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DOES THE LAW
ENCOURAGE OUR COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS
TO CONSERVE WATER AND
ENERGY?
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published October 31, 2016
There’s plenty of talk
this election season about water and energy conservation.
There’s even a proposed constitutional amendment in Florida
which would guarantee the right to use solar power in your home.
Up until now, has Florida law encouraged us to conserve water,
conserve energy or given any incentives to do either? There are
some already existing provisions you should know about.
In Florida Homeowner
Associations, Florida Statute 720.3075 states:
(4)(a) The Legislature
finds that the use of Florida-friendly landscaping and other
water use and pollution prevention measures to conserve or
protect the state’s water resources serves a compelling public
interest and that the participation of homeowners’ associations
and local governments is essential to the state’s efforts in
water conservation and water quality protection and restoration.
(b) Homeowners’
association documents, including declarations of covenants,
articles of incorporation, or bylaws, may not prohibit or be
enforced so as to prohibit any property owner from implementing
Florida-friendly landscaping, as defined in s. 373.185, on his
or her land or create any requirement or limitation in conflict
with any provision of part II of chapter 373 or a water shortage
order, other order, consumptive use permit, or rule adopted or
issued pursuant to part II of chapter 373.
In sum,
Florida-Friendly Landscaping is a set
of nine guiding principles which help protect natural resources
and preserve Florida’s unique beauty.
While the Florida
Homeowner’s Association Act talks about allowing for certain
landscaping that conserves water, there’s not a word in the
statute about an owner’s right to install solar panels or switch
to solar energy.
In Florida condominiums,
Florida Statute 718.113 states:
7) Notwithstanding the
provisions of this section or the governing documents of a
condominium or a multicondominium association, the board of
administration may, without any requirement for approval of the
unit owners, install upon or within the common elements or
association property solar collectors, clotheslines, or other
energy-efficient devices based on renewable resources for the
benefit of the unit owners.
Interestingly enough, the
Florida Condominium Act does not say a word about preserving
water through Florida Friendly landscaping, but does give the
association the right to install solar energy and even
clotheslines.
Needless to say, the two statutes need some
work. They each simultaneously address one problem while
forgetting the other. Any suggestions for other ways for
associations to conserve energy? Has your association found ways
to conserve?
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About
HOA & Condo Blog
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Eric Glazer graduated from
the University of Miami School of Law in 1992 after
receiving a B.A. from NYU. He has practiced community
association law for more than 2
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decades and is the owner of Glazer
and Associates, P.A. a seven attorney law firm with offices in
Fort Lauderdale and Orlando and satellite offices in Naples,
Fort Myers and Tampa.
Since 2009, Eric has been the host
of Condo Craze and HOAs, a weekly one hour radio show that airs
at noon each Sunday on 850 WFTL.
See:
www.condocrazeandhoas.com.
He is the first attorney in the
State of Florida that designed a course that certifies
condominium residents as eligible to serve on a condominium
Board of Directors and has now certified more than 10,000
Floridians all across the state. He is certified as a Circuit
Court Mediator by The Florida Supreme Court and has mediated
dozens of disputes between associations and unit owners. Eric
also devotes significant time to advancing legislation in the
best interest of Florida community association members.
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