HOA inconsistently applying architectural guidelines

BillyW2,

Please quote exactly everything your Declaration says about architectural guidelines.

Arch guidelines can and do change, but they also must always be written so the guidelines stay within the four corners of the Declaration.

Arizona statutes appear to have nothing relevant to say on the point.

I have not checked the by-laws or the CC&R's for this specific question; however, I did ask for clarification on who is finally responsible to approve or disapprove change requests and what guidelines are used to make that decision.

I was told in writing - there are no guidelines for window frame color, and the ARC is made up of "volunteers". I asked for the community management to clarify if there is a difference between the board or "volunteers" for my community. I have always presumed the board reviews all requests and has final authority.




I have the prior and current conversation in writing via email. The conversation is still open and ongoing, but I am not receiving direct answers to my questions. As mentioned above I do not know the specific delineation between the board and the ARC. I did ask this question, but have not yet received an answer. I will certainly review the documents myself, because I do suspect that this HOA in particular doesn't know or follow their own rules.




Correct, since it has been 3 years I am not interested in reversing the decision; although, I was sent an email to appeal. Which of course makes zero sense at this point. I simply want to know how and why these decisions are made because they appear inconsistent.

I have no problem if guidelines change over time. In fact, I expect that to happen since the community is 30 years old. What I do expect is that the guidelines are clear, updated, and posted. This is not the first HOA community that I have lived in and the previous community would actually list specific landscaping shrubs, tree species, paint colors, security door designs (with pictures), and so on. This HOA does not do any of that; rather, it is more generic in most cases. And because the ARC guidelines have not been updated in almost 30 years it is ripe for inconsistencies.

To be clear, when I say 'inconsistencies' I am talking about telling one neighbor one thing and a another neighbor something else - not 'inconsistencies' due to updates over 30 years of changing tastes.


I have been to one board meeting since my time here. My participation begins and ends with my dues - until I started seeing these inconsistencies. There was only one neighbor that approached me about my windows. This was in refence to the design i.e., window grids, and not frame color. My windows were approved with no grids, but that neighbor was told they needed grids. Unfortunately, that neighbor moved out of the neighborhood and did not bother with changing their windows.

I am honestly considering to volunteer if this is how things are going to be in the neighborhood. There is an old saying, "presume good intentions", but I am almost over that hump and presume incompetence. Let me ask a clarification - I presume the community management company, the board, and any committee talk to one another. It appears this is not typically the case? If so, then perhaps I should go directly to the board and ask per your suggestion.

I would bring the issue up to the board, not the architectural committee.

Phrase it in the way of a question, are there written procedures to guide the committee? give your example. Do not act like you're a victim, use the example to show a need for written guidelines.

Of course, if you have the time, you should volunteer to be on a committee to review and draft the guidelines.

Your HOA can change its design standards even if they denied your improvement 3 years ago.

I'm just going to throw this out here. Just my opinion, if it isn't published in the current governing
documents made available to the owners, IT DON'T EXIST. just my opinion. Sometimes ARC guidelines
vary from PMC to PMC. The ARC guidelines can be vague and completely ambiguous. The guidelines should be
part of the rules and regs with the Board having the ability to grant waivers in cases like these.

On a side note, You don't know if the other parties were or were not given notice of violation by the HOA.
On the other hand, HOA's need to grow with the times and technology. I would ask for an appeal. White window
frames sometimes are not a sustainable color, especially in a majority of sun environments. A darker frame
would be more energy-friendly and will likely lead to more longevity of the window frame.

In my area, I have seen many HOAs updating their color hues to more earth tones and inviting colors.
Turquoise and salmon pink are no longer favorable colors and window replacement is ditching the standard
builder-grade white and matching the window frame to the home's color scheme.

Until you quote exactly what the declaration says about arch guidelines, it is impossible to say whether these alleged, binding guidelines are official or not. It is impossible to say whether any changes are lawful or not.

The response to your queries are also quite simple.

First, the board has zero obligation to answer every question imaginable from owners.

Second, I have yet to see a question from you that falls into the category of questions where the board or manager are legally required to respond.

Third, you yourself are not responding to simple questions put to you here. The answers to these questions would help readers here provide you with guidance on how to proceed.

It is reasonable. But is the HOA is legally required to respond, especially to a situation where there is no architectural application in play, and where someone on the board or in management thinks someone might be considering a lawsuit? In my opinion, no.