Articles Posted in Uncategorized

Community Associations Institute’s Greater Los Angeles Chapter held its Annual Awards Gala on Saturday, November 5, 2016. SwedelsonGottlieb congratulates firm client Harbor Gate Homeowners Association (San Pedro, California) for receiving the Chapter’s award for Excellence in Community Leadership.
Board members Betsy Koehler, Lois Riopelle and Carolyn Cooper were present to accept this prestigious award from Chapter President-Elect Joanne Pena, which was given to this Association because of the hard work and effort the Board undertook to pass a large special assessment for needed common area repairs and renovation work.

This Board undertook the task of pulling the membership together after several failed attempts to obtain member approval and financing for a $4 million dollar renovation project due to years of deferred maintenance. By not giving up on getting the members to see the benefits of investing in their Association and in turn their units, this Board went above and beyond for the betterment of their Association and its homeowners. The Board was successful in the passage of the special assessment and obtaining the homeowners approval to authorize the Association taking out a loan to help the owners pay the special assessment for the work. To date, the Association has completed the repairs to their roof, chimneys, siding and trim, replaced elevated walkways, waterproofing planters and decks, termite treatment, and installation of drought-tolerant plant material. SwedelsonGottlieb Senior Partner Sandra Gottlieb and associate Kevin McNiff worked with the Board to achieve it’s goals. Harbor Gate Homeowners Association is managed by Scott Management,Torrance, California whose efforts were also essential to the Board’s success. www.ScottMgmt.com

By David Swedelson, Esq. Senior Partner, SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys

Considering how contentious the campaigns for president have been for the election of our next president, it is amazing that we have not received more requests from our California community association/HOA clients for advice on how to deal with political signs. The fact is that we have generally seen less political signs posted on properties then I remember in past elections. With respect to the presidential election, that may have something to do with people not really wanting to out themselves as a supporter of one candidate versus another.

Don’t get me wrong as we have received a few requests for advice from some of our association clients, just not as many as I remember from past presidential elections. In all but one of the matters that we have been requested to consult on did we find that the homeowner did not have the right to post their sign. At one association, the board did not want the owner to have their sign posted prominently in the front window of the owner’s condominium. One of the board members forwarded to me the attached article that appeared in the New York Times indicating that in New York, homeowners do not have the right to place political signs in their windows or on their property unless permitted by their association. The article (follow this link) questioned whether a resident at a community association in New York has a constitutional right to post a political sign on their property. Apparently in New York, a community association can have rules prohibiting political signs or other types of signs placed in the windows or elsewhere, depending on the associations rules.

Continue reading

From the Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb

California law now limits a community association’s ability to restrict the use of clotheslines and drying racks. Effective January 1, 2017, Civil Code 4750.10 invalidates any provision of a governing document that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts an owner’s ability to use a clothesline or drying rack in their backyard. This law reflects California’s tendency toward energy conscious legislation, and in fact, the law originally referred to clotheslines as “solar energy systems.”

As applied to community associations, the new law has some important limitations. For example, it only protects an owner’s ability to use a clothesline in a backyard designated for exclusive use. So, the law does not sanction an owner’s ability to use clotheslines in other areas, such as their front yard or a shared rear yard. Further, the law explicitly states a balcony, railing, awning, or other part of a structure or building does not qualify as a clothesline. So, the new law does not protect owners who string wet clothes over their balcony railing to dry.

                                               
                                                   MEMORANDUM
          Confidential Attorney Client Privileged Communication/Not For Distribution
From: SwedelsonGottlieb, Association Legal Counsel To: Happy Holidays Homeowners Association
Re: 2013 Holiday Party Legal Issues We are reporting our preliminary findings following the events that unfolded at the Association’s mandatory Holiday Party last week. We report the following pending matters and recommended changes to the Association’s policies:
Continue reading

By David Swedelson, Attorney, Partner at SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorney/Writer/Blogger

How clear is your writing? Do you spend time editing to make sure that your message is clear and concise? Are your communications rambling? Sometimes community association managers or board members think that writing in legalese will impress their attorneys. Or that using long, technical or sophisticated words will sway homeowners to action. Long words and too many of them can make all of us feel like we’re spinning around in the endless loop of the old Abbott and Costello “Who’s On First?” routine. How do you get off that not-so-merry-go-round?

“Less is more” is a lesson we can all learn from President Abraham Lincoln. Why am I saying this now? I read a very interesting op-ed essay in the Los Angeles Times, written by Ronald C. White Jr., a Fellow at the Huntington Library, and a visiting Professor of History at UCLA. He is also the author of a book entitled A. Lincoln: A Biography.

The focus of the op-ed essay was Lincoln (no surprise there) and the fact that the Gettysburg Address, which Lincoln gave 150 years ago, on November 19, 1863, is a testament to the power of choosing your words. Follow this link to read the op-ed piece.
Continue reading

California Legislative Action Committee (CLAC) Chair Pamela Voit has issued the following statement on AB 1360, authored by former Assemblymember and newly elected Senator Norma Torres, and co-authored by Assemblymember Richard Gordon, sponsored by the Community Association Institute’s California Legislative Action Committee (CAI-CLAC).

“We have decided to conduct further research into electronic balloting procedures and safeguards before proceeding with the bill’s current version. Between now and the end of this year, we will be reaching out to Internet voting companies, other states and organizations to compare differences in approach and systems, determine best practices and discern variances, successes and failures in Internet voting in order to devise the best possible statutory language.
Continue reading