adoption of a new rule...

vote on new rules and majority wins
that way you accomplish what the community wants and if people complain you can say the board is doing what the majority wants.

sure the majority could theoretically want a dumb new rule, but I've never found taht to be the case.

Well, first, Jim, what do your governing docs say about making rules? Do, for instance, your CC&Rs say the Board may make rules so long as they don't conflict with the CC&Rs or Bylaws? In the hierarchy of documents, your CC&Rs, Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws supersede your rules and regulations (as you probably know)

Do Texas statutes say anything about making or deleting rules? Do they specify a process? States vary a lot. In CA, for example, an amended, new or deleted rule is proposed by the Board in an open board meeting. If the Board likes it, say a new rule, CA requires that the text of the proposed rule and the reason the Assn. needs it, is sent out to owners for 28 days comment. The written comments come back to the board at the next open meeting and owners also have the opportunity to comment on the proposed rule at the meeting. The Board then discusses and votes. If approved, its text must be sent to owners and the rule inserted in the assn's rules & regs. Our Board generally gets only about 1/2 dozen comments on proposed rule changes. Owners may call a special meeting to overturn new rules, but a different story.

The board has the authority to make theses rules in CA and I think most states. But if a Board believes a rule would be super controversial, it'd be wise to get as much feedback from owners as possible--even hold a town Hall-type meeting for board discussion. Send out a quick survey. Take a straw (advisory) vote at an open board meeting as guidance. Even if your state doesn't require owners' comments, as in CA, I'd seek them for controversial rules.

I'd be wary of attending to Melissa's notes here as she was a president very long ago and many statutes have changed. In addition, there's a difference between "rules" and board policies (i.e, the 3-bid policy). A board typically would not put a garbage can rule in its CC&Rs, as she wrote.

Most of our rules are in our CCRs, although there are some the board established to flesh out the CCRs. Some of them are county ordinances on things like parking that were adopted as community rules (so it's easier for the police to ticket and tow away as necessary).

During my time on the board we didn't adopt a ton of rules, but when we did, we'd record it in the minutes and send a notice to everyone stating why the rule was enacted and its effective date (usually 30 days), if people had questions they could ask ir make suggestions a d after a few months we could reevaluate it to see if it needed tweaking.

Regarding homeowner imput, I think it's a good idea for some situations. For instance, you might want to get homeowner opinions on things like parking because it's often a huge pain in the behind for everyone. When people have a say in what tge rules l e should be a d how it'll be enforced, it could increase tge chance of compliance.

On the other hand, I think changes to things like the collection policy or the collection policy,should be a board decision because it's responsible for ensuring there's enough money in the budget to pay for services and upkeep. That may mean you have to take a harder line on due dates, late fees and the like.

Finally you have to consider the time and effort you'll need to enforce the rules. You don't want to nitpick everything because no one has the time or patience for that. However, if you're going to have a rule, you must be constant fair with enforcement because sone peopke think rules apply to everyone else but them. These people will huff and puff and threaten lawsuits and all that. That's when you can't back down, but say "bring it and we'll see who wins." if you document what you do, have appeal rights and stay away from selective enforcement, you'll have a better shot at winning if you end up throwing hands in court.

All of this may be modified, based on what you're trying to do, do you probably shouldn't have one approach. That said, it wouldn't hurt to poll homeowners once a year on rule enforcement and see where the problems are, so you can add, subtract and tweak as necessary.

Tim, I appreciate your sincere and gentle way of educating many of us. You are a Gem with us newbies. Thanks so much!

Do note, Jackie, that many of the items on the list are already CA statutes or in your HOA's bylaws.