Say No to the Amateur Radio Parity Act at Condominium and Homeowner Associations; Support CAI's Call To Action

Growing up, there was a home in our neighborhood that had a massive radio antenna, much like the one in the photograph. As a kid, I was fascinated by the antenna. It was so big. Actually, I was captivated by the thought that I could talk to people around the world via a ham radio.

As an adult, while I may still be enamored by the prospect of communicating with people around the world, these days I do that via email, twitter and the telephone. While I have no problem with others wanting to be ham radio operators, I would not want to see one of these radio antennas on the roof of a home at my community association. And I know that many of you feel the same way about not allowing radio antennas, like the one in the photograph, at the associations you live in, manage or work with.

We previously posted a blog article regarding H.R. 4969, the Amateur Radio Parity Act introduced by U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), legislation that would make unenforceable community association prohibitions and CC&R restrictions on the installation and use of amateur radio towers and antennas.

If H.R. 4969 becomes law, homeowners who want to install a radio tower or antenna for amateur radio use would NOT have to go through the architectural review process or follow existing community guidelines. They could just install these large antennas.

The national Community Associations Institute (CAI) has been following this proposed legislation in Congress. CAI has initiated a campaign to preserve the rights of America's community associations with regard to amateur radio towers and antennas. Most recently, CAI has issued a Call To Action, as apparently this proposed legislation is gaining support in Congress. We need to let our legislators know that we do not want them supporting the Amateur Radio Parity Act.

California Legislature Says it's OK if the Owner's Lawn is Brown; Governor Brown Signs AB 2100 Into Law and it Takes Effect Immediately

Earlier this year, I attended a legislative action day in Sacramento. I was surprised by the number of bills being proposed to deal with the drought, with many of them focused on community associations. As the state of emergency with our water supply in California drags on, state and local governments continue to get more aggressive with addressing water use. They do not want us using all that much. And they do not care if an owner's lawn turns brown.

I recently attended a meeting at an association in Santa Barbara. The association's large expanse of green grass was turning brown. Turns out that Santa Barbara has issued strong ordinances regulating the watering of lawns; the association can only water their grounds for ten minutes, once a week.

At the state level, the first of several bills that address watering of lawns/landscaping has become law. On July 21, 2014, AB 2100 was signed into law by Governor Brown, which adds a new subsection (c) to Civil Code Section 4735.

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Governor Signs AB 2430 Into Law; Amends Civil Code Sections 4828 and 4530; Changes Seek to Clarify Community Association Transfer Disclosure Obligations

New legislation amending two of the transfer disclosure sections of the Davis-Stirling Act, Sections 4528 and 4530, will be effective January 1, 2015. Follow this link to review the changes and new language that will be effective next year.

As you may be aware, Section 4530 establishes the responsibility of an association to provide copies of governing documents, certain financial disclosures and other documents to an owner, or any other recipient authorized by the owner, within 10 days of receipt of a written request for same. The requirement to provide documents and information applies to the sale of a unit (in a condominium building), lot (in a planned development) or stock (in a co-op). We would have liked to have seen a change here to delete "any other recipient authorized by owner", as there are issues raised by the association providing transfer disclosure documents directly to parties other than owners, e.g., the association has no privity of contract with those parties. But for now, the current language will remain.

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Another California City to Ban Smoking in Condominiums - What is Your Association Waiting For?

I was alerted to a proposed smoking ban in apartments and condominiums by the City Council in Culver City, California. Follow this link to read an article from the Culver City Observer that tells us that the City Council directed the City Staff to prepare a draft proposed ordinance that would ban smoking in any complex of 2 or more units.

We have reported previously about cities banning smoking in multiunit housing - see our prior posts here and here. If a city can ban smoking, so can a condominium or homeowners association. In fact, some of our clients are moving forward with smoking prohibitions in their CC&Rs and have been able to successfully enforce the prohibitions without having to file any lawsuits.

There is no doubt that enforcement will continue to be a challenge. But as more and more people stop smoking, and as more and more people become intolerant of having to smell or inhale secondhand smoke, it seems reasonable that community associations should be able to prohibit smoking.

If you would like more information about the process of amending your association's governing documents to prohibit smoking, contact our office.

LA City Council Adopts System of Fines For Minor "Quality of Life" Crimes; Too Bad Your Condo/HOA Cannot Follow The Same Procedure

The LA Times reports that the Los Angeles City Council has adopted a new system that allows police officers to issue citations for minor "quality of life" crimes that would typically be resolved with a warning. Read the article here.

According to the article, "a pilot program, called Administrative Citation Enforcement, gives the Los Angeles Police Department and the Department of Animal Services a new enforcement tool that bypasses the court system. It allows city officials to impose fines for offenses such as urinating in public, having dogs off leashes or dumping garbage in public streets."

