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June 1, 2005
When to Amend? That is the Question.
When should associations amend, update or restate their governing documents? Well, I can only speak for California - and I would say because of the prolific legislature, every year would be good. Ha, you say, that is simply not possible, nor affordable. True. Amending or restating the governing documents requires a process, often considered long, dull, and demanding on the Board members and committee members. It requires owner approval, sometimes a "supermajority of votes" like 75% or more. It costs a lot of money. It requires trying to get owners to respond (kinda like trying to get a turtle to run). It sometimes draws out the biggest complainers in the Association and sometimes requires the Board to go "face-to-face" with the meanest, most critical residents. It's work. It's important. And it's usually do-able with a good plan or strategy and the help of a competent professional.
However, it's not the only solution to getting a guiding document that is a useful tool in providing information about what new laws there are and how they affect existing (old or even fairly new) documents. If your association documents are more than 10 years old, and you are trying to use them in today's world, you are at a distinct disadvantage. If they are more than 20 years old, you probably have given up on them (or if you are using them you may be doomed! ("Doomed" - a favorite word of my study partner in law school that I still find useful in some contexts).
Even if your documents are only 2-5 years old, a "tune-up" may be required to keep you abreast of requirements for board members, managers and owners in CIDs.
Get more information on amending and restating documents, and in case you can't do that for some reason, on getting a document "tune-up" at http://www.californiacondoguru.com.
Posted by Beth Grimm at June 1, 2005 11:30 AM