Homeowner Rights are an important issue for California's CLRC

First Supplement to Memorandum 2005-25
Statutory Clarification and Simplification of CID Law (Public Comment)

HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATION AS LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Mr. Staropoli asserts that a homeowner association has much more in common with a local government entity than it does with the typical nonprofit corporation. See Exhibit p. 6. Accordingly, he feels that a homeowner association should be subject to the same constitutional and statutory constraints that govern a state entity:

Our system of government with its checks and balances,
separation of powers, “clean elections” procedures, due process
protections in terms of sufficient notice of violations and hearings
in which the homeowner can confront the allegations, examine the
witnesses, and present evidence must be applied to CIDs.

The issue raised by Mr. Staropoli — the extent to which a CID should be subject to the sorts of constraints that apply to a governmental entity — is an important one. However, it is beyond the scope of the current project. The Commission will consider the issue in a later stage of its general study of CID law.

Brian Hebert
Assistant Executive Secretary
California Law Review Commission

See July 6, 2005 editorial, Property Interests
See March 14, 2005 CLRC letter on Rights.