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ARC DICTATORIAL POWER TOOL?
By
Jan Bergemann
Published April 26, 2024
The Florida Legislature has finally figured it out:
ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMITTEES were often used as
dictatorial power tools. Boards appointed members of their
clique to the committee and the games began.
Approval or disapproval of applications for
construction of a
structure or other improvement on a parcel should have been
decided by the governing documents, not by committee members
or board members liking or disliking the owner filing the
application. But that has often been the case and the result
was often: SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT.
If Governor Ron DeSantis signs
HB1203 into law, many of these abuses will have to stop.
The powers of the ARC have been widely reduced.
Main component of these changes: The ARC has to give very
specific reasons, even quoting the deed-restrictions, if denying
an application.
No more reducing property values or doesnt
fit into the general view of the community.
Once
HB293
-- Hurricane Protections for Homeowners' Associations
becomes law, the ARC power is even more limited. Even if the
governing documents may say otherwise, applications for home
improvements dealing with hurricane protection can no longer be
denied. Color or location can be discussed, but all items named
in this bill are exempt from denial.
The real question when looking at this bill: How will and how
can all these new good provisions be enforced?
Will it take a lot of costly lawsuits or will common sense
finally prevail?
What say you?
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Jan Bergemann is president of Cyber Citizens For Justice,
Florida
's largest state-wide property owners' advocacy group.
CCFJ works on legislation to help owners living in
community
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associations. He moved to
Florida
in 1995 - hoping to retire. He moved into a HOA, where the
developer cheated the homeowners and used the association dues
for his own purposes. End of retirement!
CCFJ was born in the year 2000, when some owners met in
Tallahassee
- finding out that power is only in numbers. Bergemann was a
member of Governor Jeb Bush's HOA Task force in 2003/2004.
The organization has two websites to inform interested
Florida
homeowners and condo owners:
News Website: http://www.ccfj.net/.
Educational Website: http://www.ccfjfoundation.net/.
We think that only owners can really represent owners, since all
service providers surely have a different interest! We are
trying to create owner-friendly laws, but the best laws are
useless without enforcement. And enforcement is totally lacking
in
Florida
!
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