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Four Seasons Votes on CC&R Amendment The Davis-Sterling Act, which governs common developments like Four Seasons, requires the Breeze to publish residents' opinions on issues brought to a vote in the community. Further, the act does not allow any editing of those opinions provided the comments are "reasonably related" to the election. Pursuant to that requirement, please see the un-edited article below by resident George Johnson. By George Johnson Once again it is election time to change the CC&Rs in regards to the residency requirements. The Board of Directors presents this election as a "tightening up" of residency requirement and this is not true. The changes actually increase the number of people allowed to live here. A true, accurate, complete and convincing argument can be presented in the following statement: "Passage of this amendment is required to bring our CC&Rs in compliance with governing state law. Failure to pass this amendment may result in civil penalties to the association." This is accurate, simple and convincing. Let it go at that. Having said that I would like to point out the following: According to Rules and Regulations Committee power point presentation, page 19, dated 4/01/2011, the cost of an election is between $3,500 and $7,000. Governing state and federal laws have amended CC&Rs over 500 times since the Davis-Sterling act was first passed, thus it is clear our CC&Rs are not current and will never be current unless an expensive election is held every year or sooner. Why not just amend our CC&Rs to include a provision that states these are the current CC&Rs and they might be changed "in accordance with applicable provisions of future state and federal laws." Then add a provision to the CC&Rs reserving the right to prepare a comparison chart that will identify the current statute and the updated statute, which will attach to the recorded documents. This would end the endless expensive elections for amendments we have no control over and limit elections to amendments we do have control over, such as parking and other "local issues." In the end, it matters not what our CC&Rs state. Davis-Sterling is the law of the land and governs the operation of a Homeowners Association. CC&Rs in conflict with Davis-Sterling are not enforceable. Thus, this election is a needless and pointless expense. If the Board of Directors is insistent on changing the CC&Rs there are numerous changes that need to be made to our CC&Rs including the following requirement of California Civil Code §1363.03(a): "An association shall adopt rules, in accordance with the procedures prescribed by Article 4 (commencing with Section 1357.100) of Chapter 2, that do all of the following: (1) Ensure that if any candidate or member advocating a point of view is provided access to association media, newsletters, or Internet Web sites during a campaign, for purposes reasonably related to that election, equal access shall be provided to all candidates and members advocating a point of view… The association shall not edit or redact any content…" If we are going to hold an election to update our CC&Rs, I request you amend ours to include the provisions of (1) which is conspicuous in its absence, makes our CC&R's presently in violation of state law and makes the Association subject to expensive court sanctions and the voiding of this election. (Civil Code §1363.03(a)(1)). Final CC&R Town Hall Held The final Town Hall meeting to explain the proposed CC&R amendment was held Sept. 11, in the Lodge Ballroom. Some 500 homeowners attended the three Town Halls and the 15 "mini Town Halls" held in residents' homes, said Louise Lyon who is heading the Rules and Regulations Committee effort to pass the amendment. Voting on the measure began in September when ballots were mailed to homeowners by The Ballot Box, an outside agency hired to make sure of a secret ballot and a professional count. The ballots use a two-envelope system COMMUNITY NEWS The opinions expressed do not reflect the opinions of the Board of Directors and are not endorsed by the Board. All content is solely the responsibility of the member submitting the opinion. Beside Mr. Johnson's article is a reply by Jacque Sneddon, president of the HOA Board, Loren DuChesne, Vice President and Wayne Staples, Treasurer. By Jacque Sneddon, HOA Board president, Loren DuChesne, Vice President, and Wayne Staples, Treasurer The following is to address some misinformation in Mr. Johnson's comments. Mr. Johnson is not correct in stating this amendment will increase the number of people allowed to live here. There is no change in who is eligible to live in our community. We are taking this opportunity to update this CC&R section to comply with the Civil Code. The major amendment being proposed is to define "prolonged absence" by incorporating the definition allowed by the Civil Code. This will make "prolonged absence" less open to interpretation and will strengthen our ability to enforce age restrictions. Mr. Johnson is correct in stating the Civil Code takes precedence over our CC&Rs; however, in this case, the Civil Code makes including the definition for "prolonged absence" a choice. The wording must be adopted into our CC&Rs before we can use this stricter guideline. This amendment is a responsible action by the Association and any expense incurred is to our community's benefit. When the Civil Code allows a stricter standard we need to evaluate the benefits of that standard for our community. If it would improve our CC&Rs then we should consider amending our CC&Rs. It is not necessary for us to amend our CC&Rs every time the Civil Code is changed since the Civil Code takes precedence. Our CC&Rs can not be stricter. which ensures that only qualified homeowners vote and that the vote is secret. The HOA Board has repeatedly emphasized the importance of all residents voting. The amendment is designed to strengthen Four Seasons' 55-and- up age restrictions. An amendment to the CC&Rs requires a majority of all homeowners -- not just those voting -- to pass. General Manager Lisa Lynn said 436 ballots had been received by Sept. 12. The HOA wants to have over 700 before the vote count begins. The ballots can be mailed or turned in at the Lodge. ~ Leighton McLaughlin. FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | OCTOBER 2012 5

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