Rewriting Rules & Regs but not our CCRs

Dana,
The Rules and Regs are adopted by the Board of Directors only. They pretty much can write them any way that they want BUT!!! They must follow the restrictions in all of your other documents, including the restrictive covenants and bylaws. They cannot restrict something that is allowed in those other documents and vice versa.

If your covenants and bylaws do not allow for fining, then they cannot be added into the R.& R.s. The Board statement that they do not want to amend the CC&Rs leaves them in the same place that they were before. Rules and Regs are the lowest in the heirarchy of documents and basically just enforce your higher covenants and bylaws.

Without the ability to fine for violations, as you said, there is not much clout behind any Board actions. That is a pretty lame excuse to modernize your 30 year old CC&Rs. It does not have to cost that much if a committee rewrites the needed changes from what you already have in place. Legal is needed to review them just to ensure that they are correct language in case of needing a court involvement.

You said that no one has seen this R.and R. write yet? The Statutes require at least a 14 day receipt of those R.and Rs to be delivered to the membership PRIOR!!!! to the meeting at which the Board votes for their approval.

Gloria, what Donna says is correct except for her mention of Statutes. She may have referred to Florida laws not Georgia laws. Donna used to live in FL.

Gloria,
Because I do not know what Georgia laws are in regards to HOAs, I cannot tell you if they are restricted on this subject. Every State is different. I can tell you tho that your own bylaws should state what your Board can or cannot do as for writting of Rules and Regs so I would read that carefully. I believe that Boards do have an obligation to inform the membership prior to a vote on anything and it appears that yours did not notify anyone.

For Dana-- below is the Statute just in case you want it for reference.

State Statute 720: 303, (2) BOARD MEETINGS--c-2

"Written notice of any meeting at which special assessments will be considered-- [or at which amendments to rules regarding parcel use will be considered must be mailed, delivered, or electronically transmitted to the members and parcel owners and posted conspicuously on the property or broadcast on closed-circuit cable television not less than 14 days before the meeting.]

I'd say the above language gives your BOD the power it seeks. As to notice, lacking any advice in your CCRs or state law stating so, whether they "should" give notice (which I'd agree they ought) isn't in play.

My own feeling is that writing a new set of rules and regulations without sending them for legal review is not advisable. In fact, I think it falls into the lame use of one's intellect category.

For that matter, as others have pointed out, legal review need not cost all that much. There is an organization in my area advertising that they have lawyer contacts that will do a review of changes for a flat $350.

Dana,
From my own Board experiences, notification and posting of the Rules and Regs prior to the approval gives the membership the ability to address them at the meeting where they get approved or denied. Remember, this must be done at an open meeting for the membership.

There was one rule that the membership got really upset about concerning garage doors being required to be closed at all times other than ingress, egress and if the owner was doing work outside. Residents were adamently against this and spoke so at the meeting.

The Board in their infinite wisdom, deleted it from the R. and R.s so that is exactly why they are posted 14 days prior. Never say that anything is unchangable--NEVER!