HOA Law Blog
From Community Association Management Insider
A community in El Dorado County, California has historically allowed some sport shooting. However, when one board member wanted to change that, he started the process to change the governing documents to completely ban the discharge of firearms and air-guns and eliminate all target and other shooting throughout the gated equestrian community.
One member of the community, who is also a National Rifle Association (NRA) member, brought this issue to the attention of the NRA’s California attorneys. And they assisted him and other neighbors in defeating the attempt to do away with shooting in the community.
A group of 15 members attended the Board of Directors meeting to speak against the proposed changes to the governing documents. At the meeting they pointed out the many flaws in the proposed revisions, including that the revisions would inappropriately ban the discharge of BB guns, airguns, bows, and nailguns, because these devices discharge projectiles by means of compressed air or springs.
The members also pointed out to the Board of Directors that the proper procedure to implement a change to the governing documents had not been followed. Under the bylaws, proper procedure for amending the governing documents calls for the association’s Revision Committee to first consider a proposal to revise the documents, then recommend items for change to the Board only if the committee finds the suggested change appropriate.
Finally, the member informed the Board of Directors that he had consulted with attorneys for the NRA and that if they wanted to push the revisions, the NRA was prepared to back him and the rest of the supporting homeowners all the way.
Acknowledging the NRA’s involvement, and recognizing their mistake, the Board of Directors referred the proposal back to the Revision Committee to make a recommendation for the proposed changes if the committee felt it was necessary. Based on the input from the protesting members, the Revision Committee found no reason to revise the current version of governing documents, so the proposed change was defeated.
This post by David Swedelson dcs@sghoalaw.com Comments?