AZHOC - Arizona Homeowners Coalition
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Executive Mtg

The Board of Directors held an executive meeting to discuss a light repair proposal and a Management agent addendum. The Mgmt agent contract addendum deals with a negotiation between the Board and Mgmt agent regarding...
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POA and white roofs

I live in a POA association which encompasses many homes. 4100 lots are covered Welcome SRP, our electric supplier, is offering a rebate for home owners who coat their flat roof white as an energy...
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HOA Landscapers

Hi, The HOA landscapers recently dug up 8 plants from behind my wall. I had a landscaper designer measure my property line with a measuring wheel and based upon his measurements, my property extends 7’...
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  • From Rhonda Wakai on Open Meeting Law Violation?

    Thank you so much, Dennis. I need your clarification to overcome my confusion and you have done a great job!

    Go to comment
    2023/06/02 at 11:18 am
  • From Dennis Legere on Open Meeting Law Violation?

    Wanda,

    It is never a violation of the open meeting laws for a member to communicate with the board individually or collectively about community issues. It is a violation of the open meeting laws for a board to take action or discuss community business amongst themselves via email other than emergency issues. How the board responds to you or based on what your communication to the board was about could constitute a violation. if one responds and provides an opinion of that individual that would never constitute a violation, if however, a quorum of the board weighs in on the issue and include each other on their responses This could constitute discussion of the board on a community issue outside of an open meeting.
    Bottom line nothing stops any member from communicating with a board member or that board member responding to that member individually. The board simply has to be carefull on the extent of the discussion conducted in e-mails that include a quorum of the board. If multiple inputs are required, the best response would be to include the issue for discussion at the next board meeting.

    Dennis

    Go to comment
    2023/06/02 at 10:34 am
  • From Lori Monte on Clarification of ARS 33-18133 4D

    Thank you, Dennis! That’s what I thought but I wasn’t 100% certain. Much appreciated!

    Go to comment
    2023/06/01 at 12:44 pm
  • From Dennis Legere on Clarification of ARS 33-18133 4D

    Lori,

    My pleasure. The quorum for the special meeting to recall board members would be 20 of the membership. that simply means that at least as you stated would be 9 people who either attend the meeting in-person (whether they vote or not) or by absentee ballot. The association is required by law to allow both options. Since it is impossible to submit a ballot at a virtual meeting then for those meetings absentee ballots would be used but if someone participates in the zoom meeting and has not submitted a ballot that still counts to satisfy the quorum. If a quorum is not achieved then no vote can be counted. Once a quorum is satisfied than the simple majority of all votes cast decide the issue. For example 5 people attend the meeting in person or via zoom and 25 other people send in absentee ballots. Obviously the absentee ballots all voted but only three of the people at the meeting cast votes at the meeting then a total of 28 votes would have been received and 15 votes would be required to determine if the board member is recalled or retained. You cannot be counted twice for quorum so if you vote by absentee ballot and attend the meeting you are only counted as one member for quorum purposes and obviously one have vote.
    To your specific questions:
    1. They must allow the meeting to be held in person or by virtual meeting. And they must allow absentee ballots to count toward satisfying quorum.
    2. quorum and total vote count are unrelated you need quorum to have the meeting but once quorum is achieved than the majority of all votes cast satisfy the issue. So in your specific example than yes, the board member would be retained with 11 vote to retain and 9 votes to recall.

    Dennis

    Go to comment
    2023/05/31 at 2:54 pm
  • From Joseph Danielek on Recalling a Director - AZ statute vs HOA bylaws

    Thank you Dennis, got it loud and clear.

    Go to comment
    2023/05/29 at 3:08 pm
  • From Joseph Danielek on Recalling a Director - AZ statute vs HOA bylaws

    My question is in your response to yuke17 (May 1, 2021 at 7:01 am) you said “Irrespective of whatever your quorum requirements are for any meeting of the members the quorum for this specific meeting is 20% of the members either in person or via absentee ballot. A simple majority of the votes cast decides the outcome.”: so this does circumvent / cancel our Bylaw 3.3 REMOVAL that states in part “… by Members having more than fifty percent (50%) of the votes entitled to be cast by the Members present in person or by absentee…”?

    If you feel uncomfortable answering, understood, can you direct me to the law or source that may establish such?

