June Sparks says better communication equals less conflict and harmonious neighborhoods.
So
Sparks, who lived through a bitter dispute over landscaping in her own
Foothills subdivision, is pushing for the state to require open
meetings between homeowners associations and residents.
Boise
Democratic Sen. Mike Burkett plans to take the idea to the Legislature
this winter. He’s hoping to prevent disputes at meetings of the nearly
2,500 registered homeowners’ associations across the state.
“It
makes sense that HOAs adhere to simple rules about open meetings and
public information and some of the same rules we want our other bodies
of government to subscribe to and abide by,” he said.
In Spark’s
case, the homeowners association wanted to remove view-obstructing
trees and a trampoline, among other things. She wanted to address the
board in person, but said she never had a chance.
Sparks said she considered suing and even hired an attorney, but decided it wasn’t worth the fight.
“I realized I didn’t want to put my entire neighborhood through a lawsuit that would be costly,” Sparks said.
“Instead, I decided to find out what the laws were and look into those laws. ”
Sparks
found that Idaho doesn’t have any laws requiring homeowners
associations to comply with state open meetings laws — something she
said her research showed at least 40 states require. She contacted
Burkett to help.
