HOA Annual Meeting
Set For 8/10/08 1- 4 PM
Where: Ralston Management
41800 Enterprise Circle South, Suite F
Temecula CA 92590, Tel 951-296-9030
Agenda:
Your HOA
We still need people to fill Board and committee positions. Want to run for the Board? Contact us through Ralston Management. At this time most of the work is done by volunteers who do most of the work of the HOA and are not compensated. They give their time because they want our HOA to move forward and develop without destroying our pristine area. Two areas that these volunteers have really changed and enhanced our HOA is the installation of the water system and the new fire station. This is your HOA and your help is needed and ideas valued. Without HOA volunteer members, your Association will have to hire outside expertise/help and that will require Special Assessments to HOA members to cover costs. In addition to our board of directors, who you elect, President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Member at Large , we have Committee and project volunteers who are appointed, ACC, Common Area Maintenance, CC&R/Bylaws Update, Newsletter, WEB site posting & maintenance. New positions/committees have been added. These are the Nominating Committee, and Inspector of Election. We are all busy with our personal lives, but all property owner’s need to step up to the plate and actively support the HOA, either as a Board, Committee Member or helping with projects.
Laws Require HOA Changes
Summary of New Laws
Following is a summary of the new laws that were passed in 2006. Some of them took effect in 2006 and others started on January 1, 2007.
Granting Exclusive Use. Giving individual owners the exclusive right to use any portion of the common areas now requires approval of 67% of the membership. Civil Code §1363.07
Membership List. Starting July 1, 2006, boards can no longer withhold the membership list even if it provides an alternate means for communicating with members. However, individual owners may opt out of the sharing of their name and address by notifying the association in writing that they prefer to be contacted by the alternative process. Civil Code §1365.2(a)(1)(I)
Inspection of Records. Associations must now produce records for inspection by the membership within specific time frames: Civil Code §1363.05(d) and Civil Code §1365.2
Electronic Records. Associations may now deliver records in electronic form, provided the records are in a format that prevents the records from being altered. Civil Code §1365.2
Elections. Elections must be conducted by an Inspector of Election and must be done by secret ballot with ballots mailed 30 days in advance of the meeting. Boards must adopt election rules and the rules must be consistent with the association’s governing documents. Ballots count toward quorum. Ballots must be opened and counted by the Inspector in front of the membership.
Proxies. Previously, anyone could act as a proxy holder. Now members can only designate other members to attend in their place. Proxies must now be on 2 pages, the first with the authorizing language, the second page with the vote. Civil Code 1363.03(d)
Reserves. Boards must now include in the Association’s budget: (i) the current deficiency in reserve funding expressed on a per unit basis, (ii) a statement indicating whether the board decided to defer repairs or replacement of a major component, and (iii) a statement indicating whether the association has any outstanding loans. Starting January 1, 2009, a summary of the reserve funding plan must be distributed to all members. Civil Code 1363.5
Assessment Collection. Boards are now required to be actively involved in the collection process. Boards must include with pre-lien letters (by certified mail) a notice of an owner's right to “meet and confer” with the board. Boards must authorize the recording of a lien by a majority vote at an open meeting. The vote must be recorded in the minutes of the meeting. The minutes may not disclose the name of the delinquent owner and can only refer to the address by its lot/tract number or the assessor’s parcel number.
Boards are allowed to record a lien but may not start foreclosure until the amount is at least $1,800 or the delinquency is at least 12 months old. Foreclosure cannot commence until the board authorizes it in an open meeting and records the decision in the minutes. Notice of the board’s decision must be personally served on the owner if the owner resides in the unit or by first class mail at the most current address in the association’s records provided by the owner. Civil Code §1367.1(a)
Architectural Committee. Architectural committees must make written decisions and explain why the proposed change was not approved, and provide a description of the procedure for reconsideration of the decision. Associations are now required to annually mail a notice to all homeowners describing the association’s architectural application process, including the procedure used to review and approve or deny changes. CivilCode §1378
American Flag. Associations may not restrict members from displaying the U.S. flag on their own property or exclusive use common area.
Towing Vehicles. The previous statute regulating the towing of vehicles was replaced with a new one regulating when and how vehicles may be towed and establishing new signage requirements.
Rules of Operations
The law requires the HOA each year to review/change/reaffirm/publish the Association’s rules of operation. Some of these Policy Resolutions are: Common Area Maintenance, ACC, Weed Abatement/Erosion Control, CC&R/Bylaws Modification Declarant Removal, Voting/Election Procedures, Suspension of Voting Rights, and Request for Documents.
