Landscape Committees

Started by CynthiaV1 • 29 replies • 1643 views

💬 Join us to post & get advice from 50,000 HOA & Condo leaders.

⚡ Takes 30 seconds

Already a member? Log in

CynthiaV1 (Florida)
Posts: 1

Posted:

What are the responsibilities of the landscaping committees at a condo and who appoints the committee members? What way. can a landscape committee be made permanent in the condo docs?
Thank you.

MichaelT21 (Arkansas)
Posts: 462

Posted:

I have heard about such a thing in other associations but frankly do not see the purpose of a committee. The Board, not a volunteer committee, should be making the decisions in the association. If a person wants to take an active role in the landscaping, that person should sit on the Board. Their only task might be landscaping.

As some of you know, we own 5 parks plus thousands of square feet of street vegetation. Landscaping is our #1 budget item. But the landscaping company works indepently with only a few pointers from the Board member who has volunteered to be the main point of contact.

I don't see a need for a landscaping committee.

MaxB4
Posts: 3,513

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By MichaelT21 on 12/07/2022 9:49 AM
I have heard about such a thing in other associations but frankly do not see the purpose of a committee. The Board, not a volunteer committee, should be making the decisions in the association. If a person wants to take an active role in the landscaping, that person should sit on the Board. Their only task might be landscaping.

As some of you know, we own 5 parks plus thousands of square feet of street vegetation. Landscaping is our #1 budget item. But the landscaping company works indepently with only a few pointers from the Board member who has volunteered to be the main point of contact.

I don't see a need for a landscaping committee.

You should definitely read Sheila's post on micromanaging!

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

The answers will be found in your bylaws.

For the vast majority of associations, the board appoints members of committees. Committee members serve at the pleasure of the board and may be removed with or without cause. The board is also the final authority on any decisions made by committees.

The bylaws will also say what committees the association must or may have. If a landscape committee isn't specified, then the bylaws may need to be amended. The requirements for this will vary. For some communities in some states, the board has the authority to amend the bylaws. In other states or communities, amending requires a homeowner vote.

If someone is interested in serving on a committee that currently doesn't exist, the first step would be to make a business case for having such a thing. What does the new committee propose to do, and how does this benefit the association? What sorts of resources would the committee need (time, money, supervision)? What can a committee do that professional landscapers can't? And so on.

Serving on such a committee isn't a license to replace the professionals. In general, and at the risk of boring the regulars who've read this before, volunteer workers are often overrated:

* They aren't free. The association will have to carry workers comp or similar insurance in addition to beefing up liability if the volunteers are doing any sort of physical work.

* They generally won't do professional quality work, they won't provide any warranties or guarantees, may void existing warranties, and they can quit without notice.

* They can add to the board's workload since the board will need to manage/supervise more workers (unlike professional work crews that are often self-managed).

* It's not sustainable. Having volunteers now is no guarantee that you'll have them in the future. People seldom buy condos in order to do yard work.

* It misleads homeowners about the true costs of ownership by using cheap labor now, which can make it harder to raise assessments to their proper levels in the future. This is especially true if your governing documents or state law place limits on how much a board can raise assessments.

WendyM5 (North Carolina)
Posts: 1,522

Posted:

not sure but advocate for using native plants. they are naturally strong and don't need a lot of maintenance.

vis ta vie

MaxB4
Posts: 3,513

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By CathyA3 on 12/07/2022 10:19 AM
The answers will be found in your bylaws.

For the vast majority of associations, the board appoints members of committees. Committee members serve at the pleasure of the board and may be removed with or without cause. The board is also the final authority on any decisions made by committees.

The bylaws will also say what committees the association must or may have. If a landscape committee isn't specified, then the bylaws may need to be amended. The requirements for this will vary. For some communities in some states, the board has the authority to amend the bylaws. In other states or communities, amending requires a homeowner vote.

If someone is interested in serving on a committee that currently doesn't exist, the first step would be to make a business case for having such a thing. What does the new committee propose to do, and how does this benefit the association? What sorts of resources would the committee need (time, money, supervision)? What can a committee do that professional landscapers can't? And so on.

Serving on such a committee isn't a license to replace the professionals. In general, and at the risk of boring the regulars who've read this before, volunteer workers are often overrated:

* They aren't free. The association will have to carry workers comp or similar insurance in addition to beefing up liability if the volunteers are doing any sort of physical work.

* They generally won't do professional quality work, they won't provide any warranties or guarantees, may void existing warranties, and they can quit without notice.

* They can add to the board's workload since the board will need to manage/supervise more workers (unlike professional work crews that are often self-managed).

* It's not sustainable. Having volunteers now is no guarantee that you'll have them in the future. People seldom buy condos in order to do yard work.

* It misleads homeowners about the true costs of ownership by using cheap labor now, which can make it harder to raise assessments to their proper levels in the future. This is especially true if your governing documents or state law place limits on how much a board can raise assessments.

