Effective Meetings

BY SUSAN M. HAWKS McCLINTIC, Esq., CCAL

Ineffective meetings in common interest developments, especially when addressing sensitive topics, can easily devolve into shouting matches, threats, and even news coverage. Fortunately, these meetings are rare. More common is apathy or frustration with how business is conducted, which results in very few homeowners attending association meetings, even when important topics are discussed. Whether the concern is a potentially volatile meeting or disinterest, there are ways to conduct meetings that are productive and beneficial for the community.

Community associations hold an annual membership meeting and board meetings at regular intervals throughout the year to conduct their business. Occasionally, special meetings of the members may be held to conduct a membership vote on matters other than the annual election of directors. California law and community association governing documents impose different requirements for board meetings and membership meetings, so it is important to be clear in the meeting notice and agenda about which type of meeting is being held.

For both board meetings and membership meetings, there are procedures and processes dictated by law and the community association’s governing documents related to notices and how to conduct business; these will be discussed below for each type of meeting. The primary sources of information for conducting meetings are in the association’s bylaws, the Common Interest Development Act beginning at Civil Code § 4900 for board meetings and § 5000 for member meetings, California Corporations Code beginning at § 7211 for board meetings and § 7510 for member meetings for incorporated associations, and California Corporations Code at § 18330 for unincorporated associations.

Beyond these requirements for meetings, there are some practices that can help make meetings more effective. Effective meetings can serve multiple purposes beyond just conducting business. They can

Planning and Preparing for Effective Meetings

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Board Meetings

Board meetings are held for the purpose of conducting board business. The board president presides as the chairperson and is responsible for leading the board members through the agenda items and keeping the discussions focused on those agenda items. Board meetings are required to be open to attendance by the association members unless certain sensitive topics are to be discussed and statute allows for a closed-door conversation.

The first step in keeping board meetings productive and effective is to establish rules of order and decorum. Some of the rules will be different depending on whether one is a board member or an association member attending the meeting. Board meetings are for the board to conduct board business.

Association members who are not on the board should be limited to observing the meetings, except during the designated association member comment periods.

While some of the rules should probably “go without saying,” they need to be said and should also be written down and read as a reminder to the attendees at the beginning of each meeting. The board may want to have copies of the rules readily available for board members and audience members. For an electronic meeting, the rules could be posted on a slide. These rules of decorum can include a reminder that members who are not on the board may only speak during the homeowner comment period unless specifically addressed by the board, that only one person may speak at a time, that all meeting attendees must refrain from interrupting speakers, and that speakers must stay on the topic of the agenda item being discussed. The chair of the meeting or another designated board member should enforce these rules so that all attendees maintain trust in the board and know that differing opinions may be presented and will be considered in a respectful, businesslike manner. Healthy associations are those that are open to new ideas and respectfully consider dissenting opinions.

The second step is to set the meeting agenda in advance.

Common interest development board meetings must have an agenda per California Civil Code § 4920. The agenda must be posted with the meeting notice at least four days in advance of the board meeting, except in an emergency. For a meeting held solely in executive session, only two days’ notice is required. These timelines for notice of the meeting may be longer if required by the association’s governing documents.

The agenda can include time limits for each agenda item to keep the meeting moving, but

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Reach out to membership@echo-ca.org flexibility should be allowed as long as the discussion remains productive and on topic. The board can adopt protocols for determining how a decision is made to extend a discussion beyond a designated time period. Options can include approval by a majority of a quorum of the board or approval by any two board members.

The third step is for the chair of the meeting to keep the meeting on topic and maintain the rules of order or decorum. The president usually acts as the chair of the meetings. As a side note, most bylaws define the roles of the board officers and list their duties. The bylaws also usually provide for the delegation of some of these duties to other board members or association management, as well as making provisions for assigning these duties to another officer in the absence of the assigned officer. It is very common for many of the administerial tasks (such as taking meeting minutes, posting meeting notices and agendas, creating financial documents, and other similar tasks) to be delegated to management representatives, with oversight by the officers and directors.

The chair of the meeting can keep the meeting moving forward by following the agenda and requiring that discussions remain focused on the agenda item being considered. A specific amount of time can be allotted to each agenda item and the time extended only by agreement of a majority of the directors present, to avoid “going in circles” on a topic without reaching a conclusion. If conversations tend to go on for longer than needed to adequately address agenda items, a motion can be made and approved by a majority of the board to discontinue discussion and call for a vote.

The chair of the meeting should also maintain decorum by ensuring that only one person at a time is speaking, that all speakers stay on the topic under discussion, and that any time limit for a topic is enforced unless extended by the board.

Board meetings are for conducting board business, and often owners/members not on the board will be limited to observing and making comments during one or more designated comment periods. At least one owner comment period is required by law at open session board meetings. The timing of this comment period can be

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