Legal Q for Board Meeting online chat

Hi All, and very new here

Our Mountain community has a small HOA with monthly online Board meetings. The meetings are great for members to understand where our membership dues (Over $600,000) are being spent and how the community is being run.

Recently, the board disabled the "chat" portion of the online google board meetings. This has frustrated many and we are ASKING: "Is there a Colorado HOA Law that gives the board the right to disable chat?"

I ask because, the Bylaws do not specify that level of detail. Many people say that it violates member 'Accessibility.'

Thanks
Steve

Typically, non board members are there to observe - not participate, until a specified time in the meeting. We use the Open Forum section of the agenda for this.

That said, chat can be annoying if it's popping up while things are being discussed.

I would expect enabling or disabling the chat function would be the option of the board.
Regardless of that decision, having the online meeting only would meet statute requirements.

If you want to get around the lack of a chat function - send texts via cell phone.

THANK YOU
I think we are GETTING really close. Historically, our HOA community has run board meetings in a townhall (city council) fashion, because the meetings purpose is to keep the community informed, with reports on Operations: roads, maintenance, office, and water quality, Finance reports; and a host of other community related thing.) We are small, only about 165 homes, and the HOA is our own 'city government department.'

Your comment about the ability for members to comment in discussions is critical to a successful community. In a google online meeting, the chat window is on the side, and is normally available for members to participate.

With participation as a key factor, I would think that it could be implied that the American Disability Act would come into play as well. Am I wrong?

Thanks
Steve

It is not merely a key factor. In Colorado allowing owners to comment on every topic at a board meeting is Thee Law. Per statute, owners must be unmuted for each agenda topic at a certain point in the discussion of the topic.

It is the federal and state fair housing acts (which are not the same as the ADA) that require the HOA to provide a "reasonable accommodation" to disabled owners wishing to attend board meetings. Whether a requested accommodation is "reasonable" just depends. But I will give you a hint: If it costs the HOA a lot of money, the chances are good the HOA does not have to provide the accommodation.

When HOA boards are required or opt to have open Board meetings, attendees are normal given a period during the meeting to comment. Each person who speaks is giving a time limit. I see no reason why an online meeting should not be conducted the same way.

I am going to assume your primary pupose for attending the meeting was to listen and be informed. Chatting during an in person meeting would not be permitted because it is a disruption of the meeting. To a lesser degree, so would an open chat window in an online meeting.

I suspect the reason the chat function was disable is because some of your residents were making inappropriate comments.

There seems to be some confusion about the nature of the meeting. Board meetings and townhall-style meetings are two different things.

The purpose of a board meeting is for the board to conduct association business. Period. Homeowners are allowed to observe, and many states require a period during which owners may comment. But owners do not participate in board discussions, nor do they have a vote.

Town-hall and similar meetings are held to keep the owners informed. No association business is conducted, and the meeting itself may be informal.

The third type of meeting is a membership meeting in which limited business is conducted. Meetings of this type include the annual meeting (to hold board elections) and special meetings that are held for a specific purpose (for example, to allow owners to vote on an amendment to the governing documents). These meetings have strict notice and quorum requirements, and no other business besides the announced item may be conducted (going off script may make any actions legally invalid and require a do-over).

Importantly, you should not and often may not mix the kinds of meetings you're holding. At best it will cause confusion and lead to poor outcomes. At worst it will invalidate any action taken during the meeting and can lead to legal challenges (also known as "lawyering up"). Lawyering up is costly for everyone involved.

Chat may be appropriate for informal meetings of the membership, but it's also a recipe for going off the rails. It is not appropriate for board meetings or the annual/special meetings. These are business meetings, not social events - all attendees should conduct themselves accordingly.

Also, regarding the ADA: Fair Housing and ADA laws require "reasonable accommodations" to allow people to participate. Importantly, they do not require that people be given their preferred accommodation, only one that allows them to participate. Online meetings with chat disabled is an acceptable accommodation, *because chatting is not the purpose of the meeting". Social events are different, but that's not what we're talking about here.

... when the cost is not excessive. For example, a deaf person requests a sign language interpreter. I doubt a court would require a HOA to pay for this interpreter. In my opinion a court would require that the HOA permit the presence of a sign language interpreter paid for by the deaf owner.

?

During a HOA board meeting, Colorado statutes require that owners be allowed to comment on each agenda topic.

I think you did not read the statute section quoted above.

I think whether the 'speaking' may be done by mouth or by writing depends on the context.
It could be my misunderstanding of what SteveS35 means as well when he speaks of the chat function. I thought SteveS35 was saying the board is disallowing that owner comment that Colorado statutes in fact require the board to allow. But maybe this is not SteveS35's meaning.

Yes, Steve, please clarify: Do owners contribute via the audio function? Which we know can be muted?

The plain meaning of speaking IN this context is an oral activity. It is not typing.