Are you referring to Board members and/or committee members?

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

Cathy is right, Cynthia, you'll find info about committees in your Bylaws. There also are committee requirements in your state's corporations codes and maybe your condo codes.

The main point is that the board is completely responsible for committees and appoints and disbands them. the Board also approves each member on it and the committee chair. If a proposed committee will not help take the work off the board or off of the PM, imo, it should not be appointed.

Assuming your Bylaws say something about committees and that the board may appoint them, there's no need to change them to appoint a Landscape Committee (LC)

Unlike Cathy's later remarks, I'd urge the board should make sure the committee does no physical work and has no budget. Its job would be to suggest change and plans for landscaping to the Board. They should have no decision-making authority. If some owners want a LC, the board can instruct them to write a charter saying what they propose to do to SERVE their association. It should include how often they meet, that members vote on what they want to present to the Board, that they write meeting minutes and a monthly report to the board. It should include that only the committee chair meets with the PM. If OK with the board ONLY the chair may meet with the vendor & workers or speak to them If no board members is on the committee, there should be a board liaison to it to make sure, for example, that they don't rec spending beyond the ann. budget for landscaping, which may have a line item for "Plant Replacement."

I know my advice seem overly bullying BUT we have had several LCs here over the years and if NOT clearly instructed about their job, they can spin out of control, drive the PM crazy if you have one and make ridiculous $$$ resists to the Board.

Does you HOA have any guidelines for all committees? Do your bylaws require any committees? What do you or others have in mind as the duties for a LC?

MichaelT21 (Arkansas)
Posts: 462

Posted:

I'm just going to say this:

I think every association spends a ton of it's budget on landscaping. If no Board members have interest in what is the biggest line item for many associations, those Board members need to get off the Board and let others serve.

MaxB4
Posts: 3,513

Posted:

Quote:

Isn't a board member also a volunteer (I know you feel you should be compensated)? Many board members, because of quorum restrictions, are not elected, but appointed, much like committee members?

I have always been a firm believer in committees. After all, it is the members, not the board members, community. Many committee members have far more expertise than board members. Where I lived, we had 9 committees, and they all worked well because we had a president that knew how to delegate and not strive to be a micromanager.

JohnT38 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,631

Posted:

Quote:

Of course you don't.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Committees can be helpful of hurtful. Helpful when they relive the BOD of some tasks. Hurtful when they think they run the association, not the BOD. Our attorney recommended we have no committees as the BOD is the final say, just skip them. Works for us.

LoriM15 (Florida)
Posts: 1,009

Posted:

The only committee outlined in our documents is our ACC. Our association has tried over the years to have a landscape committee, but we find that the only people who are willing to volunteer have an agenda or an axe to grind. We are either spending to much or not enough money on landscaping. And we can't let them "supervise" our vendors because they always want something that is not part of the contract or they make the vendor angry with mulitple requests. There was so much in-fighting in our social committee that we had to disband it and trying to get a new one formed is impossible because no one wants to volunteer.

I would love to be able to have functioning committees to make recommendatiosn to the board but we just can's seem to make it work.

JohnT38 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,631

Posted:

Our condo association had roughly 45 acres of land that included heavily treed areas, green spaces and of course shrubs and flowers around the condos and the two entrances. The landscape committee had been inactive for several years when we brought it back. For us, it worked and I think when managed properly it has a lot of good benefits. Some examples include:

1.) It allowed Board members to concentrate on infrastructure projects, finances, strategic planning, etc.
2.) One of the primary ways to fight apathy is to get owners involved in areas where they are able to contribute.
3.) It served as a source of future Board members.
4.) It offloaded the responsibility of the Board and the PM to meet landscape workers on site to go over existing issues, prepare budget info for the following year and gather quotes for proposed or planned work.
5.) Owners did not come down as hard on Board members for landscape decisions that they knew the committee were behind.

Our governing documents were very clear that the Landscape Committee did not have authorization to spend money without Board approval and that their primary purpose was to make recommendations only. We rarely did not approve what they brought us.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By LoriM15 on 12/07/2022 11:49 AM
.... but we find that the only people who are willing to volunteer have an agenda or an axe to grind. We are either spending to much or not enough money on landscaping. And we can't let them "supervise" our vendors because they always want something that is not part of the contract or they make the vendor angry with mulitple requests. There was so much in-fighting in our social committee that we had to disband it and trying to get a new one formed is impossible because no one wants to volunteer. ...

That was our experience in a nutshell, along with not staying in their lanes and thinking that committee member = board member. They got nothing done and actually made more work and problems.

I know other associations use committees successfully, and I wish I knew how to tell ahead of time if a particular community has what it takes. I suspect demographics and personalities are a big part of it, but that's not "actionable information" as they say.

