Lake Sherwood HOA board should stick with CC&Rs

It was interesting to read in the Sept. 13 issue of the T.O. Acorn that the board of the Lake Sherwood HOA granted a waiver to their CC&Rs (covenants, conditions and restrictions) by formally exempting a member from the association's pet restrictions.

If that's not downright illegal it is certainly a slippery slope which opens the association up to all kinds of potential problems.

I can only imagine all the new requests for waivers and the members' reasons, whether true or false, which will be coming their way.

Homeowners associations rely upon their elected board members, directors, to act in a fiduciary manner and to be fair and impartial. The law requires it. A fiduciary duty is the highest standard of care, requiring extreme loyalty to the association, which is a separate legal entity owned by the membership.

Being a board director is often a thankless volunteer job. Members often pressure directors for waivers and exemptions and, if not granted, often brand the directors as heartless or Nazis. Sometimes, these selfish members have the biggest mouths and eventually win because they wear down these volunteers who say they just don't need the aggravation anymore.

Also, the director, as a fiduciary, must not put their personal interests before the duty and must not profit from their position as a fiduciary. A fiduciary cannot have a conflict of interest and must conduct themselves "at a level higher than that trodden by the crowd."

Some association CC&Rs specifically prohibit certain members from being directors, such as those with obvious conflicts of interest. Examples are real estate agents who do business within the association and members who are delinquent in their dues. Others may not be specifically excluded by their CC&Rs but should be, such as those who seek or get special favors or treatment.

When directors act outside of a fiduciary capacity, it exposes the entire membership to unnecessary lawsuits and monetary settlements. Members who are unaware of that quickly become educated the first time they have to reach deep into their own pockets for inappropriate actions of their association's board.
John Fonti
Newbury Park