NOTES FOR PROSPECTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING ON RECOMMENDATION FOR FORMING DNR-APPROVED NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION +++ these notes or a revised version will be the report submitted to the board - please edit, amend, correct, or do whatever you wish to them... +++ this and related files are up on URL: http://www.rupley.com/~guest/EEEHA/DNR/ ** Reasons to form city-approved association: +++ the following should be ranked in importance; +++ are there reasons not included in the list below? * nhood assn (NA) board automatically noticed by: DSD: rezoning and variance requests Clerk's office: liquor licenses Transportation: plans and projects TPD: meetings and victim's rights board must intend to make use of notices received by actively participating in process, i.e., by working with EEE residents involved, as tutor, advocate, or adversary * information distributed to officers of NA: from city from nhood working groups * occasional help with cleanups, carried out by residents as volunteers * mailings, if convert EEEHA to EEENA (HOA to NA) * access to certain city grants and programs * block EEE insurgent group from hijacking organizational voice NOTE: there are tasks undertaken by a neighborhood assn (HOA or NA or ...) that are independent of DNR, such as working with TPD on nhood watch and crime, working with the ward office and the city on infrastructure (roads, signs, etc.), and more. ** Possibile actions: +++ agree on one course of action to be recommended to board, +++ or rank options * Form city-approved neighborhood association: dual structure: create new city-approved association, keep homeowner's association single city-approved association: change bylaws etc to accord with city requirements, i.e., convert EEEHA to EEENA * Form city-approved coalition: e.g., with Colonia Solana; simple to do, if city allows two HOAs to form coalition; essentially same benefits as city-approved NA * Wait for and work for NPZ: overlay restrictions would replace noticing by DSD, etc. * Do nothing... ** Should we form city-approved association? * Benefits: list given in first sub-section, above, ranked by importance * Costs: a board member must take on a possibly heavy responsibility for receiving, analyzing, and forwarding information to other board members, relevant EEEHA members, etc. limitations on charter and bylaws conditions not allowed: property owner's rights deed restrictions, covenants assessments from property owners any mention of "homeowners association" membership: open to all residents renters and owners and optionally open to non-resident property owners businesses voting: dues allowed as a requirement; may specify one vote per parcel or household, with single vote divided among residents of household, if more than one privacy meetings: must be open to public if notice mailed by DNR - this true for both membership and board meetings mailing list: source of list Bender, commercial compiler, using public information; Bender leases list to DNR content of list each addressable mailbox; mail is to "Occupant", one item to each address additions to list: nhood association can submit names to be added to mailing list, as an external addon, e.g., non-resident property owners access to list: city departments, e.g., DSD; others, outside of city gov., to whom Bender leases list NOTE: list created by Bender does not include any privileged information from nhood assn - thus no special privacy problem publication of information: documents submitted to DNR are public record: officers' names and release forms charter and bylaws minutes of annual meeting minutes of meetings that change officers bylaws mailings not required submissions, and thus not public: minutes of meetings other than above internally-generated membership list annual audit or other reports some information is published on DNR website: e.g., officers' names, mailings, etc. restrictions on mailings: DNR must make certain mailings - notices of: annual meeting meeting to change bylaws, etc. DNR censors mailings - approves them only if: no mention of "homeowners association" no advertisements no political information, except can give: voting information notice of politically balanced meeting restrictions on expenditure of dues: apparently, none, if allowed by bylaws and ARS e.g., dues can be expended for: legal fees in suit vs city donation to political campaign dissolution of city-approved NA: simple, by letter or by DNR form, with meeting minutes ** If form city-approved association, how do this? * Dual structure - parallel HOA and NA? easy to set up awkward to run, keeping HOA and NA cleanly separate, as required by city, but working in concert: board membership neighborhood mailings dues and legal kitty and expenditures two annual parties? two directories? two newsletters? etc. insurance and legal protections for boards can dual function be built into dual structure? one board meets regularly, carrying out duties of neighborhood representatives other board meets once per year, at its annual meeting, with tacitly no duties during the year, except forwarding notices received from the city to the first board, and perhaps a bit more, e.g.. cleanups violation of spirit of neighborhood association: HOA is for real NA is for show (for the city, to get benefits such as noticing, cleanup help, ...) ethics? legal difficulties? two interlocking but separate boards? * Single structure - Revise articles and bylaws? not as easy to do, but not difficult to revise articles/bylaws renters not likely to be a significant fraction of EEE residents in foreseeable future above problems associated with dual structure vanish new problems: acceptance by eeeha membership reluctance to change HOA structure control by city, at least wrt reporting and privacy * Summary of conversations with officers of four NA with one or more exiting HOA within boundaries of NA (Midvale Park, Udall Park, Rita Ranch, Mesquite Ranch): Not like EEE situation - in all cases, HOAs were functioning as enforcers of CCRs, etc., and not as enhancers of the well-being of residents (as distinct from property values) HOAs and NA covering same area were not interlocked and functioned separately, each effective within its sphere Noticing by dsd etc. was seen as important among the benefits of forming NA; it was seen as the most important benefit by the most affluent NA contacted (Udall Park) All officers spoken with were enthusiastic, some wildly so - one is uplifted Close relations with ward office was repeatedly noted as central to NA function ** Should we form city-approved coalition? * Can nhoods with no city-approved NA (but with HOA) form coalition? Yes, if application: does not mention any existing HOAs; is between a relatively small number of people (presumably in this instance, for EEEHA and CSHA, the officers of each group, in number at least 10), who would describe themselves as residents wishing to form a more perfect union * Benefits, basically as for city-approved NA this needs to be checked: does dsd use list from DNR of officers of coalitions? are coalitions on DNR listserv? is there access to city grants and programs? mailings to all neighborhood residences would not be possible under coalition (mailings only to those listed in application) * Need interest from another HOA or NA * NOTE: if we were to form a city-approved NA, and then form a coalition, perhaps the "El Con Coalition", with other NA, e.g., Colonia Solana, El Conquistador, Montevideo, etc., there might be additional advantages (one more voice, speaking for a larger number of voters) * Information from DNR - at website URL given at end of this file: DNR-coalitions-application-b-mod1.pdf DNR-coalitions-info-1-mod1.pdf +++ To be considered * Difficulties and dangers versus benefits of action(s) recommended to board * Estimate the (expected) level of enthusiasm for recommended action: among board members among EEEHA membership * Review by legal counsel of particular action to be taken +++ Advice * From city representatives Laura Burge, Ward 6 rep; Andrea Ibanez and Leticia Bermudez, Neighborhood Resources; Mike Rankin, City Attorney all agree, use dual structure, keep HOA and form new NA +++ From committee +++ to be filled in ** Various Reference URLs: [this and related files are up at following URL] http://www.rupley.com/~guest/EEEHA/DNR/ files: README.txt DNR-comm-meet.txt [this file] DNR-background.txt DNR-coalitions-application-b-mod1.pdf DNR-coalitions-info-1-mod1.pdf DNR-081003.pdf DNR-collection-081003.pdf DNR-meeting-080930.txt DNR-meeting-081009.txt DNR-meeting-081125.txt DNR-questions-081125.txt [suggested by Elaine Hegstrom - websites with agendas online] http://www.tucsonaz.gov/agdocs/ http://www.tucsonaz.gov/dsd/What_s_New/Public_Meetings/public_meetings.html http://www.tucsonaz.gov/planning/prog_proj/projects/rezoning/ [dsd - codes and ordinances, incl. chap 23A (development compliance), development standards, and luc] http://www.ci.tucson.az.us/dsd/Codes___Ordinances/codes___ordinances.html [dsd - zoning administration] http://www.ci.tucson.az.us/dsd/Codes___Ordinances/Zoning_Admin/zoning_admin.html