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“DESIGNATED ITEMS”?
By
Jan Bergemann
Published October 18, 2019
Supposedly these laws are written by knowledgeable legal
experts, but even a layman starts wondering about the wisdom of
these laws just by reading them word for word.
Just take a look at
FS 720.303(2) – BOARD MEETINGS
FS 720.303(2)(b) starts out by saying: “Members
have the right to attend all meetings of the board. The right to
attend such meetings includes the right to speak at such
meetings with reference to all designated items.”
But then the wording fails to explain what a “designated
item” actually is. I have heard attorneys explaining
these words by meaning agenda items. Well, makes sense to me,
but here comes the kicker: The public notice requirements for
HOAs in FS 720.303(2)(c)1. doesn’t really require the public
notice to contain an agenda. So, where does it leave the owners
wanting to speak to designated items on the agenda, as is their
right according to the statutes regulating HOAs? At the “good
will” of the board?
It’s getting better: If you continue reading the “Notice
Provision” you are finding a provision that regulates the notice
requirements if the HOA is using “broadcast notice” instead of
public notice. There you find suddenly the requirement to
broadcast an agenda: “When broadcast notice is provided, the
notice and agenda must be broadcast…”.
So, what is it? I guess nobody really knows? In my opinion it’s
just a another “weird” wording that allows attorneys to argue
about and create some extra income at the expense of the owners.
Why does it seem to be so difficult to word clear and precise
laws? Maybe some people with common sense should be tasked with
writing these laws instead of “expert attorneys”
who never seem to get it right!
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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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