Quorum September 2019

SEPTEMBER 2019

SEPTEMBER 2019

FEATURING 10 Del Webb at Rancho Mirage 18 From Boring to Full Panic Mode in 60 Seconds—Avoiding Problems When Hiring Contractors 24 Selecting Architectural Committee Members 28 How Boards Can Survive Unanticipated Court Judgments 38 Eleven Sure-Fire Ways to Frustrate HOA Elections All aerial photography courtesy of Mark Frank, a resident of Del Webb at Rancho Mirage.

SAVE THE DATE - CAI’S LEGISLATIVE UPDATE LUNCH PROGRAM • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH - TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

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We know what it takes to create great communities that residents are proud to call home. We start by putting the right teams in place – local association management experts who deliver our best-in-class solutions, along with genuinely helpful service, to enhance the property values and lifestyles of those we serve.

That’s how we make a difference, every day, for great communities like yours.

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Quorum September, 2019

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EVENTS

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CONTENTS

2019 QUORUM COMMITTEE MEMBERS CAI-CV

EDUCATED BUSINESS PARTNER

CAI-CV

EDUCATED BUSINESS PARTNER

JENNIFER JAMES, ESQ., CHAIR Green Bryant & French, LLP RODNEY BISSELL, CO-CHAIR Bissell Design Studios, Inc. GEN WANGLER, ESQ., CCAL, BOARD LIAISON Fiore Racobs & Powers, A PLC KIMBERLY BURNETT DSI Security Services DIANE CARMONY Coachella Valley Water District

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SIERRA CARR, CMCA Associa Desert Resort Management CAI-CV

EDUCATED BUSINESS PARTNER

DEA FRANCK, ESQ. Epsten Grinnell & Howell, APC BRUCE LATTA, CMCA Parc La Quinta HOA MARNE LOGAN, CCAM The Management Trust Desert Division GLENN A. MILLER, CGCS Southwest Landscape & Maintenance, LLC

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GRACE PALUCK, CMCA The Management Trust Desert Division

24

KUMAR S. RAJA, ESQ. Tinnelly Law Group MIKE REY Rey Insurance Services A FARMERS® Insurance Agency CAI-CV

EDUCATED BUSINESS PARTNER

SUSAN BROWNE ROSENBERG Desert Cities Indoor Air, LLC STEVEN SHUEY, PCAM Personalized Property Management

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38

FEATURES 10

Del Webb at Rancho Mirage

By Marne Logan, CCAM

18

From Boring to Full Panic Mode in 60 Seconds— Avoiding Problems When Hiring Contractors

By Patrick Prendiville, CIRMS

24 Selecting Architectural Committee Members

By Steven Shuey, PCAM

28 How Boards Can Survive Unanticipated Court Judgments

By Michael Knighten, Esq.

38 Eleven Sure-Fire Ways to Frustrate HOA Elections

By Kelly G. Richardson, Esq., CCAL 4

Quorum September, 2019

JOSH WIDENMANN MRC Smart Technology Solutions A Xerox Company CREATIVE DIRECTOR & GRAPHIC DESIGNER CAI-CV

EDUCATED BUSINESS PARTNER

RODNEY BISSELL Bissell Design Studios, Inc. rodney@bisselldesign.com (714) 293-3749

ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS OR ADVERTISING INFORMATION admin@cai-cv.org

SUBSCRIBER SERVICES

The Coachella Valley Quorum Magazine is a publication expressly prepared for association leaders, managers and related business professionals of the Community Associations Institute. Members are encouraged to submit articles for publishing consideration. All articles accepted for publication in Quorum are subject to editing and rewriting by the Quorum Committee.

Quorum Magazine is printed at the CAI-CV Office on a Xerox Versant 180 Press. Discounted printing is now available to CAI members. Call Bissell Design Studios, Inc. at (714) 293-3749 or the CAI-CV office for more information, (760) 345-0559.

ADVERTISERS ACCOUNTANTS & BOOKKEEPERS BRABO & CARLSEN, LLP.............................................25

ASPHALT AMS PAVING................................................................30 ASPHALT MD'S..............................................................8 NPG ASPHALT..............................................................42

ATTORNEYS EPSTEN GRINNELL & HOWELL, APC............................22 FIORE RACOBS & POWERS, A PLC..............................41 GREEN BRYANT & FRENCH, LLP....................................5 GURALNICK & GILLILAND, LLP....................................16

BANKING FIRST FOUNDATION BANK...........................................13

CONSTRUCTION VANTAGE POINT CONSTRUCTION, INC........................19

DESIGN BISSELL DESIGN STUDIOS, INC...................................30

ELECTIONS THE INSPECTORS OF ELECTION..................................39

GATES & GARAGE DOORS AUTOMATION PRIDE....................................................16

INSURANCE PRENDIVILLE INSURANCE AGENCY............................21

LANDSCAPING CONSERVE LANDSCAPE .............................................16 PRO LANDSCAPING, INC..............................................19 PWLC II, INC. LANDCARE MANAGEMENT....................25 WATER RITE - VINTAGE ASSOCIATES, INC..................13

MANAGEMENT COMPANY FIRSTSERVICE RESIDENTIAL........................................2 ASSOCIA DESERT RESORT MANAGEMENT.................43

PEST CONTROL CARTWRIGHT TERMITE & PEST CONTROL, INC...................................5 FRAZIER PEST CONTROL, INC.....................................13 POWERFUL PEST MANAGEMENT................................21

REALTORS

A FULL SERVICE LAW FIRM

Providing Practical Approaches in:

PALM SPRINGS REGIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS................................................................8

CC&R Interpretation, Drafting and Enforcement

RESERVE STUDIES

Opinion Letters

ADVANCED RESERVE SOLUTIONS, INC. .....................16

Contract Drafting and Negotiation

ROOFING BRS ROOFING, INC. .....................................................21 ROOF ASSET MANAGEMENT.......................................13 SUNTECH ROOFING.....................................................16 WESTERN PACIFIC ROOFING.......................................25

SECURITY

Civil Litigation Assessment Recovery 75100 Mediterranean Palm Desert, California 92211

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| 760.565.5889

AMS CONNECT............................................................42 CAI-CV.org

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER NEWS

8 CAI-CV Educated Business Partners 9 CAI-CV New & Renewing Members Welcome Aboard 25 Sue Sweeney

33

MIKE TRAIDMAN PRESIDENT Mira Vista at Mission Hills HOA

By Susan Browne Rosenberg, CIH Angius & Terry LLP

By Susan Browne Rosenberg, CIH

36 Time Honored

2019 COACHELLA VALLEY CHAPTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dana Brown, CCAM, CMCA, AMS

By Grace Paluck, CMCA, CamEx, CCAM

44 2019 Corporate Sponsors

CHAPTER EVENTS

3 Spooktoberfest 23 Board Leadership Development Workshop 23 CAI Legal Forum 44 Upcoming Chapter Events

CAI-CV

EDUCATED BUSINESS PARTNER

MARGARET "GEN" WANGLER, ESQ., CCAL PAST-PRESIDENT Fiore Racobs & Powers, A PLC CAI-CV

EDUCATED BUSINESS PARTNER

CAI-CV

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The Importance of Your Association’s Architectural Review Committee

By Sean D. Allen, Esq.

DEA FRANCK, ESQ. SECRETARY Epsten Grinnell & Howell, APC

CAI-CV

MICHA BALLESTEROS DIRECTOR

EDUCATED BUSINESS PARTNER

RHONDA DREWS, CMCA, AMS, PCAM DIRECTOR RealManage

CAI National 20 FHA Releases Updated Approval Rules for Condominiums

LONI PETERSON, CMCA, AMS, PCAM DIRECTOR Associa Desert Resort Management

37 Preventing Carbon Monoxide Poisioning

STEVEN SHUEY, PCAM DIRECTOR Personalized Property Management

By C. Scott Canady

By CAI National

26 Maintenance Rodent Control Restriction Bill for the State of California

By Glenn Miller, CGCS

Platinum Spotlight 17 Conserve LandCare 31 Pacific Western Bank 32 Managers' Corner

Architectural Review Committees

By Holly Smith, CMCA, AMS

34 Security

Integrated Security Systems and Technology Solutions Examples

By Kimberly Burnett

36 About CLAC

Help Stop SB 323!

By Nathan McGuire, Esq.

Water Wise 40 State Approves Coachella Valley Groundwater Management Plans

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6

JOLEN ZEROSKI, CMCA TREASURER Union Bank

CARDINAL AMBROSE, CMCA, AMS, PCAM DIRECTOR Associa Desert Resort Management

DEPARTMENTS

7 President’s Message 14 HOA Law

MATT LAWTON, CIC, CIRMS PRESIDENT-ELECT Prendiville Insurance Agency

By the Coachella Valley Water District Expanded HOA Rebate Program Available Until End of Year By the Coachella Valley Water District

Quorum September, 2019

LOUISE STETTLER DIRECTOR Palm Valley Country Club HOA

CAI Coachella Valley Office 75410 Gerald Ford Drive, Suite 102 Palm Desert, CA 92211 Tel: (760) 341-0559 Fax: (760) 341-8443 Website: www.cai-cv.org CAL LOCKETT Executive Director clockett@cai-cv.org The materials contained in this publication are designed to provide our members with timely and authoritative information; however, the CAI Coachella Valley Chapter is not engaging in the rendering of legal, accounting or other professional types of services. The Coachella Valley Chapter has not verified and/ or endorsed the contents of these articles or advertising. Readers should not act on the information contained herein without seeking more specific professional advice from legal, accounting or other experts as required.

FROM THE CHAPTER

President’s Message Mike Traidman Mira Vista at Mission Hills HOA

E

ach fall, associations throughout the Valley are busy preparing for the desert’s incredible “season” and the return of thousands of snowbirds. To help you survive this busy time of year, we have a fantastic lineup of fall events and programs that provide first-rate education, career development and networking for our members.

Before we talk about CAI-CV’s fall programs, I have some exciting news. The Chapter has been working diligently over the past two years to transform into an educational organization. I’m excited to let you know that in 2020, the Chapter will sponsor 275 hours of education for our members, and most of the classes will take place in our classroom. As comparison, in 2017 we offered only 59 hours of education. The 2020 lineup will offer business partners 47 hours of education and 34 hours of networking events. Community board members will have access to 68 hours of education and hopefully, a new certification program, and managers will have over 160 hours of classes to choose from, most of them offering continuing education units. I think we can all agree that the transformation has succeeded. One of our CAI-CV board members recently quoted from the movie, Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.” Our membership growth validates the truth in that statement. We added another 20 new members in August and have doubled our membership in just over two years. Our sincere thanks to all of you who volunteer on CAI-CV committees or support the Chapter through sponsorships and advertising. You have made this transition possible!

