of such delivery preferences. This means associations will need to continue tracking whether members wish documents to be delivered by mail, email, or both, and whether the member has a secondary delivery address and a designated representative. Associations also need to review current practices in how membership information is handled in order to avoid prohibited transmissions of such information. If an association has a website, it may now designate the website as the location for posting general notices. SB 432 (WIECKOWSKI) – ELECTIONS – SB 323 CLEAN-UP SB 323, the election law overhaul of 2020, resulted in a number of ambiguities in the recent law on association election procedures. Echo supported SB 432 because it clarifies a number of these questions. SB 432 was combined with AB 502 and associations may now implement and enforce director term limits, appointed and sitting directors must meet the same qualifications as candidates must, and communities need not send out pre-ballot notices during non-director elections. The bills clarified that the candidate list must include the name and address of the candidates. Also useful, the bills expanded the period for a recall (previously 90 days under Corp Code 7511) to 150 days, which will allow both a recall and an election to occur simultaneously. ECHO EXECUTION: If an association amended and passed new election rules last year, they are generally enforceable; however, they should be reviewed to see if they should be updated to address these new laws regarding director qualifications, term limits, elections by acclamation, recall elections, and notice requirements for assessment and amendment votes. Mark T. Guithues, Esq., is the founding partner of Community Legal Advisors Inc., a six-attorney law firm providing assessment collections and general counsel to many hundreds of community associations. Mark also is a member of and serves as the secretary for the Echo board of directors.
Wade into the sea of coastal policy.
Join the Echo Coastal Resource Panel today and make a difference.
Sign Up for the Coastal Resource Panel Here
COASTAL HOA PROPERTIES THREATENED BY COMMISSION
Online meeting February 12, 2022, 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM Echo has launched a new initiative to contend with the California Coastal Commission’s (CCC) growing efforts that threaten California coastal property rights and property values. The commission now embraces the most extreme predictions of sea level rise (beyond that of other climate experts) to set policy and decide how you can – or cannot – use and protect the beach and coastal bluff homes. The CCC also has redefined “existing” developments as those developments that were completed prior to January 1, 1977, which effectively prohibits many needed shoreline protection and home improvement projects on property developed since then. To deal with these and other CCC activities, Echo has announced the formation of the Echo Coastal Resource Panel to educate, inform and alert coastal HOAs, homeowners and government officials on concerns about the actions of the commission and to activate coastal HOAs as coastal policy is developed in coming years. The panel, led by HOA volunteers, will draw on expert legal and public affairs advice to share information and provide support on HOA issues with the CCC. The Echo Coastal Resource Panel promises to add a new layer of support in confronting the CCC’s interpretation of the Coastal Act, scientific understanding of sea rise and domineering leverage on coastal cities and counties. We are seeking volunteers with interest and/or expertise to participate and help track California Coastal Commission actions and proposals, and to organize participation and respond to objectionable policies. Echo invites HOA community members to learn more about the mounting coastal issues facing them and hopes to find advocates for homeowner interests. The voice of homeowners should be heard in the ongoing conversation to protect the California coastline and to reasonably protect the property rights and values of coastal homeowners. The first online meeting of the Coastal Resource Panel is scheduled for Saturday, February 12, 2022, from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM. All are encouraged to attend. To stay informed of coastal issues or to get involved, click the link above and join today! .
Jeff Raimundo is a member of Pajaro Dunes North Association and volunteers as the Echo Coastal Resource Panel chair. His email address is: jeffraimundo.coastal@gmail.com. ECHO journal | ISSUE SIX 2021
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