Splitting an Association in two?

I belong to a Colorado HOA consisting of 66 properties all 35 acres & larger. Geographically the association consists of the North owners & South owners with each group using a separate entrance and roads for access. The South owners want to secede from the present HOA and form their own HOA due to an inequitable maintenance situation. Is this possible and what would the procedure entail? Thanks.

ChrisL1,

Is there anything to prevent the North owners from using the South side entrance and roads for access? And vice versa? If not, my opinion would be the split is not justified as the areas are common space. Even though North or South choose not to use the entrance, there may be a need for access in case of an emergency. A split into two associations may foster territoriality. Perhaps you can further explain the inequitable maintenance situation. There may be a solution to solve the inequitability without a split.

GeraldT1
NNJ

Your CC&R's are going to tell you what you can and can't do. As I see it you have two options, neither simple. The first would be to dissolve the existing association and replace it with two. As Roger pointed out, this would probably take 100% of all owners and mortgage holders agreeing to it, almost impossible under the circumstances.

The second would be to create a PUD or master association, with two sub associations, each handling certain basic costs specific to their areas and the master handling certain defined administration for both. Again, this would probably take a supermajority.

The problem is that there is no reason for the north owners to agree to either as it would only increase their costs, which was not a part of the deal when they purchased. Until you can come up with a way that would make it worthwhile for them, they can (and will) probably stop any effort to change the existing CC&R's.

Your only other hope, and a faint one at that, would be to find a creative attorney, who "might" be able to convince a judge of the inherent unfairness of the documents, point our that they were drafted by the developer and not the owners, that the owners could not have had any indication of what they were getting into (how were you supposed to know the bridge would wash out twice), that the local governing agency shold not have allowed this single association to be created, and to dissolve it, with the county taking back the roads and bridge, or something like that. This is a real stretch and would probably be expensive, but unless your documents allow for massive changes, your only out may be some outside entity (the courts) imposing the change, and even then you can't be 100% sure that you would like what they might do any better. In any event, you're going to need a good lawyer.

Joe