Currently, law enforcement officers can issue a warning or write a citation for a misdemeanor "criminal" case against individuals who commit these "minor" crimes. The City Council apparently recognizes that law enforcement is reluctant to file criminal charges and the City is accused of not enforcing the law.

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40 Foot Hedge View Obstruction Dispute Between Condo Owner and Neighboring Property Owner Going to Trial

We deal with a lot of view obstruction disputes. We are able to resolve most of these disputes, as they are subject to CC&Rs which set out what view is protected. And the CC&Rs and the Civil Code provide that the prevailing party is entitled to collect their attorneys' fees. That usually convinces most people that the fight is not worth the cost.

Sometimes, these view disputes cannot be resolved. For example, in July of 2013, I blogged about a case I had tried and won that dealt with a homeowner who was not part of the association she sued, claiming her cherished view of the association's lake was obstructed by the trees in the association's park; she claimed it was a spite fence. Follow this link to read that story.

So, I found an article about a lawsuit involving a 40 foot hedge to be interesting. The legal battle over the hedge is between two Santa Monica properties. Follow this link to read the Daily Journal article.

The article tells us that while they tried to settle the dispute, the "Santa Monica neighbors - well-known local plaintiffs' attorney Browne Greene and former California state treasurer Phillip N. Angelides - are instead opting to go to court in September over the 40-foot hedge between their two homes."

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Homeowner Apathy, Quorum and Prizes to Get Owners to Vote

It is an old problem. Many California community associations cannot motivate their owners to participate or even vote at association elections. We have had clients that have been unable to obtain a quorum for director elections for more than 20 years. Even my own association recently reported a failure to achieve a quorum and decided not even to bother holding a second meeting, knowing that the chances of obtaining a quorum was remote.

Some condominium and homeowner associations have the ability under their governing documents to reduce the required percentage for a quorum at adjourned meetings, often from 50% to 25%, but even then some of those associations cannot get 25% of the owners to vote.

Many board members and managers have told me that they believe this is a problem with community associations in general. The fact is that this is not just a problem for community associations; it is a problem for federal, state and local elections as well. A recent Los Angeles Times article stated that "alarmed that fewer than one fourth of voters are showing up for municipal elections, the Los Angeles Ethics Commission voted... to recommend that the City Council look at using cash prizes to lure more people to the polls."

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Community Associations, Like the City of Los Angeles, Face Difficult Questions: Who Pays To Fix Broken Sidewalks And Other Common Area Components?

An article in the LA Times tells us that the City of Los Angeles is facing an interesting dilemma; one that we find is often faced by California community associations. The City's sidewalks are in terrible shape, broken up by tree roots. The question is, who should pay the cost of the repairs? According to the article, "state law is 'crystal-clear' in leaving property owners responsible for fixing and maintaining their sidewalks."

Case law also holds that if the owner of the property adjacent to the sidewalk has planted or is maintaining a street tree, even though the sidewalk is the responsibility of the City, the owner can be responsible for injuries suffered as a result of a trip and fall accident. See our prior blog post entitled California Community Associations May Be Liable for Injuries Suffered in Trip and Fall Accidents on City Sidewalks.

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Noisy Nuisance or Mass Movement? Public Dancing Disturbs Quiet Enjoyment in China's Condos

We often get calls from Board members and managers asking us to help them with noise problems. Usually, the complaints involve hard surface flooring, loud stereos or TVs, prolonged or loud dog barking, or a tenant who plays a musical instrument for several hours a day, especially on the weekend or in the evenings.

In China, which is apparently experiencing a condominium-building boom, they have a different kind of noise problem: public dancing to loud music. These aren't raves; they're daily occurrences. And the rowdy crowd isn't twenty-something millennials. They're grandmothers, women in their 50s and 60s, about 100 million of them. Even in China, this is not an inconsequential number. This was the subject of a recent article in the Wall Street Journal.

The dancing - whether it's traditional, patriotic, or China's version of rap or hip-hop, is a problem for people who choose to relax in quieter ways, and whose quiet enjoyment of their units is disturbed. Some paid extra for their units for the peace and quiet. Terms to buy a condo can be stiff in China. For example, in one complex, a $300,000 unit required 50% up front, and the balance within three years. These owners are arming themselves with decibel meters, and working to get laws passed to create "Quiet Zones".

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L.A. Street Repair Agency Riddled With Problems; Owners at Community Associations Would Never Tolerate Such Mismanagement

An article in the LA Times last week reported that Los Angeles City auditors revealed that the bureau charged with fixing and maintaining Los Angeles' streets is plagued with problems that include failing to collect or spend hundreds of millions of dollars, keeping shoddy records and neglecting to address the most heavily trafficked roads first. Follow this link to read the article.

Below are some highlights and comments. And as you read this, think about what would happen at a community association that so badly managed maintenance and repair. I know what would happen; the owners at the association would be very unhappy. And they would let the board know just how they feel. So why aren't more people letting the city know just how they feel about the situation?

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