BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2376|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2376
Author: Bates (R), et al
Amended: 7/6/04 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HOUSING & COMM. DEV. COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/21/04
AYES: Ducheny, Hollingsworth, Ackerman, Alarcon, Cedillo,
Dunn, Torlakson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Florez, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/20/04 (Passed on Consent) - See
last page for vote
SUBJECT : Common interest developments: architectural
review
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill creates statewide standards for common
interest developments and architectural review. The bill
requires a homeowner association to provide a fair and
reasonable process for reviewing a request by a homeowner
for a physical alteration to their unit or the common area.
Senate Floor Amendments of 7/6/04 add double-jointing
provisions to avoid a potential chaptering out problem with
AB 1836 (Harman) and also corrects an erroneous date in the
bill.
ANALYSIS : A common-interest development (CID) is a form
of real estate where each homeowner has an exclusive
CONTINUED
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interest in a unit or lot and a shared or undivided
interest in common area property. Condominiums, planned
unit developments, stock cooperatives, and community
apartments all fall under the umbrella of common interest
developments. The Davis-Stirling Common Interest
Development Act provides the legal framework under which
homeowner associations operate in common interest
developments. In addition to the requirements of the Act,
each CID is governed by a homeowner association according
to the recorded declarations, bylaws, and operating rules
of the association.
Existing law requires that board association meetings be
conducted in accordance with a recognized system of
parliamentary procedure or any parliamentary procedures the
association may adopt. The Davis Stirling Act also
contains the Common Interest Development Open Meeting Act
(CIDOA). The CIDOA requires that all board association
meetings be open to homeowners except when the board
adjourns to executive session in order to consider
litigation, matters relating to the formation of contracts
with third parties, member discipline, personnel matters,
or to meet with a member, upon the member's request,
regarding the member's payment of assessments. It also
requires that the association provide members notice of the
time and place of association meetings, unless the time and
place of these meetings is set in the bylaws or the
association holds an emergency meeting.
This bill creates statewide standards for common interest
developments and architectural review. The bill:
1. Requires a homeowners association to provide within
their governing documents a fair, reasonable and
expeditious process for reviewing a homeowner's proposed
physical alterations to the common area or his/her
separate interest.
2. Requires that a decision by the association regarding
the proposed physical alterations be made in good faith.
3. Requires that the association give their decision
regarding the proposed physical alterations in writing,
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and if the association disapproves the proposed physical
alterations, to also include an explanation of why the
alterations were disapproved and the process the
homeowner must follow if they wish to seek
reconsideration by the board.
4. Provides a homeowner with a right of appeal at an open
board meeting unless the disapproval of a proposed
physical alteration was made by the board during an open
board meeting.
5. Is double-jointed with AB 1836 (Harman) to avoid
chaptering out problems.
Comments
Purpose of the bill . The governing documents of many
homeowner associations require approval of the community
association before a homeowner can make a physical change
to the homeowner's separate interest property. For
example, a homeowner might be required to obtain
association approval before adding a room, choosing a color
of exterior paint, or planting flowers in a front yard.
There are currently no guidelines for associations to
follow in reviewing such modification requests. As a
result, the current approval process may be or appear to be
unreasonable, arbitrary, capricious, and leading to costly
legal disputes that might otherwise be avoided.
This bill incorporates the California Law Revision
Commission's recommendations for statewide standards for
architectural review in common interest developments. This
bill provides that if a homeowner association's governing
documents require association approval before an owner may
make a physical change to his/her separate interest or to
the common area, the association must provide the homeowner
with a fair, reasonable and expeditious procedure for
making its decision.
In addition, this bill requires that a disapproval of a
proposed physical alteration be made in writing, with an
explanation of the association's reason for disapproving
the proposed change. A homeowner whose proposed physical
alteration is disapproved would have the right to seek
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reconsideration of the disapproval at an open meeting of
the board of directors. These requirements would improve
the fairness of the process, without imposing significant
costs on the association.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Aghazarian, Bates, Benoit, Berg, Bermudez, Bogh,
Calderon, Campbell, Canciamilla, Chan, Chavez, Chu,
Cogdill, Cohn, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Daucher, Diaz,
Dutra, Dutton, Dymally, Firebaugh, Frommer, Garcia,
Goldberg, Hancock, Harman, Haynes, Jerome Horton, Shirley
Horton, Houston, Jackson, Keene, Kehoe, Koretz, La Malfa,
La Suer, Laird, Leno, Leslie, Levine, Lieber, Liu,
Lowenthal, Maddox, Maldonado, Matthews, McCarthy,
Montanez, Mountjoy, Mullin, Nakanishi, Nakano, Nation,
Negrete McLeod, Parra, Pavley, Plescia, Reyes, Richman,
Ridley-Thomas, Runner, Salinas, Samuelian, Simitian,
Spitzer, Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Wesson, Wiggins,
Wolk, Wyland, Yee, Nunez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Longville, Maze, Oropeza, Pacheco
NC:mel 7/7/04 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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