Category: amicus civitas

friend of the state

CAI claims Factbook 2018 at home with Democracy in America.

I am quite impressed with CAI after looking over its latest Factbook of 2018.[1]  It is a voluminous document of some  297 pages in total that includes numerous copies of government generated reports and studies, as well as from secondary real estate attorney articles and papers.[2]  It is a lofty presentation designed, I believe, to give the distinct impression that CAI is indeed the all-knowing expert regarding HOAs: that CAI has all the answers!  It reminds me of a product of the Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda.[3]

In more concrete terms, CAI appears to be reacting to outspoken advocate criticisms by reaffirming and doubling-down on its support for HOA-Land. The Factbook contained some surprises of a material nature that I took note of and that I  will briefly address here.  Each of the following five CAI positions in the Factbook is an affirmation that HOA-Land represents a better community and society than found under the US Constitution; which is not recognized in the Factbook or given just lip service elsewhere!

Furthermore, I found the audacity of CAI to equate HOA contractual, private,  de facto governments with the 1832 America presented in Democracy in America to be very disturbing (see Finally below). It reflects a severe detachment from reality in a document purported to be factually based.

First, In Part 2,[4] CAI makes an effort to explain the 4 goals of the Factbook that starts with a lecture on “evidence-based management.”  It distinguishes anecdotal evidence as contrasted with science-based evidence in deciding the course of action, or “intervention” as stated in the document. It’s a dissertation on what makes a solid basis for analysis and conclusions.

However, it’s a slap at those people who just “tell stories” without proper vetting.  Of course, it is silent on and not related to the manner in which the Factbook  got its facts, and gives the impression: “not us but those guys, you know who.”  I took it as an attempt to defend their studies as unquestionably valid. Advocates can indeed make CAI twitch!

Second, Part 2[5] contains a surprising link to the Stabile book of 2000[6] that is a self-congratulatory  book, in my view, funded by CAI and ULI.  What are they thinking?  Here’s a quote from Stabile.[7]

[HOAs are] a consumer product sold by profit-seeking firm, a legal device, a corporation reliant on both coercive powers and voluntary cooperation, a democracy, and a lifestyle.

With this plan, TB50 [The Holmes Association Handbook] set out the plan that would be taken in forming the CAI.

It has a documentary style, but not a very flattering one to CAI as shown above,  if you reject its premise that HOAs are not a political government. A detailed analysis of the Stabile book can be found in my History paper.  Scroll down to “2000.”

Third, another lecture now on how HOAs function is addressed via a link to a CAI published 26-page book on sale for $15.00.[8]  A short, one-page excerpt is provided that reads right out of the CAI School of HOA Governance.[9]  Nothing new here. No mention of violations of the US constitution, bill of rights, due process or equitable servitudes, etc.  But then again, I forgot. Who am I?  I’m not even a lawyer. I’m David battling Goliath.  CAI has all the answers.

Fourth, another shocker for me.  A link is provided to the Susan Fletcher French article, Making Common Interest Communities Work: The Next Step.[10]   But what are they doing???  As stated above, the reference is not flattering to CAI since it is an obviously biased statement coming from a legal authority produced to guide judges in common law. And it’s a 2005 article and we would like to know what has happened over the past 14 years!  Here’s part of her conclusion:

I conclude that states should provide administrative support for community association governance with education, dispute resolution, and enforcement services. Common interest communities have become too important to leave to their own resources and the judicial system. There is much that states can do and there are several models of successful programs. They should take the next step.

I hope you all recall that French was the lead editor (Reporter) in the 2000 rewrite of the Restatement 3rd Equitable Servitudes.[11]  She is referenced in the Foreword:

Professor Susan French [Reporter (chief editor/contributor) for this Restatement] begins with the assumption . . . that we are willing to pay for private government because we believe it is more efficient than [public] government  . . . . Therefore this Restatement is enabling toward private government, so long as there is full disclosure.

