carport to garage conversions
Hi Dennis,
Thank you for all you do for homeowners. I am wondering if you might be able to offer some insight into the issue facing our homeowners. We are a community of 79 connected townhome homes.
In 2018 our Board voted in favor of carport to garage conversions. In 2021 a series of committee meetings were held, it was decided by vote with the people present that the garages should be constructed of our original construction, slump block/masonry and should look exactly like the rest of the town home. The then Board president was totally against the use of slump/block. A new Board was voted in and in April of 2022 developed approved the guidelines for the carport to garage conversions based on the outcome from the committee meetings held the previous fall. No one built a garage. In 2024 once again a new Board is in place, the original Board member who was so against the garages being made from original material is now back on the Board. A homeowner asked for the approved guidelines to begin the process to build a garage, the HOA president stated there would be new guidelines in 30 days and refused to give them to him. there was a garage committee meeting this am and the HOA president informed the homeowners present the garage would be built from T1-11 cement board. when it was pointed out that the CC&R’s stated any addition must be made from original construction, she stated that there are 3 homes in the community that have back patios which have been converted into enclosed rooms and one made from plywood, the other two from some other material and therefore the garages did not have to be made from original construction. she states she has received this information from an attorney. Does this sound correct? Has a precedent been set?
I do not know if any of the homes received Board approval to enclose their patios in a material other than the original slump block. We have a group of homeowners who support the construction from the original material so the garages will look like original construction as they do in many townhome communities that have done the carport to garage conversion. the Board is meeting August 17 to vote on the new guidelines. Can you give us any guidance on our situation? Is there a way we can stop this from proceeding?
Also in our CC&R’s it states “walls shall be erected or maintained upon the Lots in said development in accordance with the original construction of the building or as approved by the Association. It does not say by the Board it says by the Association. Would this mean an Association (homeowners voting) versus just a Board vote?
Thank you for any guidance you can offer.
Marcia Gura
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Marcia,
Without seeing your actual CC&Rs, it is hard for me to answer your question. Depending on how that document is written the association may not have had the authority to change from carports to garages without first processing an amendment to the document. Assuming it had the authorization to make this change, then generally, the association, if granted in the declaration, to establish design guidelines that they can do so as long as they are reasonable and structured to maintain the general character and harmony of the community. Design guidelines cannot be a vehicle that allows associations to create restrictions on private property not specifically noticed in the CC&Rs.
It is absolutely ridiculous that your association took 6 years to develop a design guideline for garages. Your board has a duty to act in the best interest of the community on all matters and not on the desires of one specific board member. They need to either get on with this project or drop it altogether. Clearly, there is not a lot of desire within the community for garages, or more people would have been pressing the board for answers.
It is time for your board to listen to its community members and act accordingly. If they are allowed to make the changes to garages and the community wants that capability, then they need to get off their backsides and get this project done.
Dennis
Hi Dennis and Marcia,
I am also curious about this.
1) Was a precedent set once the 3 other homeowners enclosed their back patios with something other than the communities original construction?
2) Can you also please define association?
Thank you for your time and efforts!
Kim
Kim,
Marcia will send me her CC&R’s and I’ll make my assessment of the precedent setting requirements from the first three modification and get back to you. The association is the body of homeowners. That body is runs by the board of directors that have the authority to make most decisions for the association other then those decision reserved only to the members of the community. The declarations and state law established what decisions must be made by the members and what can be made by the board. So when statute refers to “the association” it means the entire community of members and the board of directors but does not imply that only the members can decide an issue for the association or that only the board can decide all issues for the association.
Dennis
Hello Dennis,
Thank you very much for your reply. May I send you a copy of our CC&R’s? In reading them I cannot tell whether or not an amendment is needed. I know the motion was made in a Board Meeting to allow homeowners to convert their carport to a garage, and the motion was passed.
Yes there are only 3-4 homeowners interested in building a garage, the HOA president included. By not building from the original construction material, our worry is the addition will distract from the overall character, architecture, and harmony of the community.
Thank you,
Marcia Gura
Great,
Send it to my azhoatruth@gmail.com email. l address and I’ll look it over and get back to both you and Kim. Youi concern should be the only concern of the board and the ARC committee itself. They have no authority to do anything otherwise.
Dennis