Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Covenants guidelines

[drmaryann49 (drmaryann49]

From Manzanita Village, Prescott, AZ

In 2006 when we needed to change our CC&R and Bylaws because of changes in 
state law, we hired an attorney who’s a specialist on HOAs which is our legal 
organizational structure. We spent some time talking to him about our unique 
circumstances. As a consequence we are governed by three legal documents: the 
CC&Rs, the Bylaws and our Policy & Procedure manual. Each document references 
the other two and there is language that says when each document has 
precedence. The CC&Rs and Bylaws are HOA documents and require a vote of the 
homeowners for any changes or amendments. The Policy & Procedure manual is a 
document of the entire community. Some of the policies and procedures have been 
approved by the community as a whole through the consensus process others have 
been drafted by the committee responsible for that area and added to the 
manual. These are mostly non-controversal items.

Things that have been approved by consensus require consensus to change. The 
other things can be changed more easily but it’s always possible to require 
consensus on a policy that hadn’t been consensed on in the past. We have a very 
detailed description of the consensus process including the possibility for a 
vote if consensus proves impossible. 

We’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of our community this week and these 
document have generally served us well,

Mary Ann


On Apr 9, 2014, at 9:28 AM, Lynn Nadeau / Maraiah <welcome [at] olympus.net> 
wrote:

> 
> RoseWind Cohousing, Port Townsend WA, 25 years in.
> 
> I second the advice to think carefully about your documents. It's so 
> complicated, it's tempting to just plug in a bunch of legal boilerplate, to 
> satisfy authorities. But the time will come when it is the pivotal bottom 
> line, as you may deal with a cranky estate, senile member, difficulty 
> achieving a quorum, someone who claims to have a "dispute" with the 
> Association. Maybe it doesn't seem to matter now -- when the people are known 
> and trusted -- to have a policy about cutting down trees on the commons, 
> unattended campfires, weapons, pets, pesticides, and all that. 
> 
> Look too at what it will take to change your documents. Are there some things 
> you want to make very difficult to do (like dissolving the Association; going 
> to a vote)? Things you want more flexibility about, as they might be more 
> likely to evolve? This can be reflected in where you put things. "CC&Rs" 
> might take a different quorum/notification requirement to change. We have 
> CC&Rs, Bylaws, and "Regulations". The latter are comprised of any 
> duly-adopted policies. These are less set in stone, as we can easily agree to 
> change them. We also define various types of decisions. Class One are things 
> like budget, expenses (over $1000) outside of the annual budget , major 
> policy changes. These require a quorum and ten day notice. Other decisions 
> can be decided without a quorum or notification: yes, Susie can plant an 
> apple tree on the commons by her house, let's take $300 from our unallocated 
> funds and build a roof over the cob bread oven. 
> 
> Find some examples from the state you live in, for the legal form you choose 
> (coop, condo, nonprofit, LLC). I found a set for a gated community near here 
> that, while very different from our less controlling attitude, was useful as 
> a checklist. No, we don't want to control what plants people have on their 
> porches, but what's this legalese here? Is it something we should include? 
> They had obviously spent a lot of money of lawyers, and had thought of 
> everything there was to regulate, so it was a good thing to consult, along 
> with documents from many other sorts of communities. We did our own work, 
> and, on a limited budget, only had a lawyer check it over when we had done 
> all we could ourselves. 
> 
> And about every seven years we've needed to do a thoughtful overhaul to 
> remove obsolete references, clarify items, add things that have come up.  
> 
> Maraiah Lynn Nadeau
> www.rosewind.org
> Full tilt spring, new crops of spinach, beets, etc coming up, lettuce in the 
> greenhouse, planting flowers around the edge of the garden fence
> 
> 
> _________________________________________________________________
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> 
> 

--
"... enjoy yourself always by day and by night! Make merry each day, dance and 
play day and night" (Epic of Gilgamesh)

Mary Ann Clark
drmaryann49 [at] mac.com
http://homepage.mac.com/drmaryann/index.html