I want to thank Tiffany Christian (Epsten Grinnell & Howell, APC) and Alison LeBoeuf (Sherwin-Williams Paint Company) for teaching the Manager on the Run class on August 2nd. The reviews were outstanding.

Thank you both.

We will have our next Board Basic Training on Tuesday, September 10th at 5:30 p.m. at the CAI-CV classroom. Steven Shuey, PCAM (Personalized Property Management) and Bruce Latta (Parc La Quinta HOA) will be teaching the class about board succession planning. The Professional Managers Committee will host their second career night at the CAI-CV office on Tuesday, September 17th. If you know anyone interested in learning about community management as a career, please invite them to attend. The event is free. On Friday, September 20th, we will hold our next Educational Lunch Program & Mini Trade Show at Palm Valley Country Club in Palm Desert. The topic will be “How Boards Get into Trouble” and our guest speakers are Jeff Beaumont, Esq., CCAL and Lisa Tashjian, Esq., CCAL (Beaumont Tashjian). We will have an Assistant Manager on the Run (AMOTR) program on the morning of Friday, September 27th.

In October, we have a Manager on the Run program on Friday, October 4th and Board Basic Training on Tuesday October 8th. Our October lunch program will be on Friday, October 11th with guest speaker, Rob Felix, CMCA, LSM, PCAM, RS (Felix Reserve Group) who will be talking about servant leadership. CAI’s Statewide Legal Forum will take place at the Newport Beach Marriott on Friday, October 18th. You can register for this fantastic all-day educational event at www.caionline.com. CAI-CV’s annual Oktoberfest (Spooktoberfest) will take place at Sunshine Landscape on Friday, October 25th. Registrants receive a free mug (with beer) and t-shirt.

I look forward to seeing all of you soon and hope your September planning goes well.

Mike Traidman

Mike Traidman, Mira Vista at Mission Hills HOA

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CAI-CV

EDUCATED BUSINESS PARTNER

the Palm Springs ®

MONTHLY

Choose Educated Business Partners

JULY/AUG 2018

IN THIS ISSUE Issues Mobilization Grant 3 What You Need to Know About Logos and Trademarks Page 5 July/Aug Calendar Page 6 You’re Even More Vital to New-Home Buyers Page 14 PSRAR Affiliate Network News Page 16

Micha Ballesteros Rodney Bissell, Bissell Design Studios, Inc. Susan Browne Rosenberg, CIH, Desert Cities Indoor Air, LLC Kimberly Burnett, DSI Security Services Linda Cardoza, Alliance Association Bank Will Cartwright, Cartwright Termite & Pest Control, Inc. Rick Cech, Roof Asset Management Todd Chism, PatioShoppers Tiffany Christian, Epsten Grinnell & Howell, APC Adam Eves, EmpireWorks Lori Fahnestock, Powerful Pest Management Dea Franck, Esq., Epsten Grinnell & Howell, APC Julie Frazier, Frazier Pest Control, Inc. Elaine Gower, Naumann Law Firm, PC Michael Graves, SCT Reserve Consultants Amanda Gray, O'Connell Landscape Maintenance Matthew Hills, Securitas Security Services USA, Inc. Tim Hoss, BEHR & KILZ Paints & Primers Jennifer James, Esq., Green Bryant & French, LLP Megan Kirkpatrick, Kirkpatrick Landscaping Services Jared Knight, Vista Paint Corporation Katy Krupp, Fenton Grant Mayfield Kaneda & Litt, LLP Matt Lawton, CIC, Prendiville Insurance Agency Larry Layton, Kirkpatrick Landscaping Services Alison LeBoeuf, Sherwin-Williams Mike Mastropietro, OCBS, Inc. Chris Meyer, Asphalt MD's Greg Morrow, Eagle Roofing Products Fran Mullahy, Vintage Associates Matt Ober, Esq., Richardson Ober, PC Chet Oshiro, EmpireWorks Mallory Paproth, SCT Reserve Consultants Elisa Perez, Esq., Epsten Grinnell & Howell, APC Jay Powell, Ben's Asphalt Dana Pride, Automation Pride Kelly Richardson, Esq., Richardson Ober, PC Brent Sherman, Animal Pest Management Services, Inc. Brittany Smith, Vantage Point Construction, Inc. Kymberli Taylor-Burke, NPG Asphalt Liz Williams, AMS Paving Taylor Winkle, Roof Asset Management Bevan Worsham, AMS Paving Jolen Zeroski, Union Bank Homeowners Association Services

Become an Educated Business Partner Call the CAI-CV office or go to www.cai-cv.org for more information.

8

Quorum September, 2019

CAI-CV ANNUAL LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Educational Lunch Program & Mini Trade Show Friday, November 15, 2019 Palm Valley Country Club, 39205 Palm Valley Dr, Palm Desert 11:15 a.m. Registration

GUEST SPEAKERS

Louie Brown, Jr., Esq. CLAC Lobbyist Kahn Soares & Conway, LLP

CAI-CV NEW & RENEWING MEMBERS NEW BUSINESS PARTNERS KNIGHTEN & PARLOW PC Michael Knighten (760) 424-2222 michael@kplawcorp.com

RENEWING BUSINESS PARTNERS AMERICAN TECHNOLOGIES, INC. Cindy Helmstead (951) 206-7345 cindy.helmstead@us.belfor.com AMS PAVING, INC. Liz Williams (800) 357-0711 liz@amspaving.com AUTOMATION PRIDE Dana Pride (760) 423-6567 danapride@automationpride.com

COME LEARN ABOUT: • New California Laws • New Case Law • New Regulations • New Rules that impact Managers • New Rules that impact Boards of Directors and CID Communities

SIGN UP ONLINE AT WWW.CAI-CV.ORG OR CALL THE CAI-CV OFFICE AT 760-341-0559.

Members: $32 Nonmembers: $42

Seating is Limited SIGN UP NOW AT

CAI-CV.ORG

ASSOCIA DESERT RESORT MANAGEMENT Melody Castro (760) 777-8807 mcastro@drminternet.com Keith Lavery (760) 346-1161 klavery@drminternet.com Nancy Parkinson (760) 346-1161 Ext 146 nparkinson@drminternet.com Carolyn Quintana (760) 775-5858 cquintana@drminternet.com Nena Rutherford-Milward (760) 777-8807 nrutherford@drminternet.com

BPR, INC. Thomas Edelson (855) 804-7336 thomas@bpr1.com

CAI-COACHELLA VALLEY CHAPTER Callen Lockett (760) 341-0559 Clockett@cai-cv.org

PATIOSHOPPERS COMMERCIAL POOL & PATIO FURNITURE Todd Chism (951) 500-1803 todd@PatioShoppers.com

MILLENNIUM COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT, LLC Kimberly Hansele (866) 508-2780 kim@mcmiskey.com

PWLC II, INC. Paul Rasmussen (760) 323-9341 paul-pwlc@hotmail.com

MOTORCOACH COUNTRY CLUB PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION Diane Gentry (760) 342-4215 Ext 510 diane@motorcoachcc.com Paul Johnson (951) 232-8237 Paul@motorcoachcc.com

RICHARDSON OBER Kelly Richardson (626) 449-5577 kelly@richardsonober.com

Adrian Adams, Esq. Adams Stirling, PLC

RENEWING MANAGER MEMBERSHIPS

ROOF ASSET MANAGEMENT, INC. Rob Winkle (760) 333-9900 rob@ramroof.com WICR INC., WATERPROOFING AND DECKING Fred Wanke (888) 388-9427 fred@wicr.net

NEW MANAGER MEMBERSHIPS ASSOCIA DESERT RESORT MANAGEMENT Devin Eklund (760) 346-1161 deklund@drminternet.com M.C. Evangelista (760) 346-1162 mevangelista@drminternet.com Gloria Lopez (760) 346-1163 glopez@drminternet.com Tona Ott (760) 346-1164 tott@drminternet.com Karin Romjue (760) 346-1165 kromjue@drminternet.com

THE MANAGEMENT TRUST, DESERT DIVISION Grace Paluck (760) 776-5100 Ext 6324 grace.paluck@managementtrust.com THE VINTAGE CLUB - MASTER ASSOCIATION Jacqueline Wright (760) 862-2085 jwright@thevintageclub.com TRILOGY AT LA QUINTA MAINTENANCE ASSOCIATION Eric Angle (760) 802-1948 ericangle@msn.com Nicolasa Moya (760) 777-6059 nmoya@mytlq.com

RENEWING VOLUNTEER LEADERS BELLA VIDA AT SHADOW HILLS Joyce Gaurre Sue Gonzales Angela Hines Jeff Miller Randall Tackett DESERT BREEZES CASAS Sheryl Carnevale Ron Downing Stephen Jimenez William Miller Charlene Young OAK HILLS ESTATES OWNERS ASSOCIATION Deborah Davidson Diane Stuart

OUTDOOR RESORT PALM SPRINGS OWNERS ASSOCIATION Jennifer Miranda (760) 328-3834 Ext 300 jmiranda@orps.com

PALM DESERT COUNTRY CLUB HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION Ron Crisp Kathleen O’Brien Raymond Rieger Josanne Smith Steven Waller

PGA WEST RESIDENTIAL ASSOCIATION Kelly McGalliard (760) 771-1234 Ext 15 kellym@pgawest.org

PARC LA QUINTA, HOA Gary Barnett Dante Gomez Bruce Latta Lynda Murray Patricia Von Iderstein

POWERSTONE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Holly Smith (760) 469-4797 hsmith@powerstonepm.com

PORTOLA PALMS HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION Elbert (Jay) Jarvis Greg Dunkel Marlena Martinez

SUN CITY SUMMERLIN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION Mitzi Mills (702) 966-1409 Mitzim@suncitylv.com

PUEBLO SANDS HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION Thomas Cannon John Gallucci Alan Krug Loretta Tremper

THE GAFFNEY GROUP Meaghan Gaffney-Howe (760) 327-0301 meaghan@thegaffneygroup.net

TRI-PALM UNIFIED OWNERS ASSOCIATION Marcee Williams

PERSONALIZED PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Landon Burt lburt@ppminternet.com

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FEATURE

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Quorum September, 2019

FEATURE

Del Webb at Rancho Mirage

I

By Marne Logan, CCAM

n 2018, a new 322-acre, active-adult, gated community with over a thousand homes in Rancho Mirage opened its doors to Valley residents and home seekers looking for the desert lifestyle. Del Webb at Rancho Mirage is located at 100 Del Webb Way in Rancho Mirage. The magnificent entrance is off Dinah Shore Drive between Los Alamos Road and Bob Hope Drive. The development is next to the Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage and minutes from the 10 Freeway. About two thirds of the Del Webb property is being developed now with large sections to the sweeping vistas is pure joy. Beautifully manicured streets, thoughtfully designed placement of homes and open areas, roomy parking for the outstanding clubhouse, and a stunning lake exemplify the perfect active adult community.

