The New Year is the time to be thinking about an annual review of the associations operations.

A review of your architectural control guidelines is a good start as this would enable the Board to consider new products, resident input or trends that could affect the guidelines. As an example would be the change in size of satellite dishes. Your current guidelines may mention the old dimensions

Identify any guidelines that are outdated. Does your guideline include the placement of trampolines or portable basketball stands? Some situations may require you to grandfather in a resident who installed an 8’ fence when newer residents are installing a 6’ fences

Solicit the input of the residents so they have a say in these decisions. Ask residents to provide the Board their suggestions on changes prior to making any final changes.

Once you have identified the community needs set a timeline to review changes. In some cases you may need the advice of an HOA attorney on your more complex changes. Remember the Board can set rules and regulations as long as they don’t conflict with community covenants.

Other items to consider, Is your fining system out of date or unwieldy? Is the ACC form you use cumbersome and outdated? Is the process of approval taking too many steps? Do you have community standards that can speed up the approval process? Such as pre-approved roofing choices or exterior house colors.

Lastly, communicate well in advance the new guideline changes to the residents. When the new guidelines go into effect residents can’t say you they didn’t have ample time to comply. Also post them on your website for potential buyers to read.

Well intended guidelines properly communicated will help everyone.