PANDEMIC AFTERMATH COMMON FACILITIES BY: MR. A.J. JAHANIAN, ESQ., BEAUMONT TASHJIAN
I
t is no secret that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has thrusted our community into the throes of an unprecedented situation, forcing community leaders to make timely, sweeping, and in many cases, inconvenient decisions.
On the heels of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Executive Order N-33-20, which ordered all California residents to stay at home and practice safe social distancing to help “flatten the curve,” many managers and board members worked together to take immediate action and heed the directives of public health officials. This included effectively shutting down access to all association common facilities, such as fitness centers, parks, pools and spas, screening rooms, etc. As we have progressed through the pandemic and seen some state and local municipality officials suggest re-opening certain aspects of society to the public, community association residents may be taking note, wondering when their common area facilities will re-open as well. Re-opening facilities may be of particular concern, in light of the impending summer weather. At the outset, any re-opening plan for the community should proceed with extreme caution and take into consideration the demographics and structure of the community. A community with a particularly highrisk population (i.e., 55+ age restricted communities) that is especially susceptible to the worst side effects of the virus, may determine that re-opening the facilities is premature, absent the development of a vaccine or data/literature suggesting a low or lower mortality rate of the virus.
Further, a decision to re-open should be made, based upon the recommendations of local, state and national health experts. However, even with a complete relinquishment of stay at home orders by state and/or local officials, boards should exercise caution to mitigate the risk of unnecessary liability or exposure. For example, social distancing protocols and respiratory etiquette (i.e., wearing face coverings) are the new norm, at least in the immediate future. Re-opening the facilities therefore, requires a calculated, phased approach, depending on the circumstances. Enforcing social distancing at a community pool, for example, may be more difficult (hence why many county health officers have ordered the closing of all public pools) than in other facilities, where residents can be asked to schedule access in advance, one at a time. Boards may decide to open only those facilities or areas, at this time, where it can best ensure, or at least increase the likelihood of maintaining the Center for Disease Control’s (“CDC”) and other’s health guidelines (i.e., social distancing). If prudent, parks or other large open spaces may be opened for use by individuals or members of the same household. Fitness centers on the other hand, which are often harbors of germs, should remain closed at this time, unless strict enforcement measures can be implemented (i.e., one-hour pre-scheduled reservations for a single resident [depending on size of the facility] with intermittent cleaning, etc.). These general rules of thumb may also apply to other common area facilities such as tennis courts, CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
ISSUE TWO 2020 • CONNECT MAGAZINE
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