Accomplished General Manager, Sue Sweeney, CMCA, AMS, LSM, PCAM, was selected by Seabreeze Management Company to shepherd the new Del Webb Rancho Mirage HOA. Sue says, “I am privileged to be the GM of such a lovely property that is growing so quickly. The residents are wonderful and so grateful for the lifestyle provided by this amazing community.�

Since opening, Del Webb Rancho Mirage has become a very sought-after community. More than 300 homes have already closed escrow! When all the homes are completed, there will be a total of 1,029. These beautiful homes, all with solar capabilities, are priced from the low $400,000s to the along Ramon Road and Bob Hope Drive preserved for future commercial development.

We are all familiar with the Del Webb name, especially with two Sun City communities already located in the Coachella Valley. Del Webb Rancho Mirage is focused on health, wellness, and personal enrichment. The clubhouse will feature 20,000 square feet of beautifully designed activity space, all under one roof, exclusively for the use of its 55+ residents. Featured spaces will include an elegant courtyard, pickleball courts, tennis courts, bocce ball courts, covered and outdoor pools, a putting green, an event lawn, golf simulator, fitness facility, conference room, aerobic room, locker rooms and more.

The community is clearly designed to maximize the views of the surrounding mountains and lovely landscaping. In typical Del Webb style, your first reaction

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FEATURE

Unique to Del Webb is the “lifestyle” they offer homebuyers. As a new homeowner, you receive the assistance of the “Lifestyle Director” the first day at new resident orientation, and they’ll happily help you to find activities, clubs, and outings to perfectly compliment your lifestyle. The Lifestyle Director plans all the events and activities happening in and outside the community, from day trips and travel opportunities to dances and community socials.

The board of directors currently has five members who rely on the support of Sue’s management expertise. The Design Review Committee is the only chartered committee at this time. CAI business partners working with Del Webb Rancho Mirage include Hort Tech Landscape, Tinnelly Law Group, and Allied Universal.

$800,000s. There are ten single-family home designs to choose from, including two to three bedrooms ranging in size from 1,438 square feet to 2,726 square feet. I encourage you to go there to see the beautiful models. You will be impressed.

Assessments are currently $337 per month and include access to all the amenities. The 20,000 square foot clubhouse will open in November and will have a ballroom with seating for more than 200 guests. In addition to tennis, swimming, billiards, and aerobics, there are six miles of meandering walking trails in the neighborhoods surrounding this community! Del Webb offers so many great amenities—keeping up with them is a fulltime job.

With its central location Del Webb Rancho Mirage is close to shopping, dining, hiking and biking trails, and farmers markets (in season) in Palm Springs, Palm Desert and La Quinta. There is something here that will appeal to everyone.

Sue commented, “The Del Webb Rancho Mirage HOA is fortunate to have a great management company, Seabreeze, supporting them. It is a true pleasure to work with our developer Del Webb and homebuilder, Pulte Homes, who are both committed to providing a first-class lifestyle and experience for our homeowners.”

If you have questions about Del Webb Rancho Mirage, you can reach Sue at 760-656-8203 or by emailing her at sue.sweeney@seabreezemgmt.com.

Marne Logan, CCAM, is a community association manager for The Management Trust Desert Division. She can be reached at (760) 340-1703, or by email to marne.logan@managementtrust.com.

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Quorum September, 2019

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HOA LAW

The Importance of Your Association’s Architectural Review Committee Sean D. Allen, Esq. - Roseman Law, APC

A

ssociation governing documents and Civil Code § 4765(a) generally require association approval before a homeowner may make any physical improvement or modification to their property or to the association’s common area. The process for obtaining that approval varies from each association, but there are similarities which persist throughout the industry. For instance, every homeowner’s association board of directors has the ability to appoint committees and delegate certain responsibilities to them, and one of the most important committees in this area that boards can rely upon is the architectural review committee. The job of reviewing, approving, and denying applications and plans for proposed architectural modifications can be one of the most time-consuming activities for a volunteer board of directors, and the ability to outsource some or all of that responsibility to a separate committee can make an otherwise unwieldy volunteer position much more manageable. Even though most homeowner association governing documents provide the board with this authority, there is almost always a fallback provision which states that, if the board fails to appoint an architectural review committee, then the board itself shall serve in the role of that committee. Thus, there is typically always going to exist an architectural review committee in every association, even if that committee’s identity is not readily apparent.

Similarly, the architectural review committee’s authority can vary greatly depending on the association’s governing documents. The architectural committee may either have the authority to only make recommendations to the board, or the committee could have direct authority to approve or disapprove applications. However, even if the governing documents give the architectural committee independent decision-making authority, the board often still retains some

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Quorum September, 2019

level of control. In most cases the board is the final arbiter of committee decisions, handling the appeal process when the committee’s decision is disputed by the homeowner. Also, since committees and their members typically serve at the pleasure of the board and may be removed at any time, the board retains control through the appointment and removal of the committee members. However, there are some uncommon circumstances when an architectural committee may be established by the express written terms of the governing documents and the committee members elected by the association’s membership separate from the board. In that situation committee members may only be removed by way of a recall election, unless the governing documents provide otherwise.

When any committee is established the primary concern should be the protection of the persons serving on the committee from personal liability. Regardless of how a committee was formed, by statute association board members have a high

"WHEN ANY COMMITTEE IS ESTABLISHED THE PRIMARY CONCERN SHOULD BE THE PROTECTION OF THE PERSONS SERVING ON THE COMMITTEE FROM PERSONAL LIABILITY." level of protection from personal liability for their decisions, and proper Directors & Officers (D&O) insurance coverage is necessary. It is common for committee members to have similar protections provided to them under the association's governing documents and/or its insurance policies, but this should be reviewed and confirmed by the board and the association’s insurer. Also, committee charters should be adopted so that the members serving on the committee understand

HOA LAW

their roles and responsibilities. The association’s governing documents can also be amended if needed to protect committee members. Ideally, the association’s D&O policy should cover all current and former directors and officers, all committee members, all other community volunteers, the association’s employees, and if possible, the association’s managing agents. The association’s governing documents should similarly provide indemnity for the directors, officers, and committee members.

If the board is serving as the default architectural review committee then there are certain procedural considerations which must be considered. Primarily, anytime a majority of the board is serving on a committee, the committee meetings then become board meetings by definition. Civil Code §4090(a) defines a board meeting as any “congregation, at the same time and place, of a sufficient number of directors to establish a quorum of the board, to hear, discuss, or deliberate upon any item of business that is within the authority of the board.” Therefore, the board would need to properly notice each committee meeting, otherwise the board would be in violation of the Open Meeting Act as set forth in Civil Code § 4900, et seq. Also, with a majority of the board on the committee, the committee meetings would need to follow all other procedural requirements for board meetings, including keeping minutes and allowing time for a homeowner forum as required in Civil Code § 4925. Thus, having the board serve as the architectural review committee simply means extra meetings for the association’s directors, and/or extra time spent in each meeting. Conversely, there is no legal requirement that non-board committees hold open meetings, keep minutes, or post agendas. A non-board architectural review committee is only required to keep a written record

of its decisions. The Open Meeting Act and its requirements only applies to meetings of the board, not to the association’s non-board committees.

The best course of conduct, if permitted by the governing documents, is for the board to establish an architectural review committee such that the committee reports to and serves at the pleasure of the board. The committee should have little to no decision-making authority, instead it should

"THE COMMITTEE SHOULD HAVE LITTLE TO NO DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY, INSTEAD IT SHOULD OFFER RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE BOARD, AND THE BOARD SHOULD RENDER DECISIONS ON ARCHITECTURAL APPROVALS." offer recommendations to the board, and the board should render decisions on architectural approvals. Finally, regardless of how the committee is structured, the board should make sure the committee and its members are covered under the association’s insurance policies. It may be necessary to amend the association’s governing documents and to revise the association’s insurance coverage to make this possible.

Sean D. Allen is a partner with the law firm of Roseman Law, APC, and is the head of the firm’s HOA department. He is a skilled attorney with litigation, appellate, and transactional experience, having exclusively represented homeowners associations and other common interest developments for several years. You can reach him with any issues or questions via email at allen@ roseman.law

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BILL FITZGERALD PRESIDENT SUNTECHROOF@GMAIL.COM SUNTECHROOFING.NET

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C 510.693.1620 • O 760.295.1864

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ADVANCED RESERVE SOLUTIONS, INC. ROXI K. BARDWELL, PCAM, CCM Regional Vice President 7 7 - 5 6 4 B C o u n t r y C l u b Drive, Suite 3 1 0 Palm Desert, CA 9 2 2 1 1

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

• Corporate Counsel • O 760.295.1864 C 510.693.1620 •

• Legal Opinions

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• ADVANCED RESERVE SOLUTIONS, INC. • Fees Paid by Delinquent Homeowner •RDetailed Monthly Status, PCAM, Reports CCM OXI K. B ARDWELL

Regional Vice President 40004 Cook St. Suite 3 Palm Desert, Ca 7 7 - 5 6 4 B C o uwww.gghoalaw.com n t r y C l u b Drive, Suite 3 1 0 Desert, CA 92 2 1 568-3053 1 Phone: Palm (760) 340-1515 Fax: (760) For a Copy of our Legal Update Contact Melissap@gghoalaw.com C 510.693.1620 • O 760.295.1864 16

Quorum September, 2019

2019 PLATINUM SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

CAI-CV

C

onserve LandCare is a locally owned and operated full-service landscape maintenance and construction company located in Thousand Palms. We provide comprehensive landscape services for community managers, homeowner associations, commercial property owners, developers, and public agencies throughout the Coachella Valley, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego Counties.

Our staff consists of over 300 full-time employees with diverse experience including account managers, certified arborists, certified irrigation auditors and technicians, graduate horticulturists, licensed agricultural pest control advisers, qualified pesticide applicators, landscape designers, and resource conservation specialists.

Service leadership is our number one goal and the key to our reputation Our services: landscape maintenance, landscape construction, irrigation and water conservation, turf conversions, enhancements, and tree and plant health care.

