Committees, In General

Good Evening everyone.

I am a homeowner in Virginia, a member of a developer controlled association, and I have a question with respect to Association Committees, such as Communications, Modifications, Covenants, Landscaping, Finance, etc.

Is an Committee such as those described above, with members appointed by the Board, a committee of the Board or a Committee of the Association?

Our bylaws do not differentiate between the two, but it does go out of its way to differentiate between Board established committees for specific tasks and functions designated by a Board resultion and a Covenants Committee to be the hearing tribunal of the Association. It also makes provision for a Modifications committee with rights and powers delegated to it by the Declarant.

We're in a "disagreement" with our managing agent, a "tool" of the developer, that notification of our Committee meetings be provided to the Declarant by invoking upon us the requirment in the bylaws that "The Declarant shall be given written notice of all meetings of the Association, the Board or any committee thereof, and of all proposed actions of the Association, the Board or any committee thereof to be approved at such meetings or by written consent in lieu of a meeting."

It is my position that our Committees are Committees of the Association, not committees of the Board, and do not fall under these provisions.

I know this is a legal interpretation issue, and I'd ask our Association lawyer but this is her first HOA and she's also a "tool" of the developer.

Any help or information would be appreciated.

Bruce Parker
Dumfries, VA

Bruce: from what you have described, it appears your Declarant/Developer is still 'in power' and the Transition to a Member-HOA has not been established yet. Normally, the Developer 'control' is in effect until such time that a percentage of the units are sold/settled. Then, usually, the HOA of members comes into play to elect Board and Board appoints Committees. Your Declaration/Bylaws documents should detail this time period and how the 'developer-appointed Board vs. member-elected Board is to be handled.

Also, be careful about the managing agent being a 'tool' of the developer. If she has been appointed by the developer, her loyalties are then to him, until such time that the HOA is formed and you/members/Board are free to seek an agent, WITH HOA EXPERIENCE, who will advise and 'hold your hand' to successfully carry the HOA through these first tedious months.

Please review your Declaration & Bylaws carefully; these are legal documents and residents are governed by them. Good luck to you in your search for understanding of 'community living'.

Paul,

Yes, the Declarant/Developer is VERY MUCH still "in power". They are approaching transition kicking and screaming in opposition. They don't want to tell/show/give us anything in the way of information or documentation that may indicate how the community is, or has been, managed.

The Association has been in place for 3+ years. "They" have control until they sell all of their homes or 10 years from inception, whichever comes first. There is no "percentage sold/settled" provision in the by-laws. (Other HOAs in the area, controlled by other developers, seem to be much more reasonable and have appointed Board members based on a percentage of units sold/settled.)

In addition, "they" tried to appease the "masses" by appointing a resident Board member, but it would appear she's been drawn over to the Dark Side and seems to serve no useful purpose other than to reinforce our frustration with the developer.

Thank you for the encouragement. Unfortunately, our by-laws are vague with respect to what I am looking for with respect to committees, but I'm not going to stop looking any time soon. Committees are just the tip of the iceberg with these guys...

v/r

Bruce

I am a commitee officer of a 1500 home community. We will have 2500 homes at build out. We are still developer controlled, however we flip at 75%. We are rapidly approaching the magic number.

To prepare for the flip, we have an Advisory Board Committee that sits beneath the BoD (builder). The ABC is comprised of volunteer homeowners, two from each of our villages (districts). Their sole purpose is to learn the management of our HOA under the tutelage of the BoD. So far, this has been working well. There have been some communication issues. Our MC is definitaly in bed with the developer at this point, which can be frustrating.

All of our other committees, of which there are 7, answer to the ABC, which in turn answers to the BoD, who then instructs the MC. Thus the communication snafus that have occurred. There are too many layers of people to accomplish even simple goals. We can think something is resolved and then the BoD can come back with a changed answer 2 months later.

Then there's the politics between the MC resident manager and her office and the board and the ABC and the committees. !!Oi Vey!!

I do forsee a new MC at some point. They have alienated too many residents for there to be peace, I think.

The clock is ticking. Within 9 months or so we will be flipped and hopefully it will be easier for us all.