Finally, to all my disbelief, CAI references  Alexis de Tocqueville’s 1835 Democracy in America, and equates  HOAs as a continuation of America’s striving

“For continuous improvement at all levels of society and government.” Alexis de Tocqueville reflected on the constant activity that characterized America in the 1830s for continuous improvement at all levels of society and government. Little has changed since that time. He would be right at home at a community association board meeting, at a CAI Chapter program or at a national CAI Conference or Law Seminar.”[12]

The implication is that HOAs are also striving for the same  improvements as de Tocqueville discusses in 1830s America.  Not so! Understand that Democracy is a 2-volume set of some 800 “fine print” pages encompassing a multitude of aspects and conditions about America in the early 1830s. It is replete with discussions of the Constitution, of the American values and principles of liberty and freedom, and of the workings of our democracy. Not a word about contractual private government!  It is unconscionable for CAI to make such an unfounded comparison that implies private HOAs are a natural development for the making of a better America.

CAI is silent and does not address Professor McKenzie’s comments in his seminal 1994 book, Privatopia,[13]

HOAs currently engage in many activities that would be prohibited if they were viewed by the courts as the equivalent of local governments.

The balance of power between the individual and the private government is reversed in HOAs. . . . The property rights of the developer, and later the board of directors, swallow up the rights of the people, and public government is left as a bystander.

 

In summary, CAI comes across as dogmatic – not recognizing or accepting any statements contrary to its beliefs — and suffering a cult-like blindness to reality. The Factbook is an act of desperation and an inability to defend its position in an open debate as I had proposed back in 2006.

In a brief phone call during which he’s quiet and almost courtly, he explains that Common Ground is CAI’s “house organ,” and that he’d be more comfortable with a debate or similar format where he could express himself at length, without the risk of being quoted out of context.[14]

 

References

[1] Community Association Fact Book, 2018, Parts 1 – 8 (July 4, 2019).

[2] Parts 4 -6 and 8 are indexes to details on each of the states and are not included in the total pages. There are also several links to other reports, articles, studies, etc. also not included in the total page count above.

[3] See in general The Avalon Project, Yale Law School.

[4] FB Narrative, page 7.

[5] Id.

[6] Donald R. Stabile, Community Associations: The Emergence and Acceptance of a Quiet Innovation in Housing, Amazon.com. A 256-page book priced at $95.00.

[7] See my Commentary, “A historical look at the purpose and intent of the HOA promoters,” HOA Constitutional Government (January 27, 2008).

[8] Supra n. 3, page 8.

[9] The foundation and principles of the School can be traced back to CAI’s Public Policies, The CAI Manifesto (its 2016 “white paper”), its numerous seminars and conferences, its Factbooks and surveys, its amicus briefs to the courts, and its advisories, letters, emails, newsletters, blogs etc. I have designated these foundations and principles collectively as the CAI School of HOA Governance.

[10] Susan Fletcher French, Urban Lawyer, Vol. 37, Summer 2005.

[11] the Restatement (Third) of Property: Servitudes, Susan F. French, Reporter, the American Law Institute  (2000).

[12] Supra n. 1, Part 2, section 4.

[13] Evan McKenzie, Privatopia: Homeowners Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Governments, Yale Univ. Press, 1994.

[14] “The Lone Ranger has never stopped fighting for HOA truth and justice,” quoting CAI Common Ground Editor Christopher Durso, (Common Ground, May/June 2006).

Does your HOA manager meet city manager skills?

Let’s compare your HOA manager, even those with all those CAI “credentials,” and compare them to the equivalent of a city/town manager.  The following excerpts come from “How to Become a City Manager”?

 “To become a successful City Manager, the candidate must be respectful, ethical, and trustworthy. Listening skills are key to communicating with the Mayor, the City Council, community members, and city staff at all levels.”