Conserve LandCare has been recognized by the California Landscape Contractors Association for outstanding landscape maintenance and landscape installation for work at HOAs, commercial, public works, and hospital properties.

Conserve LandCare has been a proud sponsor and member of CAI since 2011. Through our membership, we have met new clients, business partners, and friends. Our staff enjoys participating in a variety of CAI events, committees, and supporting the local Coachella Valley Chapter of professionals.

If we can help with your landscape needs, please contact Randy Mitchell, Director of Maintenance at 760.250.7246 or RMitchell@conservelandcare.com 72265 Manufacturing Road, Thousand Palms, CA 92276 | 760.343.1433 | www.conservelandcare.com

Thank you to Conserve LandCare for their generous support of CAI-CV! CAI-CV.org

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17

FEATURE

From Boring to Full Panic Mode in 60 Seconds— Avoiding Problems When Hiring Contractors

By Patrick Prendiville, CIRMS

THE ABC’S OF ADDITIONAL INSUREDS

C

ommunity managers and board members are tasked with overseeing many things at once. While some of these tasks seem to be pressing at the moment, like what plants to choose in the entry, any resulting problem may be short lived--thankfully. Then, there are the more mundane details that need to be navigated, like taxes. If everything goes well, no one notices. But, when things go poorly, it’s a different story. Or, perhaps you are hiring a contractor to work on the association grounds--what could go wrong? Well, with a proper (and boring) Additional Insured Endorsement, you may be able to avoid problems that would otherwise cause financial loss and aggravation.

In its most simple terms, the concept of receiving additional insured (A/I) status means that the HOA is going to rely on the insurance policy of another party (contractor) to protect the HOA from lawsuits related to the contractor’s work. The following are some important details and concepts to keep in mind.

Additional Insured Endorsement: This is a document, received for an upcoming construction project, or even the renewal of an annual contract from a service provider and is not the same as a Certificate of Insurance. The A/I Endorsement provides the HOA and management company with extra protection. So, while a contractor’s Certificate of Insurance does a great job of proving coverage by listing the insurance company, policy number, etc., it doesn’t provide any further value beyond providing information.

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Quorum September, 2019

LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT TWO POSSIBLE SCENARIOS, WITH AND WITHOUT A PROPER A/I ENDORSEMENT:

1) Scenario One: Randy the Roofer slips on the tile roof he’s working on and one of the tiles hits Mrs. S., causing a head injury. Mrs. S sues the HOA and Randy the Roofer. Both entities put their respective insurance carriers on notice. Because there is a proper A/I Endorsement in place, Randy the Roofer’s insurance company picks up the entire cost of defense and eventual payout for the injuries sustained to Mrs. S. The Association’s carrier closes the claim without payment and takes an attitude of “no harm, no foul.” I’m sure you would agree--a safe and sublimely boring scenario.

2) Scenario Two: Same details as above, but because there was either no A/I or an invalid one, Randy the Roofer’s insurance carrier tells the HOA that while they are defending their contractor client, they will not be providing a defense for the HOA.

As the HOA is named in the lawsuit, their insurance company mounts a defense.

Besides the wasted time of the manager and board, the HOA’s carrier would have spent potentially thousands of dollars just in the defense of the claim and the result would be to potentially increase the insurance rates of the HOA due to the claim payment. Nobody is happy.

When to ask for an Additional Insured Endorsement: Any time you have a vendor working on the premises, you should secure an A/I Endorsement. This includes not only special one-off jobs, but vendors who work on an ongoing basis, like landscapers and pool service providers.

Check your contract: Many types of A/I Endorsements are only triggered when the contractor has agreed, in writing, to provide A/I status. So, make sure this is a requirement in your contract.

Who to name on the A/I Endorsement: Without question, the association and the management company need to be named as additional insured.

Policy exclusions: As powerful as an A/I Endorsement is, it will not speak to any policy exclusions, and those can be very important as well as surprising. Rely upon your insurance agent and/or attorney to review the contractor’s insurance coverage. Exclusions from work on condo associations, subcontracting, certain types of activities, can bite you, even after receiving an A/I Endorsement. But, a quick read by a knowledgeable person can dodge some big problems.

Limits of insurance: The limits of insurance should always start out at $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate. This means that the contractor is covered for $1,000,0000 in a single event, but no more than $2,000,000 will be paid out in a year if there were more than one claim.

Depending on the job and the advice you get from legal counsel, it may be more appropriate to ask for higher limits.

Auto and workers’ compensation: Make sure your contractor has provided auto liability including owned, non-owned and hired auto coverage with the same limits as above.

Also, it is imperative that the contractor carry workers’ compensation.

You may have noticed, I have mentioned seeking guidance from your attorney and insurance agent multiple times. This point cannot be overstated. Your association is paying for professional advice, so you don’t have to keep these tasks strictly at the manager and board level.

Protecting the association from a negative financial impact is perhaps the most important objective of the manager and the board. Keeping these details in mind will go a long way in meeting this objective.

Patrick Prendiville is a Community Insurance and Risk Management Specialist and founded Prendiville Insurance Agency in 1988. Based in Rancho Mirage, Prendiville Insurance Agency services hundreds of HOA’s in the Coachella Valley. Patrick can be reached at 877-532-7238 or by email at Patrick@ PrendivilleAgency.com.

•Landscape Management •Arbor Service •Landscape Design •Landscape & Hardscape Installation •Water Conservation Specialist •Growers of Exotic Palms & Desert Accents

We value and respect your landscaping investment and are dedicated to you and your satisfaction.

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FULL SERVICE CONTRACTOR 42-240 Green Way #B •Palm Desert, CA 92211

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Phone: (760) 340-5157 • Fax: (760) 340-2576 When issued properly, an A/I Endorsement will provide liability protection to the HOA against claims related to the contractor’s work, the most basic being an injured person or a claim for damaged property. However, a huge concern is “Products and Completed Operations” and the A/I Endorsement will ideally grant this coverage in order to be truly effective. All parties involved want to know that when the work is done and the contractor has gone on to another job, any subsequent damage caused by the contractor’s previous work will be covered.

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19

CAI NATIONAL

FHA Releases Updated Approval Rules for Condominiums Greater Access to FHA Financing for Condo Buyers

By C. Scott Canady

Millions of homebuyers could benefit from the changes.

The Foundation for Community Association Research estimates 40% of the nation’s 27 million community association households call a condominium home, accounting for approximately 10% of the nation’s housing stock.

“Following the housing crisis in 2008, the FHA condominium approval process severely impacted access to FHAinsured mortgages, which hurt homeowners and household formation. This is counter to FHA’s statutory mission—its reason for being,” says Dawn M. Bauman, CAE, CAI’s senior vice president for government and public affairs. “A balanced, data-driven condominium approval process at FHA has been a long-term public policy priority for CAI. Today’s announcement marks a return for FHA as a key long-term partner for condominium associations.”

CHANGES TO APPROVAL PROCESS WILL EASE BURDENSOME REQUIREMENTS ON CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATIONS, IMPROVE ACCESS TO FHA-INSURED MORTGAGES FOR FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS

C

ommunity Associations Institute (CAI) applauds the actions by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to streamline the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) condominium project approval process.

“FHA-insured mortgages are critical to helping creditworthy first-time, minority, and underserved households achieve the American dream of homeownership,” says Thomas M. Skiba, CAE, CAI’s chief executive officer. “FHA’s bureaucratic process meant many of these households were shut out of condominium homeownership.”

HUD data show condominium unit mortgages currently account for fewer than 2% of all FHA-insured mortgages, exposing a critical failure of federal housing policy. The changes announced by FHA are intended to allow the agency to expand homeownership for many Americans.

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KEY ELEMENTS OF THE NEWLY RELEASED APPROVAL PROCESS INCLUDE: Single-unit approvals allowed: FHA will insure up to 10% of mortgages in condominiums without FHA approval provided the condominium is financially stable. This is a game-changer for expanding the access to FHA-insured loans for condominium buyers, especially for smaller condominium projects. It is costly for a condominium association

License #0E02075

to become FHA-certified. This will allow owners to access FHA-insured loans without the burden of requiring the association to become fully certified.

• Project Approvals extended: FHA approvals for condominium projects extended from two to three years.

• Recertification process simplified: Condominium projects seeking recertification are only required to update new information rather than resubmit all project information.

• Commercial space restrictions eased: Mixed-use condominium projects with up to 45% commercial space will be eligible to apply for approval. FHA recognizes the changing nature of mixed-use projects that are prevalent in many urban areas.

• Owner occupancy rates lowered: Condominium projects with owner occupancy rates of as low as 35% will be eligible for FHA approval based on the project’s financial and operational stability.

FHA previously required at least 50% of units in a condominium to be owner-occupied.

• FHA concentration rate increased: FHA will now insure up to 75% of condominium unit mortgages in a condominium project.

SPECIALIZING IN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION INSURANCE Matthew Lawton (760) 770-5868 ext.302 CIC, CIRMS Matt@PrendivilleAgency.com

www.HOAville.com 71687 Highway 111, Suite 203, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270

• Future policy changes opened to public comment: FHA will provide a 30-day public comment period prior to implementing future changes to the condominium approval process.

You can read CAI’s initial review of the final rule with highlights for condominium associations online at www.caionline.org/advocacy. A copy of the final regulation may be found online at www.govinfo.gov.

Scott Canady is a Principal at Tambala Strategy, LLC. His 13-year record of public service includes experience gained in the U.S. House of Representatives and in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In Congress, Scott served as chief policy and political aide to a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, working to reform the National Flood Insurance Program and improve the regulation of housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In 2009, Scott began his partnership with Community Associations Institute by launching Tambala Strategy. Through this partnership, Scott has worked with CAI's members and leadership team to advance the views of common interest communities on a variety of issues including federal condominium standards, federal disaster assistance for community associations, and community association lien priority. Scott can be reached at (703) 582-6552 or by email at c.scott.canady@tambalastrategy.com.

CA LIC. #907600 AZ LIC. #286198

www.brsroofing.com

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21

Managers and Board Members are invited to join us for our complimentary Annual Community Association Law Legal Symposium Friday, November 8, 2019 Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage Registration begins at 7:30 a.m.; program concludes at 1:40 p.m.

Program includes: • Legislative updates and new case law directly affecting community association governance • Current community association and common interest development trends and issues • Attorney Q & A • Attorney round table discussions in San Diego • CAI & CACM continuing education credit • Exhibitor networking with community association vendors • Breakfast, lunch and vendor raffles

Register Now! www.epsten.com/legal-symposium Registration is required and space is limited.

