Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Budget question

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> 
> The State of California generally requires $1500/yr for HOA Budgets.

As a reminder, California has the most detailed and accessible 
requirements/recommendations for good condominium financing and care that I’ve 
been able to find. Other sources must be hidden deep inside professional 
literature or behind certification paywalls. But California’s are online. One 
source is the Homeowners Protection Bureau. While the laws in each state vary 
or are even non-existent, California’s are a good example of “best practices” 
or at least things to consider when writing Bylaws and setting up budgets.

https://www.hopb.co/california-davis-stirling-common-interest-development-act

With the move from detached single-family houses to large scale communities of 
1000+ living units that maintain their own streets, parking, and park-like 
areas has changed the whole tax structure, for example. This was a huge change 
in the power structure of cities and towns. It created HOAs that function much 
like city governments themselves. Wikipedia has a nice article on the 
Davis–Stirling Common Interest Development Act that governs condominium, 
cooperative, and planned unit development communities in California.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis-Stirling_Common_Interest_Development_Act

This is the future. In California it began in1963. Particularly in towns where 
the idea of a common-interest development is new, reading about the 
Davis-Stirling Act might be enlightening. 

https://www.davis-stirling.com/HOME/R/Rules-Explained

And for anyone keeping track of women who changed the world but were never 
recognized Wikipedia records that this enormous act was written by law 
professor Katharine Rosenberry, not Davis and Stirling:

> Contrary to popular belief, the bill was authored/drafted by University of 
> San Diego School of Law Professor Katharine N. Rosenberry while she served as 
> a Senior Consultant to the California Assembly Select Committee on Common 
> Interest Developments. Assemblymen Lawrence W. "Larry" Stirling and Gray 
> Davis added their names as authors prior to the bill being passed/enacted by 
> the California State Legislature in September of 1985.