Tag: government

On stopping HOA bullies and rediscovering lost values

Excerpts of guest blogs by George Staropoli on Ward Lucas’ blog, Neighbors at War!

 

Rediscovering Values

For a society, a community, to function in an orderly manner there must be not only rules, but a firm belief in the need to enforce just and fair rules and laws. Political philosophy says that where laws are unjust and unfair, then the democratic government is not legitimate, cause the reason for forming a social contract and surrendering freedoms is just that.

On Stopping Bullies

Proposed HOA reforms must include necessary and sufficient detriments to put an end to HOA bullying and abuse. People do not become angels when they become a board member, like our astute, politically savvy legislatures would like you to believe.

 If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.  James Madison, The Federalist Papers, # 51.

 

 

Whether apathy or anger, it’s always the HOA owner’s fault

The policy of the pro-HOA forces, including your state legislature, is to hold the homeowner at fault for problems in his HOA.  Never the HOA government itself.  Owners are apathetic and should be more involved in solving HOA issues, they argue,  but when owners join they find that their minority position has no power against the clique.  And if they react with anger against repeated outright violations by the board, they are again the problem people who just can’t get along.  Never the HOA government itself.

Many of us, who are involved in attempting to make changes in the public arena have encountered failures by our elected officials to provide fair and just HOA laws. And after a number of years begin to walk away with a harsh understanding that you can’t fight city hall.  There is nothing any different with the similar behavior of HOA owners facing the same public government failures with their HOA government.  They just can’t fight HOA city hall, too.

On the other hand, a number of homeowners react in the other direction by getting angry with the repeated frustrations with the failures of their HOA. With the lack of a viable means to correct these flagrant violations and unjust powers cast in concrete as CC&Rs and pro-HOA laws, what can you expect of good people?  So they get angry, shout, and become bitter at their treatment with no avenue for relief.  They are charged with abusive behavior, harassment, and bullying by the HOA. But, it’s never the fault of the HOA government itself.  Never.

The position of the pro-HOA forces has been, in my view: if the owners would only follow the rules all would be fine. Their position is that the HOA government works in the best interests of the community for everyone.  And that the best interests of the community rests in the unquestioned obedience to the HOA government.  Or suffer the consequences.

Like any other totalitarian government or banana republic, the HOA has the power to destroy your life by taking your home, by imposing harsh monetary penalties (fines), by curtailing your free use of the common property, by denying your right to vote as if you were a criminal of the HOA, and by ostracizing you and your family before the community. To drive you out of your home.  But, it’s never the fault of the HOA government itself.  No, never.

Of course, as with all dictatorships and banana republics where there are loyalists — those who support and defend their government — so, too, do HOA governments have their loyal supporters.  They have bought into the system and refuse to accept anything to the contrary. But what kind of community are they defending? Surely not a democratic system that surpasses that of the US Constitution.  It’s only common sense.

Decl. of Indep. from HOA government

In 2000, as a naïve and newbie to the politics at state legislatures, Arizona in particular, I addressed the HOA Study Committee on September 7th and submitted a statement titled, “HOMEOWNER’S DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE  from homeowner association governments.”  In it I quoted parts of the Decl. of Indep. and informed the committee that I had hoped that these hearings would bring forth a list of grievances for which homeowners were seeking redress. 

And as in those times of 1776, a small, principled and dedicated group of citizens are seeking a redress of their grievances. They first looked to the existing government, the HOA Board, and failing to obtain satisfaction therein, must seek other means of redress – a radical change in the concept and legal structure of the homeowner association controlling document, the CC&Rs.

Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen of the Committee, at this time I had hoped that the citizens a Arizona would be able to present and enumerate their long list of abuses, and solutions to these abuses, similar to as is found enumerated in the Declaration of Independence, without the interference and obstruction by elements of these ‘oppressive governments.’  I see that this will not be the case.

The people of Arizona only wish to be able to present their case before this Committee in a fair and just manner. However, sadly I feel that, because of the composition of the committee, the homeowners are actually being placed on trial; that they are being asked to justify their grievances before their oppressors.

This statement was referenced in Robert Nelson’s 2005 highbrow book, Private Neighborhoods (p. 342). He covered a lot of material including HOA secession from local government and on constitutions (Part V, “Creating HOA Constitutions”).

