Community Website

Just add a disclaimer on the site (plainly seen, not in small print) that this is not the official site of the association. Take a screen shot of it and provide it to the board explaining that this should address their concern.

Then see how they respond.

No, you do not have to remove the website. As long as you don't engage in defamation, and it doesn't appear to be the case, you're fine. It's no different than being a neighborhood reporter who reports on the HOA and its community.

I agree with all of the above. You need a large disclaimer on the home page saying the website is not an official web site for your HOA but rather is a informational web site run by a homeowner for other homeowners. I've had such a site up for 10 years.
Jeanne

Michael

they can't force you to do anything...as others said put a disclaimer and stick to the facts and you shouldn't have any issues. They may try to scare you with a cease and desist letter from a lawyer but based on what you have told us that wouldn't hold much water.

I have a question for you, but not an answer. Did your website help attract buyers to your area. Our President wants to start a webpage, (She thinks this will help attract prospective buyers) but a couple other Board members (I am one of them) are not too thrilled about this at this time. It appears we are going to have to raise the monthly fees and I can just see some owners believing we raised the fees to pay for the webpage.

I prefer to have a vote of the members on this (although it a vote is not required).

If the information you are posting was available to any member then there should be no problem posting it. If the information you are posting was only available to Board members and obtained when you were on the board - those should be removed.

You may certainly ask for specifics on what the Board wishes to be removed and on what authority they believe they have the right to ask for that removal.

If the Board wishes to spend money to seek legal advice, what do you care.

If the Board pays a lawyer to send you a cease and desist letter and you want to challenge the Associations authority over this issue, you will need to consult an attorney. If you do not desire to spend the money to challenge the Assocaitions authority then you should take the web site down.

I am not an attorney and I do not work in the legal profession. I have not seen your website and I do not know any more about the issue then what you posted. I believe that my opinion is similar to others on this site, that if the information you are posting is freely given or available as a public record, then you would be within your rights in posting it on your website.

Irregardless of what anyone says, you are the individual who has to deal with the issue and any unintended consequences from decisions made about the issue. Therefore, only you can say how much is this worth to me. Some things are worth fighting tooth and nail over.

I could say that in my opinion you are allowed to do this, cite free speech, privacy laws, etc. I could also say that the Association has every right to protect the members and property values by being the one to specify what is said and how it's said. No matter what opinion is correct, you will spend time, money and energy dealing with this issue. Since it's your time, energy and money, your opinion matters far more than mine.

To give yourself some peace of mind, you might want to ask the Board, for matters of clarification, for specifics on what they would like removed and then spend a few hundred for a legal opinion of your site. At least this way you will be better informed to make a decision.

Another option would be to propose the website becomes the Associations official website. This way the Board would have control over what is posted. You may volunteer to serve as the web administrator. The members still get the information and then the Association can encourage potential buyers to review documents online. Basically a win-win.

On a side note, if I may ask, what drew the Boards attention to your site?

I ask because you had posted that the site was around for years prior to it being an issue for the Board. Therefore, something must have happened that drew the Boards attention. If you can figure out what that was and deal with that specific issue, then all the other stuff might go away.

Hope this helps.

Tim

Michael,

Most likely your board and your HOA has no authority to make you remove it. The only remote possibility I can see is your use of the association's name as a domain. They can't make you remove any information considered public to members. This includes management companies address, minutes of open sessions, etc. Resident info (if you have it listed) maybe considered board's information and probably should be removed, unless you have every resident's permission to have it posted.

With all of that said there is nothing that can prevent the board from proceeding with a legal action. They most likely will not prevail but you'll have to pay a hefty admission fee to stay in and see an ending.

I am not an attorney so this is not a legal advice by any means.

Michael:

You are doing nothing wrong and owe no one an apology.

Domain names usually belong to whoever registers it, no matter how much it may sound like something else. For example, the official website for the White House is http://www.whitehouse.gov. There is also a website called http://www.whitehouse.com, which currently contains information about student loans and has nothing to do with the President. Your association could have reserved the name you are using and chose not to do so. They have no right to make you change your domain name, espcially since it appears that they have no website of their own.

The disclaimer you added is all that you needed to do. I would not meet with the board nor would I acquiesce to any of their demands. You have stated that they have not yet bothered to consult with an attorney, so I would not take any of their threats seriously until they can persuade an attorney to take their case.

Everything you have described is protected by first amendment privilege. You are essentially acting as a journalist. Have you contacted any newspapers or other media outlets? My observation is that the media treats any attack on journalism in any form as a page-one story. I can see the cockroaches on your BOD running for cover as the spotlight of publicity is shined on them.

I've heard of this guy named Sam from out in Nevada....and I must indulge myself with a reply:

Being forced to attend a meeting about every two months ain't a bad thing. Less frequent meetings result in less meddling and HOA board busy-bodiness.

Dinner hour meetings are about 7pm. That's a decent hour for an evening meeting.

Can't hear? Board members should speak loudly if necessary. It doesn't cost any extra money to make sure the audience understands the conversation.

2-minute speaking time for attendees? Perfect time. You should come to the meeting prepared. Otherwise, you're making noise and may be causing confusion. Better yet, request being added to the agenda if you have a proposal to offer. No agenda position should be given so someone can simply complain while demanding someone else besides them solve the problem.

I agree that large communities that don't feature any form of website are being closed in their communication with the people who actually pay the HOA bills.

CC&Rs should be posted online as should agendas and meeting announcements and meeting minutes.

I've thought about posting financials online but they can reveal contact amounts the HOA pays vendors that could place the HOA at a disadvantage when renewing and rebidding contracts. However, a financial statement should be emailed to ANY dues payer who requests. FInancials aren't necessarily public records for anyone in the world to glean. But no dues payers should be denied.

HOA boards who choose to engage in whisper campaigns and dissent suppression are completely negligent. Every HOA I know of has constant maintenance needs that easily absorb enough hours of volunteerism for the average person.

I'm a board president and agree that too many boards earn their dissent. I won't defend those that obscure information and treat dues payers with disrespect.

"Fun", you're not off base by any means at all. But those who oppose the philosophy of HOAs will never feel content paying compulsory dues to support common property amenities. Therefore, an opponent should inherently oppose the creation of neighborhood amenities, rules and by-laws - and take measures to purchase a stand-alone property outside any HOA influence while avoiding entering HOA-protected communities at all (literal) cost.

perhaps a link to the US Constitution, and that pesky little article about Freedom of Speech would also help on the website.

Sounds like they discovered that they can't force you to take the site down and therefore, don't want to compromise. Sort of like kids saying if I can't play I'll take the ball and go home.

Remember that you probably did some good by having the site up.
Having neighbors angry at you for no real reason other than maintaining that site certainly isn't worth it in my book either. As I posted earlier, you are the one who has to live with any consequences (intended and unintended) therefore only you can decide if the issue is worth your time, energy and money.

If you do toss in the towel, don't feel defeated. It appears your board is acting like children vs. being adults in the issue. As you know, children do not always do as they should.

Tim