Side Streets ~ Neighborhood people and issues

Archive for the 'Rep. Amy Stephens' Tag

STATE WOULD MONITOR HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS

May 12th, 2010, 4:51 pm by

 HOAs Gone Mild? 

That’s the goal of House Bill 1278, which passed the Colorado General Assembly on Tuesday. 

Eventually, at least. 

First the proposal to create a Homeowners Association Information and Resource Center it must be signed into law by Gov. Bill Ritter. 

That seems a formality given the bill was sponsored by two Democrats and passed the House on Tuesday on a straight party-line vote. 

State Rep. Amy Stephens, R-Monument

Republicans tried to stop it, led by Rep. Amy Stephens of Monument who called it a “terrible bill” and a “ridiculous” expansion of the state bureaucracy. 

She said it will lead to “state-run, state-controlled, state-regulated HOAs” and was unnecessary because there has been no outcry for change. 

Stephens said the bill was a response to a few people in extreme conflict with their HOAs.   

But Democrats pushed it through, giving victory to its sponsors, Rep. Su Ryden and Sen. Morgan Carroll, both of Aurora. 

Colorado Rep. Su Ryden, D-Aurora

Carroll is a familiar name to folks who follow HOA law in Colorado. She co-sponsored the 2005 Homeowners Bill of Rights. 

Colorado Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora

 Here’s a link to a blog I wrote recently detailing her work to regulate  HOAs and to rein in the covenants that govern life in the associations.  

Here’s another link to an interesting blog, HOA Legi-Slate, on the Hindman-Sanchez website where the Denver law firm monitors bills in the General Assembly  including the Ryden-Carroll bill.

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SMALL HOAS SEEK FAIRNESS FROM COLORADO LAWMAKERS

February 21st, 2010, 12:00 pm by

State Rep. Amy Stephens, R-Monument

 

Rep. Amy Stephens, a Monument Republican, has introduced a little bill in the 2010 Colorado General Assembly that would have a big impact on small homeowners associations.

Stephens’ bill, House Bill 1290, would allow small HOAs to exempt themselves from the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act, a law enacted in 1992 to govern condominium and townhome complexes as well as large neighborhoods that have jointly owned parks, trails, open space and covenants.

She calls it a matter of “common sense” because large condos and townhome

Jan Doran

complexes and sprawling subdivisions like Woodmoor with its 3,000 homes have much different issues than small single-family neighborhoods that were commonly build in the 1970s and ’80s.

To Jan Doran, administrator of the Discovery neighborhood homeowners association in Rockrimmon, it’s a matter of fairness.

Her HOA collects just $30 a year in dues from its 329 homeowners. That’s not even $10,000 in annual revenue. She said the HOA can’t afford all the government mandates handed down in recent years by the General Assembly.

It maintains a Web site where it posts all its covenants, bylaws, budgets, audits, reports and meeting minutes. But then there are the reports the HOA must produce for real estate agents and prospective buyers in addition to Discovery residents.

Attorney Lenard Rioth says an oversight in 1992 led to older, smaller HOAs to remain under the rule of CCIOA while newer, smaller HOAs were exempt. He said it’s time to allow the older, smaller HOAs like Discovery to opt out, too, if they like.

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