Contact us today at our local Indian Wells office 1.760.836.1036 | www.epsten.com

Common interest development law – it’s complicated.

ADVERTISING STATEMENT: Pursuant to the State Bar of California Rules of Professional Conduct, Epsten Grinnell & Howell, APC is notifying you that this program and the materials provided for advertising purposes. The content provided contains suggestions and opinions on general legal issues involving California community associations and common interest developments. This content is for educational purposes only, is not intended for commercial use and may not be relied upon in addressing any specific legal issues. Specific policies and procedures that your association, management company and/or law firm have developed may differ and may fully satisfy all applicable laws. Copyright 2019 by EPSTEN GRINNELL & HOWELL, APC, unless otherwise indicated. Materials may not be reproduced or distributed without express permission of Epsten Grinnell & Howell, APC.

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COMMUNITY BOARD MEMBERS CAN SIGN UP NOW FOR CAI'S BLDW CERTIFICATE PROGRAM

EVENTS

Board Leadership Development Workshop Friday, December 6th, 2019

B

oard leadership is necessary to help a community thrive.

Those who serve on a board of directors in a community need special education in order to serve well. Unlike other nonprofit organizations, homeowner associations have special circumstances requiring special knowledge and understanding. This also applies to committee service in the community.

You can get the needed education by attending CAI's Board Leadership Development Workshop. This is an all day intensive workshop broken out into five modules that more than fill the day's agenda. The modules include: • Governing Documents and Roles & Responsibilities • Communications, Meetings & Volunteerism • Fundamentals of Financial Management • Professional Advisors & Service Providers • Association Rules and Conflict Resolution

CAI is holding the class at Palm Valley Country Club in Palm Desert. The class will run from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 6th. Lunch is included in the price. The cost is reasonable and could be paid by your association from its education budget.

If you are on your board of directors or considering serving on the board in the future, this class is a must!

The class is taught by a variety of attorneys and managers, well qualified for their subject.

Following the final modules the attorneys will join in an "attorney round table" in a social atmosphere with a glass of wine where students can try and stump our esteemed legal panel with their questions. Sign up by logging in to the CAI website (cai-cv.org) or call the office at (760) 341-0559.

Oct. 18, 2019 | Newport Beach, CA

Now in its 10th year! A one-day event for California community managers, association board members, and other homeowners from Community Associations Institute—the leader in HOA and condo education, advocacy, and professional development.

This event is also offered in Northern California on Sept. 12–13, 2019. Attend one or both programs for the latest California hot topics. For event details and registration, visit www. caionline.org/Events/CALaw or call CAI Member Services at (888) 224-4321 (M–F, 9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET).

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23

FEATURE

Selecting Architectural Committee Members

By Steven Shuey, PCAM, CCAM

T

he Architectural Committee is a very important committee for a homeowners association. Such a committee is usually required by the governing documents. Selecting appropriate members for this committee should be done with care having an understanding these individuals will play a major part in preserving and enhancing community values.

The first requirement in considering committee members is to check the governing documents to confirm the authority and be aware of any requirements imposed. The governing documents may specify the number of members as well as qualifications. If a committee charter is in existence, guidelines therein should be reviewed as well.

When considering members, the candidates need to know of any time requirements for the committee and commit to being available to fulfill the obligations of the committee.

Most governing documents have timeline requirements for consideration of architectural variance requests, so committee members need to be available to meet as these requests are submitted.

"Architectural committee members are not expected to be degreed architects or engineers, but rather have an eye for how a change to one home will fit into the look of the neighborhood."

Committee members need to have an eye for the look of the community. Architectural committee members are not expected to be degreed architects or engineers, but rather have an eye for how a change to one home will fit into the look of the neighborhood. Respect for how the community was originally designed to look is an important factor when considering change. People bought into the community in part for its appearance. Committee members need to remember 24

Quorum September, 2019

that. At the same time committee members need to have an open mind to change when environmental considerations become important (adding solar, conserving water, Civil Code restrictions, etc).

Confidentiality and privacy issues could be a concern.

Committee members will need to be able to commit to maintaining confidentiality when it comes to details of plans that may include security features of a home. Being able to commit to a code of ethics and/or a code of conduct for the committee should be a consideration. Such a code might include language that decisions will be made without prejudice or discrimination based on factors irrelevant to the request.

Finally, committee members should be team players, clear of any conflicts of interest. As an example, a person owning a landscape company, hoping to get business by way of committee membership would not be appropriate. At the same time, owning a landscape company (having landscape expertise) and being able to communicate with the rest of the committee on what works well for the community could be an asset.

As with any committee, guidelines for membership in the committee should be a part of the charter for the committee.

Board members selecting committee members should be open to new membership within the guidelines established.

Steven Shuey is the chair of CAI-CV's Education Committee and serves on the board of directors.

He is a certified Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM). He serves on the national faculty of CAI and is a past board member of the APCM. He is a community association consultant with Personalized Property Management. Steven may be contacted at IslandMgr@aol.com. You can follow him on Twitter (www.twitter.com/@IslandMgr).

Welcome Aboard Sue Sweeney

By Susan Browne Rosenberg, CIH Welcome Aboard to Sue Sweeney, CMCA, AMS, LSM, PCAM, who is the new General Manager of Del Webb Rancho Mirage. Sue began in this industry in 1994 when she was promoted to GM of Sun City Palm Desert Community Association.

Previously, Sue Sweeney she had been in the human resources field and still holds a membership to the professional Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). Sue has served as the GM of five active-adult communities over the last 25 years including Sun City Palm Desert, Sun City Shadow Hills, Trilogy at La Quinta, Sun City Hilton Head and now Del Webb Rancho Mirage. Sue started at Del Webb in January of this year. She is very busy these days as the only employee for the HOA assisting the first group of new residents with their community needs such as transponders and architectural requests. (Please see cover story about Del Webb Rancho Mirage.)

Sue is married to her best friend, Tom, and they will celebrate their 35th anniversary this year. They have a daughter and two grandchildren who live in Detroit, Michigan. Her hobbies include making jewelry and tennis. Tom and Sue love the desert and are happy to be back after a ten-year trek on the East Coast. She is looking forward to reconnecting with old friends and making new ones through CAI. Sue can be reached at 760-656-8203 or by email at sue.sweeney@seabreezemgmt.com. Del Webb Rancho Mirage is managed by Seabreeze Management Company in Aliso Viejo, CA.

PWLC II, INC LANDCARE MANAGEMENT

PWLC II, INC. has been providing quality landscape and golf course maintenane for our clients in Southern California since 1977. Our Palm Springs office employs more than 100 landscape professionals. PWLC specializes in "High End Landscape and Golf Course Maintenance Services".

In addition to our maintenance services, PWLC II, INC has a Commercial Tree Division and a Landscape Enhancement Division. We are fully licensed and insured with a $2 Million Liability Insurance. PWLC II, INC licenses include a C27 Landscape Contractors License, California Pest Control License and a "Certified Arborist" on staff.

For more information please contact us at (760) 323-9341 or email conniea@pwlc2.com

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“Complete Roofing Services” Repairs • Re-roofing Roof Inspection • Maintenance Programs Polyurethane Foam • Built-up • Tile • Patios 3462 La Campana Way, Palm Springs, CA 92262 Phone (760) 416-5877 Fax (760) 320-8912 FIND US ONLINE AT www.westpacroof.com

Susan Browne Rosenberg, CIH, CIEC, CHMM, and CAI EBP, is president and co-owner of Desert Cities Indoor Air, LLC in Palm Desert, CA. Her company assists HOAs in assessing the extent of water damage and mold contamination. She can be reached at (760) 902-2545 or sbriaq@gmail.com.

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25

MAINTENANCE

Rodent Control Restriction Bill for the State of California

A

By Glenn Miller, CGCS

ssembly Bill 1788 from Assemblymember Bloom bans, with limited exceptions, the use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) throughout the state with exemptions for agricultural use, and prohibits the use of first generation anticoagulant (FGARs) rodenticides on state-owned property.

The reasoning behind the bill is, "Since the 1980’s, and even as recently as this June 2019, the Department of Fish and Wildlife has been warning about the impact rodenticides are having on all wildlife in the state. Because of these warnings, in 2014 the California Department of Pesticide Regulation enacted regulations to restrict the use of Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides in hopes of decreasing the nontargeted deaths. However, these regulations have not resulted in a decrease in secondary wildlife poisonings; instead, they have stayed constant or increased in some instances. In order to protect wildlife AB 1788 will prohibit the use of second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) throughout the state and also prohibit the use of first generation anticoagulant (FGARs) rodenticides on state-owned property, with exemptions for agricultural and food processing uses."

They should amend this bill to provide some parameters, so that local governments have some guidelines on when SGAR are allowed. This will ensure that they are not restricted on possible large local rodent control outbreaks as rodents can transmit more than 35 diseases to humans.

THERE ARE ONLY FOUR WAYS TO DEAL WITH RODENTS.

1) Natural predators; 2) Eliminate environmental factors that help rodents survive;

3) Traps and other devices which kill pests directly; and

4) Pesticides.

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When it comes to pesticides, there are FGAR, SGAR, and acute toxins. FGAR and SGAR are anticoagulants, which essentially restrict the ability of the blood to coagulate, which leads to death from excessive bleeding. Acute toxins use chemicals that target various areas of the body including the nervous system, circulatory system, renal system, and

"If the bill is to pass, we may see consumers and commercial pest control companies turn to acute toxins, which have more of a negative effect on the environment than SGAR." digestive system. These acute toxins can be highly toxic to humans, pets, and wildlife. If the bill is to pass, we may see consumers and commercial pest control companies turn to acute toxins, which have more of a negative effect on the environment than SGAR. This bill will limit the rights of local homeowners associations, apartments and building owners and impede their ability to solve rodent issues and outbreaks on their properties.

OTHER RELATED LEGISLATION AB 2657 (Bloom, Chapter 475, Statutes of 2014) - Prohibits the use of second-generation anticoagulants from being used in wildlife habitat areas (state parks, state wildlife refuges, or state conservancies).

If you would like to weigh in on this important issue, please contact your state legislators. You can find contact information for representatives at www.legislature.ca.gov.

Glenn A. Miller, CGCS is a 30-plus year Certified Golf Course Superintendent and a Certified Landscape and Golf Course Irrigation Auditor. He is Vice-President of Operations for Southwest Landscape and Maintenance and serves as a Councilmember for the City of Indio. Glenn can be reached at (760) 590-8544 or by email at Glenn@SWLandscape.net.