    Go to comment
    2023/05/29 at 1:26 pm
    • From Dennis Legere on Recalling a Director - AZ statute vs HOA bylaws

      The statutes supersede any provision in your governing documents to the contrary for a special meeting of the members to recall a board member only. For a planned community the statute is ARS 33-1813 and for a condominium the statute is ARS 33-1243.
      Dennis

      Go to comment
      2023/05/29 at 1:34 pm
  • From Dennis Legere on Violations

    Dave,
    While most associations claim that violation are confidential because they are personal information. But that cannot be any further from the truth. CC&R and rules violation must be visible from the street by anyone with a knowledge of the covenants or rules. As such they are public information and not personal in any way. If challenged they will be proven as such in any court of law. Personal information would be something like sexual orientation or marital status or social security numbers or even e-mail addresses, but not violations. They make this claim in order to deal with violation in executive session behind closed doors so that their abuse of power and selective enforcement practices all happen behind closed doors. As further proof of this reality in 2010 a fifth exception to the open meeting law which included the contesting of a violation notice by any homeowner desired that testimony to be held in closed session. If violations were personal information and allowed to be discussed in closed session based on closed session exception #3 there would be no need for exception 5 at all. But the law recognized that the homeowner may want to reveal truly confidential information in the hearing and must be allowed the opportunity to do so at his/her discretion.

    This practice currently and clearly violates the open meeting laws in a broad-based manner based on the incompetence and total indifference to the law by association attorneys or community managers.

    I will work to clarify this statute to eliminate this total illegal abuse of power by these associations and their advisors.

    Dennis

    Go to comment
    2023/05/26 at 5:21 pm
  • From Lori Monte on When a board member breaks Arizona HOA State Law

    I appreciate the follow-up, Dennis. The necessary legal steps are proceeding.

    Go to comment
    2023/05/17 at 11:57 am
  • From Dennis Legere on When a board member breaks Arizona HOA State Law

    Lori,

    Since you added additional text to the original post, I’m compelled to provide guidance and comment. The facts are clear the board acted in violation of the open meeting laws 33-1804. You have three choices enforce the law by either filing a petition to ADRE under the dispute resolution process authorized by statute, or file suit against the association in superior court for this violation of law. The third action and my preferred course is to circulate a petition for a special meeting of the members for the purpose of recalling the 4 board members by name. If successful, this would also require that a second special meeting of the members would be necessary to fill the vacancies created. You could then reduce the number of board members to only 5 and elect only two new board members to fill the longest terms remaining.

    You do need to be careful about what you say on any post and the use of inflammatory words like “corrupt” may set you up for defamation action by the board members.

    Boards and community managers violate the law every day but that does not make them ” corrupt”.

    Dennis

    Go to comment
    2023/05/15 at 6:31 am
  • From Dennis Legere on Executive Meeting after every open meeting?

    Kimberly,
    When they cite those two exceptions they are reviewing violations of governing documents. First of all violations of community documents are not personal matters and therefore not subject to exception 3. Exception 5 addresses a homeowner contesting a cited violations. What they are probably doing is never telling the homeowner that they have the choice to contest any violation in either open or closed session. The association does not have that choice only the homeowner has. Is it usual to have and executive session after every meeting that answer is no . I will also point out that the board can discuss issues in closed sessions but they are not allowed to make any decisions in closed session they must all be made in open session with homeowner given an opportunity to speak prior to that vote..
    the board is also prevented from using action without a meeting for anything other than an emergency issue. Under the open meeting laws. So yes unless the actions taken could not wait for the 48 hours required to notice a board meeting violates the law.
    With a board of three members a quorum of 2 member can take any actions.
    As for removing a board member the board has absolutely no authority to do that. They can remove an officer from their position but they remove an elected board members. The only way to remove a board member is by their resignation or a recall vote from the members. So if the actually voted to remove a board member they again violated the law.
    Clearly your current board has total disregard for the laws governing their actions and is simply begging to be challenged in court.
    Unfortunately until any homeowner holds them accountable to the law or the community steps up and removes these board members they will simply continue to get away with violating the law.
    As for street parking a new law was enacted this session that will allow the community to vote on whether the association can control parking on public streets. A simple majority of members voting on the issue at a meeting will decide the issue. You get one chance to do this and the vote must be conducted prior to July 2025 or the ability to regulate parking on city or county streets is forever removed.
    Dennis

    Go to comment
    2023/05/12 at 8:23 pm