Protect your home
As the HOA develops, more people/workers are in the area. When you leave your
home to go to work, shopping or just a day out, be aware of anyone walking or in
automobiles in your neighborhood when you leave. If you are going to be away or on vacation, let some of your neighbors and family know so they can keep an eye on your home. Also, let them know where you are going and a contact number in case they have to get in touch with you. You live in a rural area and if there is no activity around your house it is easy for someone to help themselves. Think about alarms, automatic lighting, in and outside of the house, a neighbor stopping by and anything else that may detour an intruder. If you reside in the HOA or are visiting your property and see a problem call the Sheriff (951.696.3085), CHP (951.506.2000) and/or BLM (760.831.7751) law enforcement officers to report law breakers and voice your concerns. For emergencies call 911.
Info for RGO HOA Members
There are various proposals and organizations that HOA members, as private citizens, might want to get involved in. An example is the FireSafe Council. This is a coalition of public and private sector organizations that share a common, vested interest in reducing losses from wildfire. Their mission is to preserve California’s natural and manmade resources by mobilizing all Californians to make their homes, neighborhoods and communities fire safe.
Ethics and Accountability
As a Board or a committee member we must always put our HOA member’s interests ahead of our own. Fiduciary Duty: "A duty to act for someone else's benefit, while subordinating one's personal interest to that of the other person. It is the highest standard of duty implied by law (e.g., trustee, guardian)."
If you are a HOA board member, by California law you must uphold the CC&Rs. This is a legal requirement.
ACC Committee
In accordance with the CC&Rs, the ACC reviews documentation and issues written decisions to the requesting property owner concerning the property improvement approval request. Before any plans go to the county (grading, building, etc.) they should be approved by the ACC to prevent resubmission to the county. A copy of all documentation/plans should be submitted to Ralston Management.
Surveying of Property
All Property must be surveyed prior to any development.
Property corners should be marked and property lines marked, point on line (POL), every 50 feet.
A surveying report must be submitted to the ACC prior to any grading. Please refer to the CC&R’s, ACC guidelines, ACC checklist or contact Ralston Management for further information.
Weed Control
Due to the great winter rains this year everything is growing like WEEDS.
As the weather gets warmer the green of spring is now turning to brown as
the weeds dry up. It is time for clearing weeds and brush from your property.
The HOA properties are right in the middle of an extreme fire hazard area. The
fire department recommends mowing properties and clearing of any dried brush/leaves/pine needles from under trees. They don’t recommend extensive grading or scraping because it promotes erosion problems when it rains, as the plant roots are gone. The county considers “scraping” the same as grading and requires a permit. Clear your brush at least 100 - 200 feet around buildings as per Riverside County Ordinance. If you do scrape your property you are required to reseed to stop erosion.
Dues are Increasing But is it Enough?
The HOA BOD has raised the dues by 20% for this year. Our homeowners' dues, compared to other associations, are very low. As more property owners build homes and move/live within the HOA, more is expected of, and by, the HOA. To keep up with the cost of everything increasing, such as wages, fuel, insurance, legal advice, engineering support, etc., your HOA needs more working capital to accomplish the work that it does. The increase of dues by 20% a year should have started back in the 1980’s to give our HOA enough revenue to operate effectively in today’s world. With new law requirements that a long-range funding plan be put in place and funded for such needs as Common Area Annual Operational and Maintenance Expense, Common Area Maintenance Engineering Fees and Service Support, Common Area Equestrian Trail Development Fees and Services Support, Legal Fees and Services Support, Property Management Fees and Services Support, ACC Engineering Fees and Services Support and Reserve Fund Plan Fees and Services Support.
New Fire Station
Fire Station 96 is a new fire station, located at 37700 Glenoaks Road, between Mesa and De Portola, serving our local community. It should be in service and manned by county fire and paramedics in May of this year. This is another area that volunteers in our HOA, supported by your BOD, have been working on with the county and other HOA’s in our area for the last few years. Our HOA will have much faster emergency fire and medical response which could save your home, your life and lower your fire insurance. Fire Station 96 will be housed in temporary trailers with construction on permanent buildings to be started soon.
Ralston Management
Member requests for any action must be a written request sent to Ralston Management. BOD meeting Agendas are also posted at Ralston Management five (5) days before the monthly/annual meetings.