PLEASE JOIN US FOR

CAI-CV’s Educational Lunch Program & Mini Trade Show HOW BOARDS GET INTO TROUBLE...

KEEPING YOUR HOA OUT OF HOT WATER • Understanding the board’s scope of authority.

Where does the board’s power and duty come from, and where does it start and stop?

Friday, September 20, 2019 | 11:15 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Palm Valley Country Club, 39205 Palm Valley Drive, Palm Desert

GUEST SPEAKERS

• Handling difficult director issues: When should a director recuse themselves? When and how to counsel and discipline directors?

• Preserving privacy rights. From cameras, to discipline, to records requests. How can the board avoid privacy infringement?

• Disciplining members. How can the board levy fines? How can the board successfully enforce?

• Conducting association business. When is the Open Meeting Act triggered and how to navigate through it without being held hostage?

Jeffrey A. Beaumont, Esq., CCAL Beaumont Tashjian

Lisa A. Tashjian, Esq., CCAL Beaumont Tashjian

REGISTER ONLINE AT WWW.CAI-CV.ORG Members: $32 | Nonmembers & Walk-ins: $42

CAI-CV Partners with Desert Cities HOA Council CAI-CV Board Members are Welcome to Attend SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

WHAT: Desert Cities HOA Council Education WHEN: Thursday, September 19, 2019 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

WHAT: Desert Cities HOA Council Education WHEN: Thursday, October 17, 2019 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

WHERE: Cathedral City Hall 68-700 Avenida Lalo Guerrero COST: Free TOPICS: Board Member Retention & Recruiting Speaker: Rhonda Drews, Regional Vice President of Operations - RealManage

How to Keep Your Board Meetings to One Hour Speaker: Fred Scaglione, Comptroller – Albert Management, Inc.

WHERE: Cathedral City Hall 68-700 Avenida Lalo Guerrero COST: Free TOPICS: Board Member Ethics and Fiduciary Responsibilities Speaker: Wayne Guralnick, Esq. - Guralnick & Gilliland, LLP

Improving Your HOA Security Speaker: Terry Kramer - Director of Security Operations Associa - Desert Resort Management

Desert Cities HOA Council

The Desert Cities HOA Council meets the third Thursday of every month during season and will soon have meetings in Palm Springs.

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27

FEATURE

How Boards Can Survive Unanticipated Court Judgments

By Michael Knighten, Esq.

A

homeowners association is obligated to prepare an annual budget to fund anticipated expenses for each fiscal year. The annual budget must take into consideration estimated revenue and expenses on an accrual basis. During the course of a year, there may be additional expenses that were not anticipated. What happens when there is an unanticipated expense such as a large construction project necessitated by life and safety issues or a judgment against a homeowners association? This article will discuss how a homeowners association can pay for an unanticipated judgment.

Recently, a Riverside County Court entered a judgment against a local homeowners association. After the judgment was entered, the Court entered an attorneys’ fees award against the homeowners association in the amount of $873,000. To make the issue more pressing, California judgments gain interest at 10% per year, so each year, there will be over $80,000 in interest added to the judgment. What can a homeowners association do to pay the judgment if it does not have the money in the operating account to make the payment? Subject to any restrictions in the governing documents, there are options. For the purposes of this article, we will assume the homeowners association has a $1,000,000 annual budget and 300 homeowners, which would make the regular monthly assessments about $278 per member.

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ASSESSMENTS A homeowners association generally has the right to levy regular and special assessments. After an assessment is levied, the next step is collecting the assessment. Typically, homeowners have at least thirty (30) days to pay the assessment, then the homeowners association has to attempt to collect the assessment. For owners on fixed incomes, assessment increases might be impossible to pay all at once. To the extent they cannot pay, the homeowners association would have to utilize collection techniques to obtain the assessments.

A homeowners association can raise regular assessments up to 20% of the assessment from the preceding fiscal year without membership approval, which would be about $55 per month. This means the association will receive about $198,000 per year. While there is no requirement that regular assessments be raised only at the beginning of the fiscal year, many times raising regular assessments in the middle of the year can cause homeowner confusion. Additionally, by raising regular assessments in the middle of the fiscal year, the homeowners association would not be able to raise assessments for the next fiscal year if it already increased regular assessments the maximum amount.

FEATURE A special assessment is the “bad word” for a homeowners association. Typically, the maximum amount a homeowners association can specially assess members in a fiscal year is 5% of budgeted gross expenses for that fiscal year. In our case, that would be about $166 per member, which would give the association $50,000. This amount would not even pay the interest incurred during a year.

However, there is an exception for an “extraordinary expense” required by an order of a court. In a similar scenario to the Riverside County Court case, a Los Angeles Court appointed a receiver to issue and collect a special assessment because the homeowners association refused to impose an assessment. The receiver cost the homeowners association more money and the judgment continued to incur interest at 10%. This could have been avoided if the board of directors levied the special assessment itself.

BANK LOANS A nontraditional way to pay for a common expense is to obtain a bank loan. There are various lenders that specialize in loans to homeowners associations, and many charge reasonable interest rates. Before deciding on obtaining a loan, the board of directors should consult with their legal counsel to determine whether the governing documents allow the board of directors to obtain a loan or whether membership approval

is necessary. Some governing documents require membership approval before a loan can be obtained, which would take months to accomplish. The advantage of a loan is that it allows for the entire judgment to be paid at once. However, there are some disadvantages such as interest amounts, one-sided loan terms and risks of default on the loan in the event that some homeowners do not make their payments.

CONCLUSION An unexpected expense can cause issues for a homeowners association, especially if the board of directors is slow to seek guidance from management and counsel regarding the options to pay the expense. In most cases, immediate action can save the homeowners association money and other problems. By seeking guidance, the board of directors can identify the most effective way to raise the necessary capital, even if that means using numerous options to pay the unexpected expense.

Michael Knighten is a partner at Knighten & Parlow PC, located in Palm Desert. Michael has been practicing law in the Coachella Valley since 2005 and focuses his legal practice on representing community associations. He can be reached at (760) 424-2222 or Michael@kplawcorp.com.

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WHEN: Friday, December 13, 2019 11:15 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. NEW PROGRAM WHERE: Palm Valley Country Club Palm Desert TOPICS: Board Member Retention & Recruiting SPEAKERS: Tom Niehaus Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Palm Valley Country Club HOA Greg Papazian Emergency Services Coordinator City of Palm Desert

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2019 PLATINUM SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

CAI-CV

P

acific Western Bank has been a long-standing Multi-Chapter Member of CAI and we are thrilled to partner with the other members of the Coachella Valley chapter.

Pacific Western Bank counts thousands of HOA customers and over 50 management companies in California among our clients. Because of this, we well understand your needs and the challenges facing you. Look to us for financing and deposit solutions to simplify what can be a complex process.

To serve our property management and community association clients, Pacific Western Bank has several HOA divisions serving geographical areas. In the Coachella Valley, our HOA client base is supported by a dedicated department located in our Yucca Valley office. This highly trained team provides general support for the specialized needs of the HOA industry including:

DEPOSIT SOLUTIONS

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• Remote deposit

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• Grouped account analysis (third-party invoices)

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• Mobile banking

• Reserve replenishments

Additionally, our HOA loan professionals are familiar with the prepayment process of special assessments. Our loans incorporate a method which allows for application of these prepayments and reamortizing the new loan balance to match the new assessment receivable income stream at no additional cost.

Pacific Western Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ: PACW).

LEARN WHAT WE CAN DO FOR YOU. Erin Klink, HOA Client Services Officer 760.699.6764 eklink@pacwest.com

Thank you to Pacific Western Bank for their generous support of CAI-CV! CAI-CV.org

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31

MANAGERS' CORNER

Architectural Review Committees

H

omeowners association board of directors have an obligation to their communities to ensure that any exterior changes to their community meet the guidelines of their governing documents. With some communities, this can entail many hours of reviewing applications, plans and trying to decipher if those requested changes will enhance or diminish the community’s aesthetics and property values.

Often, CC&Rs will outline the establishment of an Architectural Review Committee (ARC). This committee is appointed by the board and typically

By Holly Smith, CMCA, AMS has a board member as the chairperson who will act as the liaison between the committee and the board of directors.

Even if the governing documents don’t specifically require establishing an ARC, it’s a very good idea to have one. The ARC serves as the central system for the board to meet its fiduciary duty to preserve and enhance property values for their community.

Some governing documents also provide detailed descriptions of how the community should be maintained, but more often than not, they leave out the specifics of how to preserve and enhance the community as it ages.

These details are left to the board or an ARC to define.

When establishing an ARC, start with developing a charter that outlines the duties and commitments of the committee. Included in the charter will be the ARC’s goals and objectives, the processes for appointing volunteer members, and the frequency of meetings. The charter will also describe the 32

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responsibilities and activities of the ARC. The charter will also describe the application process and the interaction between residents and the ARC and the interactions between the ARC and the board. The charter is available to all residents but should be supplied to ARC volunteers so they understand what will be expected of them while serving on the committee. The charter clarifies the committee’s duty to uphold the community’s governing documents while requiring volunteers to exercise good judgement and integrity in the execution of their duties for the benefit of the community.

Once the ARC is established, it can begin to create detailed architectural guidelines that are aligned with the intentions of the governing documents.

Because the ARC is established to help the board preserve and enhance property values, it is important that the board review the community’s ARC guidelines and standards annually to address the changing needs of the community. A new community may not need to address trees and shrubs encroaching into common areas or neighbors’ yards but as the landscaping grows, things like tree trimming and the height of hedges may need to be addressed by the ARC. One of the most important attributes of the ARC is their ability to define who is responsible for what so that residents and future boards are clear about their responsibilities. A great tool that many ARCs use is called a maintenance matrix.

The matrix can list things like painting, windows, doors, landscape, roofs, and other elements, and show whether maintenance is the responsibility of the

homeowner or the HOA. Beyond the matrix, the ARC will provide other rules for homeowners that preserve the integrity of the community such as determining paint colors, plant material, walls and other physical aspects that are visible to the community.

The ARC will typically establish an application and approval process for residents.

Depending on the scope of work, the ARC may require the submission of drawings and samples of building materials and the colors that will be used. During the approval process, ARC volunteers will usually make a site visit to make sure the submitted documents coincide with the work that is being done. For complicated projects, the ARC may enlist the help of a third-party professional advisor to assist. For some projects, the ARC may have the approval authority, but larger projects would go to the board with an ARC recommendation. Once the project is complete, the ARC should revisit the work site to inspect that the work has been completed and is within the scope of work that was originally approved.