“A City Manager is an executive in charge of the overall administration of a city’s government. In some municipalities, the officials who serve this position are sometimes referred to as the Chief Administrative Officer (or) Chief Operating Officer (or) Administrative Manager. Normally, they are hired (not elected) by the Council or City Commission to direct and manage the functions of a municipal government under direct supervision of the Mayor or the City Council.

“Hence, the minimum education for a City Manager would be an under-graduation in public administration or public policy or political science as the degree includes courses such as financial management, economic development, strategic planning, fundraising, organizational communication, project management, labor relations, public safety, city planning, policy formation and human resources. However, most cities hire candidates with at least a master’s degree program in the public or business administration or a related field.”

Why aren’t HOA managers held to the same standards as in the public domain?  Why accept the CAI School of HOA Governance as the model for running an HOA that are often larger than most cities with over 1,000 residents!  Why aren’t all those state “HOA/PUDs” requiring such education and skills instead of adopting the CAI model?  WHY??

 

NOTE:  The above aspect of HOA governance is a solid example that there exists an “HOA-Land Nation Within America.”

Associa proclaims management firms as HOA partners

In its June 25, 2019 blog, “What is an HOA?, Associa proclaimed that “The HOA board works together with community partners, like a Community Association Manager (CAM), to ensure the responsibilities of the association are carried out.”  And did you know that, according to Associa, “HOAs operate a lot like a local government, small business, and community collective rolled into one.”    It is the only reference to municipal government in the 4-page “What is an HOA? article, without mention of any constitutionality issues.

This is the sui generis view of private government principalities supported by your state legislature.  “Sui generis” means “unique, one of a kind” and is used to justify special laws for a special organization, the HOA. Existing constitutional law is inadequate to support this model of local governance and so, in violation of US and state constitutions,  we see all those HOA/PUD/condo “Acts” in almost every state.  These Acts constitute a parallel supreme law of the land with sharp contrasts to the US Constitution.

And so Associa has elevated HOA management firms from parties —  stakeholders – with an interest in your private home to the status of equal interests in your home. 

Associa is a nationwide management firm conglomerate with affiliations in almost every state.  It is run and owned by former Texas Senator  John J. Carona and his wife Helen, I presume.  It is a devotee and follower of the CAI School of HOA Governance.  Associa provides instructors for CAI’s certification and educational programs, being awarded “outstanding Educator of the year. ” From its web page:

 Industry Involvement

Associa leads the march into the future for community association management through participation in industry trade organizations and professional certifications.

·  *AAMC – Accredited Association Management Company

·  AMS – Association Management Specialist

·  CMCA – Certified Manager of Community Associations

·  CPM – Certified Property Manager

·  LSM – Large-Scale Manager

·  PCAM – Professional Community Association Manager

Additionally, Associa personnel include nationally published authors who have been selected to help write the courses that teach other industry managers through CAI’s Professional Management Development Program. Associa personnel have also served on CAI’s national teaching staff and have been awarded national distinctions such as “Outstanding Educator of the Year” and “Excellence in Education.”

 

HOA-Land Nation publication to aid constitutionality

The important question of HOA constitutionality has generally been avoided and given token lip serve by all interested parties: homeowners, homeowner rights advocates, state legislators, real estate departments, attorney generals, nonprofit private entities proclaiming a defense of the Constitution, and the media at large.

Even the renowned Wayne Hyatt’s[1] statement in 1976 went ignored.

“One clearly sees the association as a quasi-government entity paralleling in almost every case the powers, duties, and responsibilities of a municipal government.   All of these functions are financed through assessments or taxes levied upon the members of the community, with powers vested in the board of directors, council of co-owners, board of managers, or other similar body clearly analogous to the governing body of a municipality.”[2]

Clearly challenging the constitutionality of the HOA model of local government and legal scheme is well beyond past due. To correct this horrific and inexcusable oversight I have published, The HOA-Land Nation Within America,[3] a white paper, an exposé of the HOA legal scheme violations of the Constitution. The eBook and paperback editions can be found on Amazon.

