On the other hand, the Board apparently is using incomplete information to justify unlimited new powers to more easily make significant decisions that could dangerously impact Member rights and property. And they continue to pursue an all-or-nothing approach rather than voting on individual issues.
Here are links to the current v4 documents with yellow-highlighted areas denoting, but not limited to, the following remaining unresolved issues:
PROPOSED REVISED ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION v4
1. Unlimited fines for rules violations, page 5, Article III 3. c. ... VERY DANGEROUS: "The Board of Directors may ... impose monetary charges when there exists a violation of any of the provisions of the Governing Documents or the Rules and Regulations." This could be financially devastating to retired homeowners on limited incomes.
2. Unlimited power to establish charges for Common Area use, page 5, Article III 3. d. ... Members could be charged for parking and other uses.
3. Unlimited "preferential" allocation by Board of Common Area use, page 5, Article III 3. d. ... What is the real intent of the new weasel word "preferential" vs. the previous weasel word "unequal" And "preferential" implies that some Members may be more equal than others.
4. Unlimited rules changes by Board, page 5, Article III 3. d. ... VERY DANGEROUS: "Rules and Regulations may be amended or repealed by the Board of Directors at any time." This new text gives the Board overwhelming and possibly abusive authority to change any rule at any time, with no notice or Member feedback. Currently, General Resolutions rules and regulations changes can only be made after sufficient notice to and feedback from Members within a clearly defined process, including an announced public Member hearing, described in HCA Special Resolution 2: Creation, Modification, and Deletion of Rules.
5. Six-month time limit for catastrophic damage repair, page 6, Article IV 4. ... DANGEROUS: This is an impossible deadline, considering major externally-controlled legal, administrative, contractor, and supply issues impacting catastrophe recovery. A recent lengthy Block 2 rowhouse recovery project is but one example. This limit also makes quickness a higher priority than quality work, full scope, or prohibitive expense.
6. Non-owner household members can be HCA Directors, page 6, Article VI ... VERY DANGEROUS: "The Board of Directors shall be composed of seven (7) persons, all of whom shall be Members of the Association or members of the Member's household ... ." ONLY vested homeowners-of-record should govern OTHER homeowners of record. NON-homeowner adult children, spouses, or tenants should NOT have that power. The Board attorney's larger-candidate-pool-is-better argument is a deceptive half-truth. HCA has virtually ALWAYS had seven Directors in place as outcomes of annual meetings. And actual HCA practice is that of surprise "ambush" nominations and other pre-planned and pre-supported actions AT, not before, annual meetings themselves, to strategically limit competition or opposition. Rarely do candidates announce their intentions BEFORE the meetings, and if they do they risk petty opposition. Example: At the 2023 annual meeting, an end-term Director publicly withheld their real intention to seek re-election until AT the annual meeting itself, not before, effectively thwarting other candidates. So in reality, there were FIVE candidates for THREE vacancies, not just ONE candidate as the Board cover letter FAQs and document footnotes deceivingly stated.
1. Unlimited power to establish charges for Common Area use, page 2, Article I 2. l. ... See Articles same issue above
2. Unlimited "preferential" allocation by Board of Common Area use, page 2, Article I 2. l. ... See Articles same issue above
3. Unlimited rules changes by Board, page 2, Article I 2. l. ... VERY DANGEROUS: See Articles same issue above
4. Unlimited proxy form manipulation by Board, page 5, Article III 7. (b) ... DANGEROUS: The current Board has manipulated the last few elections one way or another, as outlined in earlier posts on this website. This gives the Board additional options for manipulating proxy forms to eliminate non-Director proxies and other devices to promote a Board-preferred slate of candidates. One example: requiring all candidates to nominate BEFORE the annual meeting, and then extending the nomination period to other preferred candidates AFTER they know who pre-nominated. It will most likely be anti-competitive and unfair to candidates who do not agree with the status quo.
6. Non-owner household members can be HCA Directors, page 6, Article IV 3. (a) ... VERY DANGEROUS: See Articles same issue above
7. Unlimited Director candidate manipulation by Board, page 6, Article IV 3. (a) ... DANGEROUS: The current Board has manipulated the last few elections one way or another, as outlined in earlier posts on this website. This gives the Board additional options for now-officially recruiting and promoting their own Board-preferred slate of candidates. It will most likely be anti-competitive and unfair to candidates who do not agree with the status quo.
8. Unlimited amount of Lot repair charges to Members by Board, page 11, Article VIII 1. (a) ... VERY DANGEROUS: "Charges incurred by the Association in performing exterior maintenance on the Lot as permitted by the Reston Deed will be considered an assessment and collectible as such." This is new to the HCA Bylaws and could possibly be financially devastating to retired homeowners on limited incomes, even if actually allowed by the Reston Deed.
RECOMMENDATION: Until these proposed dangerous revisions are resolved, continue to vote AGAINST the proposed revised documents.