Filling in the Swimming Pool

We have three swimming pools. One of our homeowners has suggested, more than once, we fill in one of them and eliminate maintenance expenses involved. I'm not sure we can do this without a vote of the home owners.

I recalled seeing something on DS regarding the elimination of major community assets requiring a high percentage of votes in favor but can't now seem to find anything on the subject.

This is a townhome complex in California.

Any advice on how to respond?

I agree this is one way to handle it but I want to find out what is the correct and legal way to approach this project. I recall seeing that it requires a higher percentage of votes in favor to remove a common element such as a swimming pool or tennis court etc., etc. I would like to have that information on hand to respond to this suggestion.

Thank you, Tim.

That is the clause I found on Davis Stirling but somewhere in the back of my mind I had that it took a larger majority of votes. I have taken a Quick Look at our documents but I will take the time to study more carefully.

Thanks for helping.

That’s a thought. Your reply made me smile 😊

What do your documents say? That's where you start.

Tim and Wendy also have good suggestions. If this homeowner wants to see this happen, he or she should pound the pavement and get a petition going. Running the numbers as to how much this would cost is also a good idea. If the association doesn't have the money, this may require a special assessment - and tge homeowner will need to persuade the homeowners to pay that way.

When we got rid of our pool, we had a formal vote because we needed 75% of homeowners to approve. We also told homeowners how much it would cost to build a new we one (because the old one was in bad shape), plus the costs of annual maintenance vs. the level of usage (extremely low). It yoo a year as r and a half, but the homeowners did approve the closure.

You might also toss in some suggestions on what to do with the area if the pool is filled in. For example, people might go for a community garden or picnic area that's cheaper to maintain.

Unable to find ANYthing in our CC&Rs, I just tried the idea of Capital Improvements. BUT in our CC& Rs, that's defined only as new, additional, installation, etc. in several places. And, indeed require a vote of the owners.

common sense says that owners should vote to remove common area amenities. But I really think a quick call to the HOA attorney can settle this.