The board and ARC will also need to establish an appeals process for projects that are denied.

The appeals process should be clearly defined.

Best practices are to do everything possible to find common ground with residents and try to find a way to accommodate their needs without compromising the integrity of the community.

CAI has fantastic resources available online and in their library for its members.

Welcome Aboard Angius & Terry LLP

By Susan Browne Rosenberg, CIH Angius & Terry LLP is a law firm that specializes in community association law and construction defect and has been exclusively representing community associations for over a quarter century.

The firm has offices in California, Nevada and Florida, with twenty attorneys and has served more than 3,000 community associations over 30 plus years. Angius & Cang N. Le Terry’s mission is to provide their clients with exceptional service and superior legal representation, all built on the solid bedrock of long-term relationships. They have succeeded by focusing on quality legal advice over quantity.

Long-time CAI-CV member, volunteer and instructor, Cang Le, Esq., is a Partner in the Angius & Terry firm and will be representing them in the Coachella Valley. Angius & Terry is a multi-chapter CAI member and in addition to supporting CAI-CV, they are members of CAI-Greater Riverside Inland Empire, CAI-San Diego, and CAI–Los Angeles.

Cang has extensive experience representing large residential and commercial common interest developments throughout California; including new developments, mixed-use, senior communities, golf club and lake developments, master and sub-associations, and mobile-home and RV parks. He serves as both general and litigation counsel for associations. Cang describes himself as a simple family guy who enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters.

Some of his personal interests include fashion and fitness.

Join us in welcoming Angius & Terry LLP to CAI-CV.

Check out these guides: • Design Review: How Community Associations Maintain Peace & Harmony • Trees, Turf & Shrubs: How Community Associations Maintain Common Areas • Curb Appeal: How Community Associations Maintain Common Areas Holly Smith, CMCA , has over 20 years property management experience within Southern California and has been in her current position with Powerstone Property Management for the past two years. Holly serves as the Co-Chair of the Membership Committee and Chair of the Oktoberfest Committee. She can be reached at (760) 469-4797 or hsmith@powerstonepm.com.

The local contacts for the Coachella Valley area are: Cang N. Le – cle@angius-terry.com 951-227-9167 Dylan Grimes – dgrimes@angius-terry.com 415-350-1963 6185 Magnolia Ave., Suite 204 Riverside, California 92506; Angius-Terry.com/California Susan Browne Rosenberg, CIH, CIEC, CHMM, and CAI EBP, is president and co-owner of Desert Cities Indoor Air, LLC in Palm Desert, CA. Her company assists HOAs in assessing the extent of water damage and mold contamination. She can be reached at (760) 902-2545 or sbriaq@gmail.com.

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33

SECURITY

Integrated Security Systems and Technology Solutions Examples

By Kimberly Burnett

N

ewly available security solutions can be aesthetically pleasing while at the same time significantly enhance the capabilities within each community.

The options for visible security devices available to HOAs are numerous today so there is no longer a need to put up with giant ugly cameras and security lighting.

Make sure to ask your security advisor to inform you of options that will enhance the look of your community. One way to limit the amount of equipment that is visible to homeowners is to integrate technology solutions and operating platforms into your security operation centers. Integration also serves to expand your community’s security platform and increase the capabilities available to individual homeowners. Today, we also see security solutions for large clients with similar needs to HOAs starting to use robots. Robotic solutions for HOA security is going to be the next big leap in technology.

Robots can be placed in areas inaccessible to guards, and can monitor everything from sounds (yelling, screams) to smells, (fire/ chemicals) quickly identifying threats to a community.

WITH COMMON OPERATING DASHBOARDS, CUSTOMERS CAN: • Act on real-time alerts notifying them of threats such as protest activity, suspicious package, or impending disaster within a radius of interest to their facilities or assets.

• Monitor personalized keywords or locations across multiple social media platforms.

• Share a common operating picture dashboard of an incident across their organization for collaboration and response (Ex. Hurricane Harvey).

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EXAMPLE Case The Value of an Integrated Security Solutions and Technology Approach

Customer Customer has hundreds of hours per week of manned coverage, spends hundreds of thousands of dollars annually on Global Security Operations Center (GSOC) tools and security professionals. The area of coverage includes interior and exterior of multiple buildings in a campus environment, parking areas and garages, as well as having roving patrols in vehicles covering miles of coverage.

SECURITY Solution Requirements Customer was looking for an overall savings in security program costs as well as a means of addressing various issues presented by human coverage, all without sacrificing quality of coverage.

These issues include cold starts, patrol continuity, asset protection, greater situational awareness and business continuity.

Delivery By applying integrated solutions offerings including; remote video monitoring using edge-based video analytics, fire and intrusion alarm, managed services, coupled with a single integrated situational awareness platform, the customer achieved greater efficiencies

and overall situational awareness with smarter security deployment. The configuration resulted in reduced man hours with associated cost savings while ensuring the client, its assets and properties continue to benefit from a strong security posture. Integrating technology enabled better intelligence in order to target threats and improved risk mitigation.

Outcome and Benefits of Service Greater workf lows were created within the GSOC environment as well as the entirety of the campus by removing multiple redundant GSOC tools and integrating into one platform. Greater redundancy is achieved by leveraging the Allied Universal MaRC to act as a back-up security operations center. The

field realized faster response times to events through real-time monitoring of threats as well as enhanced camera analytics. Some contract security positions were repurposed or removed entirely replacing those critical areas’ coverage with cameras or robot solutions. Some of the repurposed officers were given greater responsibility monitoring robot movement or switching to a role more involved with a new suite of technology offerings.

Kimberly Burnett is the Business Development Manager for DSI Security Services. She can be reached at (909) 236-3827 or by email at kburnett@dsisecurity.com.

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35

ABOUT CLAC

HELP STOP SB 323!

By Nathan McGuire, Esq.

Time Honored Dana Brown,

CCAM, CMCA, AMS

By Grace Paluck, CamEx, CCAM

O

ur CAI chapter delegates and members have been meeting with legislators and educating them on the dangerous impacts of SB 323 (Wieckowski). Our conversations have been successful. However, we need to make a greater impact and assembly members need to hear that more of their constituents oppose this dangerous bill. Here are a few critical components of SB 323 resonating with legislators and what you need to know:

1. Compliance & Coverage Issues: The most recent version of SB 323 deletes the prohibition on individuals convicted of financial felonies from serving on the board, meaning a board can do nothing to prevent someone convicted of embezzlement from serving. The result? It will be more difficult for associations to obtain D&O insurance and fidelity bonds required by statute.

2. Privacy Concerns: Current law allows an HOA member to delete their information from membership lists made available to other members. SB 323 will make voter registration lists association records, meaning they can be inspected by any members without an opt-out clause.

3. Increased Cost: Every association will be required to change their election rules, bylaws and other documents in order to comply with SB 323, resulting in thousands of dollars in additional expenses that are unnecessary.

Your assembly member needs to know that you are concerned about your privacy and the increased costs SB 323 creates.

Assembly members know how many HOA’s are in their district, and they need to understand the majority of them oppose SB 323.

We’re asking YOU to call your assembly member and tell them you’re opposed to SB 323 and WHY. Please share with them your personal concerns and the conflicts this bill creates. Tell them you’re a constituent and if passed, SB 323 will negatively impact the quality of life for the millions of California HOA residents.

Find your assembly member’s contact information at www. legislature.ca.gov and call today! If you’re unable to call, please send them a personal email explaining the negative impacts above. We ALL need to work together to STOP SB 323.

Nathan McGuire, Esq. is the chair of CAI’s California Legislative Action Committee and is the Managing Partner of Northern California Offices for Adams Stirling, PLC. Nathan McGuire, Esq. Nathan can be reached at (800) 464-2817 or by email at attorney@adamsstirling.com 36

Quorum September, 2019

Dana works for Associa Desert Resort Management and has been the onsite General Manager for Desert Island Community Association for four years.

Prior to that, she managed several other high-end onsite properties including Indian Ridge, Thunderbird communities, Hideaway and Monterey Country Club.

When she’s not at work, Dana loves spending time with her four grandsons.

She also has two sons and one daughter.

If you look on her iPod, you’ll find a lot of music by her favorite group, the Eagles.

Dana joined CAI for education and networking opportunities. She has been a member of the Chapter for 28 years and has served on many committees including Quorum, Education, Bowling, Awards, and Monte Carlo.

Dana has received numerous awards from CAI over the years including winning the Chapter’s Onsite Manager of the year on two occasions. You can reach Dana by email at dbrown@drminternet.com.

Grace Paluck is the Division Executive, Vice President for The Management Trust.

She can be reached at (760) 776-5100 or by email at grace. paluck@managementtrust.com.

CAI NATIONAL

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37

FEATURE

Eleven Sure-Fire Ways to Frustrate HOA Elections

By Kelly G. Richardson, Esq. CCAL

M

ost associations have member voting at least annually, and the process required by statute applies to all HOAs, whether 2 units in Redondo Beach or 3,000 units in Oakland. Avoid these mistakes which can doom HOA elections.

1. Ignore the procedure. Civil Code Sections 5100-5135 provide a process which must be followed on member votes regarding major assessments, governing document amendments, grants of exclusive use rights, and board elections. Many smaller HOAs either intentionally or ignorantly do

38

Quorum September, 2019

not follow the process, leaving their elections open to challenge.

2. Don’t have election rules. Civil Code 5105 requires HOAs have written election rules in place. These rules help answer questions in advance, making for more organized and fairer elections.

3. Forget to appoint an inspector of elections. When setting an election, associations occasionally fail to appoint or hire an inspector to conduct the process. This appointment must occur in an open

board meeting. Inspectors may be paid professional vendors or may be homeowner volunteers.

4. Allow proxies. Most developersupplied original HOA bylaws allow for the use of proxies, by which members give to another member the right to vote on their behalf. California statutes provide little guidance as to what is a valid proxy, and proxy disputes (and sometimes chicanery) are a common problem in HOA elections.

Proxies are unnecessary, since on

FEATURE most important HOA votes members receive ballots 30 days ahead of the election. HOAs are better served by, through member vote, amending governing documents to ban proxies except for the narrow purpose of achieving quorum.

determine the validity of proxies, voting eligibility, and other specified issues. However, most inspectors are not lawyers, and may need legal input. Inspectors who will not rely upon HOA legal counsel should have their own lawyers.

