Lindsay S. Smith

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After much debate between interested parties, HB 1212 has passed and is on its way to the Governor in a form that is substantially different than existed on Monday. Rather than recreating Colorado’s manager licensure program, HB 1212 revives prior licensure legislation until September 1, 2020, and creates a stakeholder process to gather information from…

After much debate and discussion, the amended version of House Bill 19-1212 has been laid over until tomorrow, May 1, when it will be sent back to the Senate Finance Committee for a vote. After Finance, the bill will go to Appropriations, and then to second and third readings on the Senate floor. If the…

Many Colorado communities are facing the need to impose special assessments as a result of recent wind and hail events in the state. Special assessments may be imposed in circumstances where the association lacks cash on hand to pay for a large or unexpected expense. Such assessments have become increasingly common due to changes in…

Yesterday, Representatives Brianna Titone and Monica Duran introduced House Bill 19-1212, which, if passed, will re-create the community association manager licensure program that is currently set to end in July of this year. The proposed bill includes provisions responsive to comments made throughout the industry since the original advent of community association manager licensing,…

The heat hitting Denver this weekend has reminded several clients to ask us to review their pool rules.  Community associations are "housing providers" under the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act, and thus our pool rules need to comply with Fair Housing requirements.  

Fair Housing prohibits housing discrimination based on the following factors:

  • Race
  • Color

…

Congratulations to Molly Ryan of Metro Property Management, Inc. and Jared Theis of Community Management Specialists, Inc.!  You are the winners of our mint julep baskets.  We will be in contact with you shortly so you can claim your prizes.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by to see us at the CAI-RMC Spring Showcase.  We …

It’s the first Monday of 2016, and while some of us might still be shaking off the eggnog, time passes and deadlines arrive.  Remember to comply with your annual disclosure and registration obligations before your deadlines arrive, and take some time for education while you’re at it!

Annual Disclosures. Within 90 days of the conclusion …

Today, the Colorado Court of Appeals issued an opinion addressing the statutory declaration amendment process set forth in C.R.S. 38-33.3-217(7).  This process allows community associations that have sought to amend their declaration, and received fewer approvals than required to amend the declaration outright, to obtain a court order that approves the amendment notwithstanding the vote …

Oh yes we can.

It is not unusual for us to encounter communities with strict restrictive covenants that have not been enforced in a strict manner.  Much of the time, this is due to apathy or ignorance.  In other circumstances, Board turnover results in more or less enforcement.  Some Boards hate to enforce against their neighbors, and offer so many variances the covenants might as well not even exist.  Some Boards will interpret documents in a manner different than other, future Boards, but when the documents remain the same, we have to figure out what to do to follow those documents in light of the community’s history.

A recent case in California provides a bit of guidance for those of us facing the historical enforcement challenge.  In The Villas in Whispering Palms v. Tempkin<!–, No. D065232 (Cal. Ct. App. May 18, 2015), No. D065232 (Cal. Ct. App. May 18, 2015) the California Court of Appeals held that an association board that had historically offered numerous variances to a one-dog rule was not required to offer variances.  The homeowner claimed the Board was unreasonable because it had provided variances and allowed multiple dogs in the past.  The Court ruled that the Association’s prior variances did not impact its ability to deny the requested variance.

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