Until now there
was no law in our Florida HOAs that would allow a home owner
to install their own electrical generator with above ground
or below ground gas tanks. Here we are, living in Florida
with sometimes unbearable heat and humidity, we have a large
elderly population, hurricanes generally hit in the hottest
parts of the year, and yet there is no right to install an
electric generator in your home.
I was asked by
Jan Bergemann from Cyber Citizens for Justice to draft a
bill that The Florida Legislature can hopefully enact.
Since our law firm drafted the bill that allows owners of
electric vehicles to install a charging station in their
parking spot, I modeled the electric generator statute after
that. In addition to generators, here’s what else that
passed:
HB 293:
- 720.3035 Architectural control covenants; parcel owner
improvements; rights and privileges.—
(6)(a) To protect the health, safety, and
welfare of the people of the state and to ensure uniformity
and consistency in the hurricane protection installed by
parcel owners, this subsection applies to all homeowners'
associations in the state, regardless of when the community
was created. The board or any architectural, construction
improvement, or other such similar committee of an
association must adopt hurricane protection specifications
for each structure or other improvement on a parcel governed
by the association. The specifications may include the color
and style of hurricane protection products and any other
factor deemed relevant by the board. All specifications
adopted by the board must comply with the applicable
building code.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision in
the governing documents of the association, the board or any
architectural, construction improvement, or other such
similar committee may not deny an application for the
installation, enhancement, or replacement of hurricane
protection by a parcel owner which conforms to the
specifications adopted by the board or committee. The board
or committee may require a parcel owner to adhere to an
existing unified building scheme regarding the external
appearance of the structure or other improvement on the
parcel.
(c) For purposes of this subsection, the term
"hurricane protection" includes, but is not limited to, roof
systems recognized by the Florida Building Code which meet
ASCE 7-22 standards, permanent fixed storm shutters,
roll-down track storm shutters, impact-resistant windows and
doors, polycarbonate panels, reinforced garage doors,
erosion controls, exterior fixed generators, fuel storage
tanks, and other hurricane protection products used to
preserve and protect the structures or improvements on a
parcel governed by the association.
Section 2. This act shall take effect upon
becoming a law.
