BY JOSEPH PRICE, CMCA, CAMEx, CCAM
T
he dictionary defines ethnicity as “referring to cultural factors, including nationality, regional culture, ancestry, and language.” HOAs are virtual melting pots and perfect examples representative of community diversity. A strong and healthy community encourages its membership to develop positive relationships and embrace their neighbors, regardless of their differences. Homeowners’ associations may see diversity in language, dress, food preparation that permeates beyond ones’ own unit, holiday traditions, religion, and cultural activities. There can be times that these differences become a focal point in your HOA. People want to be accepted for who they are and feel comfortable where they live. It’s important that their culture and heritage are recognized and accepted. They want to be accepted for, and be able to celebrate, who they are and where they come from. Unfortunately, not everyone feels the same. While some may easily embrace these differences, ignorance can drive reactions by some when they don’t know about another culture, and they may make assumptions based on misinformation or lack of understanding.
How Does This Impact an HOA? It’s incumbent upon boards of directors to govern homeowners’ associations for all who reside within the community membership. There will be times when the board is forced to address issues revolving around ethnically diverse situations. When that time comes, the board is obligated to do its due diligence to determine if there is any action that needs to be taken. This process may include research, interviewing others,
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November/December 2019 | ECHO journal