This task of constitutional HOA reforms may appear overwhelming and almost impossible to achieve, but constitutional HOA reforms can happen. It will take tremendous effort and perseverance, and a “never give up” mentality. David Cole passionately makes this point[4]

“If Americans now and in the coming years insist that . . . our most fundamental values, including equality, human dignity, fair process, privacy, and the rule of law, and if we organize and advocate in defense of those principles,” we will succeed in bringing about the necessary fundamental and constitutional reforms to the HOA legal scheme in existence since the HOA “bible” was released in 1964. In order to accomplish this important task, “it will take a persistent civil society, a vigilant media, brave insiders, and judges and other government officials who take seriously their responsibility to uphold the Constitution. But first and foremost, it will take an engaged citizenry.”

“The defense of liberty depends . . . on citizens engaging collectively to fight for the values they believe in. . . . The preservation of liberty through a written constitution . . . has survived . . . because ‘we the people’ have consistently taken up the charge to define, defend, and develop liberty in our own image, so that it reflects our deepest commitment , not just those of a privileged elite who do not represent us.”

It falls upon the homeowners in HOAs, as has always, to advance constitutional arguments that are valid and credible.    And that takes knowledge and understanding of the issues.  The HOA-Land Nation, and other of my publications and Commentaries, as well as those of others, provide the “ammunition” that will pass the valid and credible challenges to be expected from CAI and other lawyers, provided the arguments do not get bogged down in irrelevant arguments from the opposition.

CAI cannot handle a broad Bill of Rights challenge. Period!  I have never been challenged  by CAI because they well know that they are defending the defenseless.

Read the book, paperback or eBook, and spread the word.  Use it in those many HOA violations where state statutes support the HOA.  Work to hold seminars and conferences to openly discuss the issues raised in The HOA-Land Nation.  Expose their defense of HOAs, now!

 Notes

[1] Wayne Hyatt was a prominent figure in the promotion of HOA-Land as well as an important person in creating CAI in 1973, serving as its second president.

[2] I have extensively quoted Wayne Hyatt’s 1976 statement on HOAs as mini-governments, as cited in the 1983 California case, Cohen v. Kite Hill.

[3] I have concluded that there exists an HOA-Land Nation within America that is comprised of fragmented and local HOA governments across the country and have designated them collectively as “HOA-Land.”  The commonality of their declarations of CC&Rs, flowing from the 1964 Homes Association Handbook (ULI publication), their shared beliefs, values, traditions, and institutions qualify HOA-Land as a nation.

[4] David Cole, National Legal Director of the ACLU, Engines of Liberty, Basic Books (2016).

Two distinct levels for HOA legislation

I have classified two levels of HOA reform legislation that are needed to bring justice to homeowners: systemic and operational.

By “systemic” I mean inherent in the structure and legal model of HOA governance, which involves constitutional issues concerning the validity of the declarations and the pro-HOA state laws.  The controversy focuses on the defenses of the HOA legal scheme, such as, private contract interference and “agreement to be bound.”  The contractual defense denies the application of the Constitution and the surrender and waiver of any rights that members claim to be denied.  The agreement defense says the private contract was validity and legally agreed to by the home buyer, even though contract law 101 is usurped by the equitable servitudes doctrine.

By “operational” I am referring to the management and operation of the day-to-day HOA that is regulated by existing pro-HOA laws and the adhesion CC&Rs.  Reforms at this level are, for the most part, attempts to restore rights and privileges denied by the constitutional defenses mention in the above paragraph. This defense focuses on the law is the law and any concerns for fair, just and equitable treatment are not addressed in any of the states or governing documents, and therefor are irrelevant.

The purposes and aims in the Declaration have no bearing on the purposes and aims found in the Preamble to the Constitution.

It should be obvious that the operational reforms are limited by the existing failure to achieve constitutional reforms.  Addressing the broader constitutional issues will greatly help the operational problems that concern most homeowners.