The purpose of a constitution is to set the ground rules for governance. . . . Yes the rise of the private neighborhood has resulted in far and away the largest number of new constitutions in recent years. [Is he referring to HOA principalities?] . . . . [T]he real estate lawyers and their developer clients . . . with no previous experience available to understand what the pros and cons would be to live in a community controlled by covenants, [governing documents] were born.

In HOACommon Sense: rejecting private government I outlined 5 broad categories to be addressed by reform legislation.

Today, I think it would be helpful to adopt my statement and add those grievances that you feel need to be solved, and submit the entire package to your legislature and the media.  It would be your declaration from HOA governments, your petition for redress. Of course, the more signatures you have the better.

tyranny of the AZ Senate: SB 1482 as SB 1454 redux

Yesterday I noticed that ARS shows the statutes as in Ch. 254 (SB 1454) that includes those found unconstitutional.  This is misleading to the average person as there is no annotation that the court ruled certain statutes unconstitutional.

The status of these unconstitutional statutes must be brought to the attention of the court if an attempt is made to enforce any of them.

I can understand the need to formally remove these statutes by repealing them through the legislative process. But, until and if then, keeping them on ALIS with no annotation on the official records is mind boggling.  The repeal is taking place within SB 1482, and the statutes are being replaced by almost exactly the same laws now shown in ARS.  What’s the point?  This is a win-win – pass the bill and minor changes to SB 1454 take place, kill the bill and the unconstitutional changes remain.

I believe it only proper that an annotation be placed in ALIS to alert the public as to the facts, and a separate bill filed that deals solely with the repeal of the unconstitutional statutes in SB 1454 in the event SB 1482 or a House version fails.  This repeal bill should have been introduced at the start of the session, as “unfinished business,” and passed without delay. To allow unconstitutional laws to remain on the books is unconscionable.

Please call this sorrowful state of affairs to the attention of your media contacts ASAP!

Letter criticizes CLRC rewrite of Davis-Stirling (HOA) statutes

Below are excerpts from my January 30th  4-page letter to CLRC.

“I read Ms. Vanitzian’s LA Times column of December 29, 2013, Attempt to Simplify California Condo Laws Ends in Confusion and your response contained in MM14-09. As you may be aware I commented on her article in two parts. . . .  If you are looking for facts, allow me to introduce a few.  I recall Susan French’s study in 2000 (H-850), at the request of CLRC, that started the ball rolling ‘to clarify the law [and] establish a clear, consistent, and unified policy with regard to formation and management of these developments.’ 

“Still, much of her report aside from the need for clarity, Part II, sections C and D, called for protections of homeowner rights and a bill of rights statute in the rewrite of Davis-Stirling. . . .  Whatever happened to the proposed ‘Chapter 2, Members Rights, Article 1, Bill of Rights,’ (MM06-25)?

“There was my letter (MM05-25s1) arguing for the need for this equal rights chapter, to which you answered with, ‘Beyond the scope of this project’ even though French had recommended protecting homeowner rights. . . . It is obvious that this rework by stakeholders without meaningful homeowner input easily leads to clarifications and simplifications as interpreted solely by this group, from its perspective, which would not protect the homeowner. The new D-S cannot be seen as the result of an unbiased effort and with integrity.

“The approach used by CLRC has the smell of corporatism, the rule by a handful of corporations.  It is a form of government that flows from fascism as defined by its founder, Italy’s Benito Mussolini, Il Duce.  ‘Fascism combats the whole complex system of democratic ideology, and repudiates it . . . . Thus understood, Fascism is totalitarian, and the Fascist State . . . interprets, develops, and potentiates the whole life of a people.’

“CLRC responded with, ‘However, a bill of rights would probably go beyond the substantive rights that are currently provided in the law’ (MM05-03), but in the next sentence dismissed the US Bill of Rights as non-existent substantive law. The obvious answer – as there were a number of published books, papers and journals from nationally recognized researchers and political scientists relating to this issue – was to recognize that indeed HOAs were de facto governments and to subject them to the Constitution.”

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The cry “no government interference” while accepting HOA private government interference is irrational.  This acceptance of undemocratic, authoritarian HOA government with less protection of individual rights and freedoms than public government is a rejection of the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights. These people have lost their common sense!

Neither CLRC nor CAI will go down in history as Heroes of the American Republic, but perhaps may be remembered as Heroes of HOA-Land. 

The complete critical letter can be found at MM14-09s1.