Great Communities to Put Down Roots

There’s a growing legion of homebuyers out there who don’t dream of a home on the 16^th green—they dream of living next to a field of green, as in corn.  In response, savvy developers around the country are planning and building communities known as “agrihoods;” in simple terms, communities built around urban farms.

Officially described as a “planned development combining clustered houses and broad natural landscapes with farm-to-table living, agrihoods typically include community-supported agriculture (CSA) pickup points, community kitchens, and even schools, as well as miles of walking trails—all places for people to meet naturally and share experiences.

Homebuilders are increasingly looking to farm-centered communities as a way to draw in residents, according to a MarketWatch report.

In these developments, farms aren't razed to make way for housing, but instead are incorporated into neighborhoods, allowing residents to raise farm animals, grow food, reconnect with nature and be a part of a community.

Houses built in these farm environments come at a premium, however, due to the lower density of homes and the sustainable features that homebuilders often include as standard.

Ed McMahon of the Urban Living Institute, a Washington, D.C.–based thought leader on housing and land use, says that developments that preserve natural areas have been around since the 1960s.

A nationwide trend,  Harvest, a Hillwood community in Argyle, Texas and Harvest Green in Houston are two such agrihoods that have sprouted up in the Southwest. 

Read more of the Market Watch Report here: 

Your Playbook to Run a Productive HOA Board Meeting

Ensuring that board meetings run according to plan requires an understanding of what makes a board meeting productive and trouble-free. 

Homeowners association board meetings commonly run over schedule, get sidetracked, or fail to cover all of the ground established in the agenda. Ensuring that board meetings run according to plan requires an understanding of what makes a board meeting productive and trouble-free.

1.      The Pregame Plan

Preparation and planning are critical for successful meetings, especially with a full agenda, or a critical issue that needs to be deliberated. Preparation reduces problems and surprises.

For most associations, Texas law requires that a notice of a board meeting be sent at least 72 hours prior to the meeting. We suggest sending the notice by email, posting the same notice on the association website, and posting signs in public spaces so that members have ample opportunity to learn about the meeting and prepare their contributions to it.

Board members should receive and review the agenda and other pertinent materials at least five days before the meeting. The scenario is similar to preparing a football team to play. Would you provide the players an hour to study the game plan, or several days?

2.      Execute the Agenda

The president of the board is tasked with the responsibility of keeping the discussion focused squarely on association business. Think of the president as a mediator in many respects; he or she is the guiding force who prevents 30-minute monologues from derailing the agenda and detracting from the focus of each critical item. The president is the official who ensures that discussions don’t deteriorate and groups don’t get mired in gossip sessions.  The goal of focused discussion is to build consensus among all board members on solutions that address issues in the community. 

As a manager, how do you help prepare the president for their role?  We recommend borrowing another concept from football – the game clock. Enforce time limits on the agenda items to keep speakers on point and on time. Start times for agenda items and speaking time limits enable you to give the appropriate amount of time to each agenda item and finish the meeting on time.

3.      Avoid Penalties - Play by the Rules of Order

A solid foundation of procedural knowledge can enhance leadership’s credibility, produce shorter and more productive meetings, and enable legitimate follow-up actions instead of questionable or illegal next steps.

So where do community associations import this foundational knowledge? Interestingly, associations are subject to the principles and rules of Robert’s Rules of Order. Members who act contrary to the rules they have adopted can be held liable for their actions.

It isn’t just the potential liability that helps to maintain order; it is the power of suggestion. Because the association has well-conceived regulations in place, order is the standard expectation of everyone on the board and in attendance. For this reason, we advise presiding officers to make every effort to learn the essentials of parliamentary procedure. Association leaders should become familiar with Robert’s Rules of Order to regulate meeting procedures.

4.      Capture the Minutes – Your “Game Film”

Football coaches review game film with their players to show what the team accomplished and what needs improvement. Similarly, if a board meeting takes place without someone meticulously recording the minutes, it becomes difficult to operate the association and improve the community.

According to bylaws, the secretary of the association is responsible for recording minutes of all meetings, unless the board arranged for this responsibility to be handled by the community manager or an administrative assistant. The original copy of all minutes and resolutions should be signed by the secretary. They should be distributed with action items and dates for follow-up prior to the next board meeting.

Once your association has assigned the roles described in this article, it takes just a little bit of practice to get your board meetings consistently running productively, trouble-free, and on schedule.

by Rob Koop, AMS®,CMCA®, PCAM®

Regional Vice President, CMA 

Fair Housing Discrimination and Harassment Regulations Could Apply to HOAs!

With HOA homeowners—some matters can be contentious—and the board is often the target.  But what if the dispute is between neighbors? Can’t the HOA just stay out of it?  