5. Skip vote counting in uncontested

7. Don’t include a full copy of

elections. It may make no sense to go through the process of opening and counting ballots when only three candidates are running for three open seats, but that is what the law presently requires. The Community Associations Institute has for years recommended amending the statute and currently sponsors AB 1426, which would allow associations to dispense with vote counting if the number of candidates matches the number of seats to be filled.

a proposed CC&Rs or bylaw amendment with the ballot. Civil Code 5115(e), added in 2014 to the Davis-Stirling Act, requires the verbatim proposed CC&Rs or bylaw amendment be sent with the ballot to all members.

6. Allow the inspector of election to make legal decisions. The inspector’s role under Civil Code 5110 is to

8. Ask the manager to be inspector.

Civil Code 5110(b) prohibits a regular HOA vendor from serving as inspector unless the election rules authorize it.

9. Allow manager or vendors to support (or oppose) board candidates.

Managers and HOA vendors (including the HOA’s attorney)

must be neutral on elections, and any violation of that neutrality is a violation of their ethics. Insist your manager and vendors avoid endorsing, helping, or opposing any candidates.

10. Don’t announce the election results.

Civil Code 5120(b) requires that results be announced in writing within 15 days.

11. Don’t participate. Healthy HOAs need their members to participate, at least by voting. Failed quorums will defeat elections every time.

Kelly G. Richardson, Esq. is a Fellow of the College of Community Association Lawyers and Senior Partner of Richardson Ober PC, a California law firm known for community association expertise. Submit questions to Kelly@RichardsonOber.com. Past columns at www.HOAHomefront.com.

All rights reserved®.

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WATER WISE

State Approves Coachella Valley Groundwater Management Plans

By Coachella Valley Water District

C

oachella Valley’s groundwater replenishment plans have met the requirements of a state act to halt overdraft and bring groundwater basins into balanced levels of pumping and recharge, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced in July.

DWR approved two existing plans that include water management programs implemented during the past 100 years to help stabilize and increase water levels in the Indio Subbasin and the Mission Creek Subbasin, which make up most of the valley’s groundwater basin. These programs consist of actions that are now mandated by the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) General Manager Jim Barrett credits the plan’s success to previous and ongoing replenishment programs, and ongoing efforts to conserve, reduce water waste and to connect customers to the nonpotable water system for irrigation.

Groundwater management programs have replenished 4 million acre-feet of imported water into the basins. Over

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Quorum September, 2019

the past 10 years, groundwater levels over most of the Indio Subbasin have increased in the range of 1 to 55 feet and up to 29 feet in the Mission Creek Subbasin.

The Indio Subbasin is under the cities of Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio and Coachella, and the unincorporated communities of Thousand Palms, Thermal, Bermuda Dunes, Oasis and Mecca.

The Mission Creek Subbasin is under Desert Hot Springs and the unincorporated area of Indio Hills.

The approved plans were submitted collaboratively by CVWD, Coachella Water Authority, Desert Water Agency, Indio Water Authority and Mission Springs Water District.

For more information, go to www.cvwd.org/167/WaterConservation.

Applications for the rebate programs are available online at www.cvwd.org/rebates or they may be picked up at CVWD’s Water Management Office, 75-525 Hovley Lane East, Palm Desert.

Expanded HOA Rebate Program Available Until End of Year Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) has expanded the desert landscape rebate program to include HOA customers with golf courses who use well, canal or recycled water for irrigation.

Previously available only to customers irrigating with domestic water, the expanded program has a limited amount of funds for additional customer types that can complete projects quickly.

“The landscape rebate program provides an opportunity for HOA customers to update their landscaping with beautiful desert-friendly landscaping while helping to conserve water,” said Katie Evans, director of communications and conservation for CVWD. Under the new guidelines, all HOA customers with golf courses are eligible to apply for the rebates to remove turf and replace it with desert-friendly landscaping. The funds must be used on the HOA property, not the golf course, and the projects must be pre-approved by CVWD. The desert landscaping project must be complete by Dec. 6.

The rebates are available at $2 per square foot up to a maximum of 25,000 square feet per project. Applications for the Non-Domestic HOA Golf Course Communities Landscape Program can be obtained online and will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis with $168,000 in funding available for the remainder of this year.

“This is a unique opportunity because we were able to use golf-related grant funding which is the reason for the requirement that the HOA has a golf course,” Evans said.

CAI-CV ELECTION OF DIRECTORS The Annual Election of Directors for the Coachella Valley Chapter of CAI has been scheduled for Tuesday, October 29, 2019, at 3:00 p.m., at the CAI-CV Chapter office, 75410 Gerald Ford Drive, Suite 102, Palm Desert, CA 92211. The election will be run by the third-party professional elections company, The Inspectors of Election, and ballots will be available online beginning September 30, 2019. Voting will continue until October 28, 2019. Each CAI-CV member will receive one vote and receive one login ID and password. Ballots will be sent to the person on record with CAI’s National office. If you are a business partner who is on the CAI-CV local database but not on the CAI National database, please contact the CAI-CV office to find out where your company’s ballot information will be sent.

There are four open seats for three-year terms, from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2023. Each year, three or four board terms are completed, making these seats available for election.

Board members may serve up to two three-year terms. This year, all four board members are eligible to run for a second term. All CAI-CV members in good standing who have served recently in a leadership position on a CAI-CV Standing Committee are eligible to run. Nomination forms are available online at cai-cv.org or by calling the CAI-CV office at (760) 341-0559.

Information about all rebate programs and applications are available online at www.cvwd.org/rebates or applications may be picked up at CVWD’s Water Management Office at 75-525 Hovley Lane East, Palm Desert.

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CAI-CV UPCOMING EVENTS

TURQUOISE IS FOR LOCAL EVENTS

SIGN UP FOR LOCAL EVENTS AT CAI-CV.ORG AND FOR CAI NATIONAL EVENTS AT CAIONLINE.ORG SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

CAI’s M203 Leadership (for managers) WHEN: Friday, September 6, 2019 W HERE: CAI-CV Classroom

CAI’s Management Company CEO Retreat (for management company CEOs)

CAI-CV’s Board Basic Training (for board members) WHEN: Tuesday, September 10, 2019 W HERE: CAI-CV Classroom CAI’s Large-Scale Workshop WHEN: Wednesday – Friday, September 11 – 13, 2019 W HERE: Houston, TX CAI-CV’s Educational Lunch Program & Mini Trade Show (for all members) WHEN: Friday, September 20, 2019, 11:15 a.m. Registration W HERE: Palm Valley Country Club, Palm Desert CAI’s M-203 Leadership (for managers) WHEN: Friday, September 27, 2019 W HERE: Santa Ana CAI-CV’s Assistant Manager on the Run WHEN: Friday, September 27, 2019 W HERE: CAI-CV Classroom

WHEN: Wednesday-Saturday, October 2-5, 2019 W HERE: La Quinta Resort & Spa CAI-CV’s Manager on the Run (MOTR) (for managers) WHEN: Friday, October 4, 2019 W HERE: CAI-CV Classroom CAI-CV’s Board Basic Training (for board members) WHEN: Tuesday, October 8, 2019 W HERE: CAI-CV Classroom CAI-CV’s Educational Lunch Program & Mini Trade Show (for all members) WHEN: Friday, October 11, 2019, NEW DATE! 11:15 a.m. Registration W HERE: Palm Valley Country Club, Palm Desert GUEST SPEAKER: Rob Felix, CMCA, LSM, PCAM, RS CAI’s CA CID Law Course (for all members) WHEN: Thursday, October 17, 2019 W HERE: Newport Beach Marriott

CAI’s Statewide Legal Forum (for all members) WHEN: Friday, October 18, 2019 W HERE: Newport Beach Marriott CAI-CV’s Annual Oktoberfest Celebration (for all members) WHEN: Friday, October 25, 2019 W HERE: Sunshine Landscape, Thousand Palms THEME: Spooktoberfest!

CAI-CV’s Annual Meeting & Election (for all members) WHEN: Tuesday, October 29, 2019 W HERE: CAI-CV Classroom

MARK YOUR CALENDARS Friday, November 15, 2019 – CAI’S LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Friday, January 17, 2020 CAI-CV’s Atlantis Awards & Monte Carlo Night NEW DATE Friday, December 13, 2019 - NEW PROGRAM Lunch - Earthquake Preparedness, PVCC, 11:15 a.m.

CAI’s CLAC Fundraiser (for all members) WHEN: Thursday, October 17, 2019 W HERE: Newport Beach Marriott

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AMS Paving, Inc. Asphalt MD's Associa Desert Resort Management Bissell Designs BRS Roofing Inc. Cartwright Termite & Pest Control Conserve LandCare Fiore Racobs & Powers NPG Asphalt Pacific Western Bank Prendiville Insurance Agency Roof Asset Management Sign-A-Rama Sunshine Landscape Vantage Point Construction, Inc. Western Pacific Roofing

GOLD________

Allied Universal AMS Connect Automation Pride Diversified Asphalt Products EmpireWorks Reconstruction and Painting Epsten Grinnell & Howell, APC Flood Response Green Bryant & French, LLP O'Connell Landscape Maintenance Pro Landscaping, Inc. PWLC II, Inc. Sherwin-Williams Paint Company Vintage Associates, Inc.

SILVER________ Advanced Reserve Solutions Alliance Association Bank Animal Pest Management Services, Inc. Ben's Asphalt & Seal Coating Dunn-Edwards Corporation Flanders Painting Frazier Pest Control, Inc. Horizon Lighting Inc. Mutual of Omaha Bank/ CondoCerts Nissho of California, Inc. Patrol Masters, Inc. Powerful Pest Management Roseman Law, APC SCT Reserve Consultants, Inc. Seacoast Commerce Bank Securitas Security Services, USA, Inc. Sustainable Water Solutions Three Phase Electric Tinnelly Law Group

BRONZE______ Adams Stirling. PLC Alan Smith Pool Plastering Albert Management Inc. A-Rising Buliders Brabo & Carlsen, LLP C. L. Sigler & Associates Cooper Coatings INC Delphi Law Group, LLP DSI Security Services First Foundation Bank FirstService Residential Guralnick & Gilliland, LLP

LaBarre/Oksnee Insurance Agency, Inc. Liftmaster Patio Shoppers, Inc. Powerstone Property Management S. B. S. Lien Services Servpro of Palm Desert Shetler Security Services SunTech Consulting and Roofing The Management Trust Union Bank United Paving Co. Vista Paint Corporation

Quorum Magazine is printed at the CAI-CV Office on a Xerox Versant 180 Press.

Discounted printing is now available to CAI members. Call Bissell Design Studios, Inc. at (714) 293-3749 or the CAI-CV office for more information, (760) 341-0559.