Legislation would force associations to notify their homeowners of possible rule changes and let them appeal.

July 05, 2003

By Susan Gill Varden
Copyright Orange County Register

Standing up: Mary Ann McGinty and others at the Finisterra on the Lake condos in Mission Viejo complain that their homeowners association has made it difficult for kids to play outside.
Paul E. Rodriguez, The Register

Parents in a Mission Viejo condo complex are frustrated by new rules that ban inline skating, basketball hoops and other outside activities - that makes them just the kind of people Assemblywoman Pat Bates wants to help with a new bill.

When Mary Ann McGinty, her husband and son, all avid inline skaters, moved into the Finisterra on the Lake complex two years ago, she asked if inline skating was allowed. She was told it was - and the published rules backed it up.

But new rules for 2003 ban inline skating, basketball hoops, hockey nets and skateboarding. And McGinty and other moms can't get anyone to tell them when the rules changed or how to change them back.

"The children should be able to play freely as long as they are not disrupting the community or damaging the property," McGinty said. "This isn't a retirement community here."

On Monday, Bates' bill, AB512 - called the Homeowners Bill of Rights - will have a hearing before the state Senate Housing and Community Development Committee.

The bill is designed, she said, to put a stop to situations in which homeowners like McGinty and her neighbors are surprised by rule changes, including bans on play equipment, flag flying, parking or even paint colors.

Bates' bill would make homeowners associations run more like a city. Officials would be required to notify all residents of proposed new operating rules or rule changes, give them a chance to comment and allow for an appeal process.

Also offered are optional procedures the association boards could use for everything from notifying residents to overseeing architectural reviews.

Bates said she recognizes the problems faced by board members, who have told her that residents don't show up for meetings and then complain about the board's decisions.

Bates herself once served on a Laguna Niguel homeowners association board. Later, as a Laguna Niguel city councilwoman, she helped mediate disputes - one of the biggest was about speed bumps - between homeowners and the various boards.

The bill puts the responsibility on both sides, she said.

"This gives homeowners an opportunity," Bates said. "If they don't weigh in on it, they don't have anything to complain about."

The proposed changes could have a huge impact in California, where 7 million people live in housing governed by 35,000 homeowners or community associations. In Orange County alone, half the residents live in a homeowners association.

AB512 passed the Assembly unanimously May 19. But it is facing some significant changes in the Senate committee, Bates said.

Opponents, including several advocacy groups for homeowners associations and officials in Leisure World in Laguna Woods, have asked that the bill be delayed another year.

"The thinking behind that is that there are so many issues that aren't clear - to us anyway," said George Ratner, president of one of Leisure World's homeowners associations. "We thought rather than rush it through and change it and create problems, why not move more slowly on it."

Ratner and other Leisure World officials also say they worry about the costs.

The notification requirement alone could cost up to $250,000 a year for mailing because the community is so large - with 18,000 residents.

But Bates said she has worked with Leisure World, amending the bill to allow cable television, newspapers and e-mail for notification if the residents support it.

That's not good enough, said June Todd, a Leisure World resident who has helped with a letter-writing campaign to support the bill.

"We want them to notify us by mail," Todd said. "They have ways to do it. They just don't want to do it - to tell us anything."

Elizabeth McMahon, executive director of the American Homeowners Resource Center in San Juan Capistrano, said it's time for checks and balances.

"It's all invested in the board," said McMahon, a bill supporter. "And the board members, basically, once they get in there, have little experience running corporations. And they're happy with the power and privileges they get. The next thing you know, they're not concerned about what the homeowners say," McMahon said.

Marjorie Murray, legislative spokeswoman for the Congress of California Seniors, said her group agrees with Bates' proposal for fair and reasonable rule-making procedures. But her group will oppose the current bill unless it all becomes mandatory.

"If it's left optional, then associations can continue to do what they're doing," she said.

Bates said she doesn't want to delay the bill another year. She said she would push the provisions requiring mandatory notification and appeal for residents.

Then, she said, homeowners association officials could take more time to come up with procedures that best fit their situation.

McGinty and her neighbors say they are all for the bill. A group of moms attended a recent board meeting, and all they were told was that the rules banning play equipment addressed safety concerns. The company that manages the association did not return calls for comment.

"I think this is fabulous if we can get something going on like this," McGinty said. "It would be helpful to other homeowners."


PLACES TO GO FOR HELP

American HomeownersResource Center
San Juan Capistrano
http://www.ahrc.com
(949) 366-2125

California Association of Homeowners Associations
Montclair
http://www.calassoc-hoa.com
(888) 771-7552

Community AssociationsInstitute
Alexandria, Va.
http://www.caionline.org
(703) 548-8600

Congress of California Seniors
Sacramento
http://www.seniors.org
(800) 543-3352