That depends. The HOA may need to act.  Here’s why:  Recent FHA regulations from HUD RIN 2529-AA94 have made it potentially easier to prosecute for harassment in a housing context.

Two respected Dallas attorneys who specialize in HOA matters have provided the following informative blog article to help association boards avoid potential pitfalls by keeping harassment in housing on your radar.

 Association Liability for Third Party Harassment

Superheroes are a relatively new cultural phenomenon, usually consisting of an individual possessing superhuman abilities and using that power to fight crime and protect the public from evil. The Department of Housing and Urban Development, or “HUD,” revised its fair housing regulations to address discriminatory harassment in housing practices. Those revisions impose liability upon persons and entities who fail to act as a “superhero” by stepping in to stop “evil” discriminatory harassment by a third party where the person/entity possesses the “superpower” to do so.

24 CFR 100.600(a)(2) defines “hostile environment harassment” as:

“unwelcome conduct that is sufficiently severe or pervasive as to interfere with: The availability, sale, rental, or use or enjoyment of a dwelling; the terms, conditions, or privileges of the sale or rental, or the provision or enjoyment of services or facilities in connection therewith; or the availability, terms, or conditions of a residential real estate-related transaction.”

The harassment must be based upon race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin. Discrimination occurs where the harassment causes the person to vacate the dwelling, to abandon efforts to reside in the dwelling, or has the effect of denying or limiting services in connection with the sale or rental of a dwelling. For example, if such harassment causes a resident to cease using the community pool to avoid the harassment, it may rise to the level of discrimination under the fair housing regulations as it denies or limits services to that resident.

Section 100.7 imposes direct liability on a person/entity for, among other things, failing to take prompt action to correct a discriminatory housing practice (including hostile environment harassment) where the person knew or should have known of the conduct by (i) that person’s employee/agent or (ii) a third-party where the person had the power to correct it.

If a resident is subjected to severe or pervasive harassment on the basis of one of the protected classes above (such as race), an association could be liable for failing to address the discrimination if the association knew or should have known of the conduct. The association’s liability is rather clear where the discrimination is created by the association’s employee or agent, such as the association’s property manager. In that instance, the association has the power to fire the employee or change property managers/the property management company. However, under the new HUD regulations, the association could also be liable for harassment by a third party, unrelated to the association, but only if the association had the power to take corrective action.

When might an association have the power to take corrective action against a resident for such discrimination? In responding to public commentary, HUD recognized that associations generally have the power to take corrective action by imposing the penalties authorized by the governing documents or legal authority. HUD notes that the new regulations “merely require] the community association to take whatever actions it legally can take to end the harassing conduct.”

Some associations have regulations that dictate “community etiquette,” such as rules that specifically prohibit harassment of directors, officers and other residents. In those instances, the association arguably has the power to take corrective action, in that the association has the power to treat harassment as a violation of the restrictive covenants. It is less clear whether an association has the power to correct the discrimination when the restrictive covenants merely prohibit “nuisances” and “annoyances.” Based upon HUD’s commentary, if the governing documents are completely silent as to any restrictions on behavior of residents, it appears the association has no power to act on hostile environment harassment.

Nearly all associations have encountered some version of a neighbor-to-neighbor dispute. These disputes rarely rise to a level of hostility that could be described as harassment, and even fewer involve “hate speech” and similar actions. However, these situations unfortunately do occur. Associations should treat any reports of harassment based upon a protected class seriously, even more so in light of the new HUD regulations and the potential for liability for those third party actions.

Investigate complaints of harassment to determine if the harassment may be discriminatory in nature. If such harassment is so severe and pervasive as to create a hostile environment for the targeted resident, the association should take any and all action authorized by its governing documents to stop the harassment. If the association fails to act where it had the power to do so, the association could be subjected to liability under the federal Fair Housing Act for third party harassment.

Thanks to our expert contributors for sharing this blog article.

Dean A. Riddle is the founding shareholder of Riddle and Williams, P.C.  and concentrates his practice on community association law and commercial litigation.  He provides legal services to property owners’ associations, their board of directors, and developers in all types of legal matters.  






A graduate of the SMU law school, Julie Dupont joined Riddle and Williams, P.C. in 2006 and practices law related to property owners’ associations.

Supply and Demand Drive Home Costs in North Texas

Dallas Market Ranked #1 in Real Estate Sales

The Dallas Morning News has reported that DFW home prices have risen more than 40 percent in the last four years.  The median price of a new house sold in DFW in 3QA 2016  rose to $336,381.  Labor shortages have added more than $4,00 to the price of a new house due to delays in construction, shortages of skilled labor and higher costs for materials.

