulations". If I were amending the CC&Rs - that is what I would add first.

Our president and other offices don't want to do any research in how an HOA should be run, so I just sit back and watch.

In this case, HOA Board wants to amend the CC&Rs to add some "suggestions". Our CC&Rs state that a landscape plan must be submitted that includes landscaping the front of the house, and a requirement for 3 trees. Nothing more, and no other design requirements, rules or regulations. And as mentioned in the original post, the President wants to add that AC units "should" be screened and admits that should is a suggestion. Mainly because he doesn't want to force his friends (those that were approved by the developer before the HOA was turned over) to make any changes, but he does like bullying the newer residents.

I know this amendment will never pass as we won't even get 75% participation. I think it is waste of time. I have a friend who is a real estate attorney, and he sees no reason either - he says "should" really should be "shall" to make it enforceable.

I was just curious if anyone ever put "suggestions" in their CC&Rs, Rules, or anything else, knowing that suggestions are really just opinions.

For the archives:

-- That the OP understands there is a difference between officers and directors is not clear. The legal difference is enormous.

-- For clarity, repeated reference to the board wanting to amend the CCRs should be re-phrased to something like, 'the board wants to ask owners to amend the CCRs.'

-- The Ohio Planned Community Act says this about the power of an Ohio HOA Board to create rules:

An owners association, through its board of directors, may do any of the following:
...

(5) Adopt and enforce rules that regulate the maintenance, repair, replacement, modification, and appearance of common elements, and any other rules as the declaration provides;
...
(11) Adopt and amend rules that regulate the collection of delinquent assessments and the application of payments of delinquent assessments;

https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5312.06

-- the courts view CC&Rs as a contract. I think a competent attorney would know that suggestions in the CC&Rs are worthless and mislead one or more parties to the contract.

I am not on the board. We have 3 members acting as our board of trustees and they are the Officers - Pres, Sec, Treas. - no others.

Currently the board is amending the CCRs, they then want members to review it, and then vote on each change. The President is the driving force here.

And I had seen that Ohio legislation granting the board powers to adopt rules, I am just glad the President hasn't seen it.

And yes, I should change my wording to "the board is proposing changes to the CCRs" - We know that the members have to vote on these changes.

To be as clear as possible (from where I am sitting, anyway): The Board can adopt certain rules. For one, I am not so sure the CCRs give the Board the authority to adopt a rule that does not concern common areas but instead, concerns the appearance of a lot. In other words, I am not sure a rule like the one KerryL1 proposed is lawful under your HOA's covenants and the Ohio statute section.

Having an attorney review any proposed changes to the CCRs is of the utmost important. It will likely save money in the longer run.