WendyM5 (North Carolina)
Posts: 1,522

Posted:

Yeah I have an agenda when it comes to landscaping. Stop wasting away 30-40% of our budget mowing areas that 5% of the members use. save that money so it can benefit everyone.

vis ta vie

SusanH34 (North Carolina)
Posts: 21

Posted:

This group seems to think the board should retain final approval power, not committees. Is that a common practice? In my small HOA, the landscape and architectural committees claim final say on homeowner requests, without board involvement. Is that proper?

JohnT38 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,631

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By SusanH34 on 12/13/2022 4:21 PM
This group seems to think the board should retain final approval power, not committees. Is that a common practice? In my small HOA, the landscape and architectural committees claim final say on homeowner requests, without board involvement. Is that proper?

In our community the Board had final say. Your governing documents should give you the answer for your community.

MichaelS56 (Minnesota)
Posts: 859

Posted:

Our association has a landscape committee that reviews all of the landscaping within our association with a vendor. Then the committee will offer recommendations to the Board as to what should be done. This committee has been very valuable to assist in keeping the association looking very good. The members are resident who volunteer to be on the committee.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

Yes, the board is usually the final authority. The only exceptions I've seen mentioned here have been a couple reports of associations where an architectural committee was the final authority. I haven't seen any mention of a landscape or other committee having the final say.

That's normal corporate governance. The board members are usually elected by the members/shareholders and are held accountable for what happens on their watch. Committee members are usually appointed by the board, can be removed with or without cause, and are not held responsible if something goes wrong. Authority and accountability always go hand in hand, or at least they should if you want a well-functioning organization. (Which explains why micro-managers can be so destructive...)

Your bylaws should address this. If not, then state laws governing community associations or non-profit corporations will prevail.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Quote:

The BOD should have the final say. They were elected to manage the association, not the committees.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

With others, yes, the Board almost always has th final say. I can see where there is a written policy that the landscape Committee might have a budget for replacement of annuals or some such. But anything like this should be in writing and approved by the Board.

What size is your HOA, SusanH

(It appears this missing thread has been reactivated????)

SusanH34 (North Carolina)
Posts: 21

Posted:

My HOA has 22 townhomes. It's a small property with no amenities, less than 5 years old, so Architectural and Landscaping requests have been few and far between.

Our Bylaws say that the board may establish and Architectural Review Committee, and any others it desires, to establish standards. The board is to elect committee chairs and approve members.

Our Declaration doc first says that changes to exterior paint color, roofing, doors, etc. shall require the approval of the Association, but then it goes on to say the Association may appoint an Architectural Committee to review and approve or deny proposed changes in exterior paint colors, roofing, etc. That's confusing. Does the mere fact of the committee's existence give them the power to approve or deny exterior changes, based on this document?

We're planning to amend the Declaration next year. I wanted to find out what is usually done. Allowing unelected people to have the final say on such things does not sit right with me, but I wanted more evidence of common practice than my own gut.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,062

Posted:

For us, our Architectural committee makes the call but the homeowner can appeal the decision to the board if desired.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

Generally the purpose of a committee is to take some of the workload off the board. In this case, your bylaws allow the board to create these committees, but they're not obligated to do so (since it says "may", not "shall").

One thing to remember is that lawyers tend to use boilerplate when writing governing documents for individual communities. This helps guarantee that all of the necessary pieces are there and that they comply with state law. In practice, what this means is that some of the provisions may not make sense for some communities.

For example, your community is fairly new and small. There may not be much of a need for a landscape or architectural committee. In addition, townhome and condo communities tend to be a lot more uniform than an HOA with single family homes. A large, older HOA with a wide variety of single family homes will have more need for an architectural committee to read modification requests and make recommendations to the board.

In all cases, the board will be the ultimate authority unless the bylaws expressly give the authority to a committee or state law does the same. As others have mentioned, this is pretty unusual.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

Our Architectural Comm is required by our CC&Rs and does have the authority to approve or disapprove ARC change requests. (high rise condo). The applicant if denied does have recourse to take their case to the Board, who has the ultimate authority.

The ARC's duties should be described fairly well in your CC&Rs, but if not its member or the board can write a charter desiring them. This charter would ultimately approved by the Board. It must not conflict with your CC&Rs or state statutes.

IF the Board approves a formation of a Landscape Committee (LC) it can determine its duties and the extent of its authority. Again, a charter written by prospective members or the Board and approved by the Board should be written to make sure there's no misunderstanding about the authority or duties of a LC. For example, would the LC chair have the authority to direct the landscapers?

ClarkeS1 (Michigan)
Posts: 16

Posted:

Great comment. Lots of Board members just like being on but not working other than a comment now and then.

🎯 You've read this entire discussion

Join the conversation with 50,000 HOA & Condo Leaders:

✓ Ask follow-up questions
✓ Share your experience
✓ Get expert advice
✓ Access 350,000 discussions

Create Free Account →

⚡ Takes 30 seconds

Already a member? Log in here