Prices for pre-owned homes in North Texas were up 12 percent in September, the biggest yearover year gain in 2016.  Among other statistics tracked by realtors, it took less than 40 days on the market to sell a house.  A chief economist with the Real Estate Center said new listings enter the MLM as pending sales rather than active listings.

A recent report by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) ranked Dallas as the #1 real estate market in the U.S.  in 2016.

Service Is in His DNA

Association Board member and former board president  Dr. Bill Jenkins has capped a career of service to others as a volunteer and leader in his community.  A recent cover article in the Colleyville Charm community magazine features his family and recaps his career in education, during which he served in numerous leadership roles.  He has served on the Broughton Maintenance Association board in Colleyville for several years.
 
A natural leader and people-person, he has been generous to give a talk about his leadership insights to CMA’s professional staff in the Mid Cities region office  Like many association leaders, he draws on a wealth of life and work experiences to help his community. Thanks to Dr. Jenkins and other volunteers who make a lifelong commitment to giving back.

Click here to download the article.

HOAs Respond to Extensive Storm Damage

Storm season has arrived early and often in North Texas.  If your homeowners are hit with extensive damage, your Board of Directors or ACC Committee should consider making some special allowances for homeowners faced with damage repairs.

For example, one board has waived ACC submissions for external paint repairs  as long as the paint is replaced with the same color. Some ACC committees have convened a special team to review and act upon storm related damage applications within 1-2 business days.  Notification has been sent to owners on how to flag applications as STORM DAMAGE and submit documents for review.

Another association sent a letter to owners outlining a temporary suspension of violations, such as:

The violations are being suspended for 120 days for the following: 

• Roof/shingles (damaged/missing)
• Fascia/Soffit damage
• Chimney damage
• Shutters
• Windows/Window frames
• Fence damage
• Garage doors
• Exterior light fixtures
• Solar panels
• Most exterior damage, except for weeds

The requirements waived for ACC requests are for the following: 

• The shingle type/color doesn’t change
• Replaced shutters are the same type/color
• Front doors are the same color
• The fence height/material remains the same

If it is a new fence and you are staining it, the ACC request for staining is waived if the following pre-approved stains are used: (Be specific about what is allowed!)

1. Olympic (http://www.olympic.com/color/stain-color-and-finish)
   a. Clears (any)
   b.  Toners: Cedar Natural tone, Honey Gold
   c.  Semi-Transparent: Cedar Naturaltone 716; Sierra 700 Naturaltone; Fir/Pine 718; Olive Brown  Light Oak 909. 
2.  Cabot (http://www.cabotstain.com/colors-and-finishes/families/Semi-Transparent-Colors.html) a.   Semi-Transparent: Desert Sands, Cavalry New Cedar, Frontier Bark Mulch 
3.  Behr (http://www.behr.com/consumer/colors/stain) (Select Semi-Transparent or Transparent, click on color and it gives you name/number to the left)
   a. Semi-Transparent: Cedar ST-146; Cedar Naturaltone ST-533
   b. Transparent: Cedar Naturaltone 501/401; Golden Honey T-170, Chocolate T-129; Natural Sequoia T-172

Spring storm events, whether rain and flooding, hail, high winds, or tornadoes, require weeks and months of work and recovery to restore the community.  It's an opportunity to build good will with neighbors and address these, and other service outage and damage events in your community's disaster recovery plan.

Contact your association manager for assistance to plan and communicate a timely response to storms and emergencies in your community.

Thank you and Happy New Year!

Dear Board Member:

Thank you for your support in 2015!  As we kick off the new year, we'd like to share some highlights of valuable time-saving services CMA offered last year.  We hope your association enjoyed these benefits. 

What better way than a Top 10 Countdown!

10	Real-time viewing of violations and inspection photos for owners. (Compliance coordinators now employ iPads).
9	Increased use of our e-voting offering, to improve owner participation in board elections and involvement in community decision-making. (A 62% increase over 2014).
8	Expanded Customer Care staff, which now includes three bilingual representatives.
7	Introduced tracking of common area inspections through internal work orders, to record issues, oversee repairs and allow historical reporting.
6	More use of e-statements by owners, thus saving associations the cost of printing and postage.
5	New user-friendly print community information booklets and online e-booklets for new owners. Owners have convenient access to more online association information and more electronic forms.
4	New online tutorial videos to help owners pay online, submit ACCs, view violations and account information and use other online services.
3	More affordable solutions for shared-screen and audio-video conferencing needs, such as board meetings. (Texas statute now allows video-conferencing for HOA open meetings).
2	Improved communications through Board Tasks. This online tool enables and captures manager and board communications on a centralized, secure server (no more searching through old e-mails)!
1	Better than 99% client retention among our associations!

If you would like additional information on any of these services, please contact your Property Manager!

Happy New Year!

Your CMA Management Team