Hello Cyber Followers!
Things are starting to heat up at the Arizona Legislature. Our firm is currently watching ten bills that affect community associations.
One notable bill that we are closely following pertains to parking violations in a planned community:
SB1385: Homeowners Association, Traffic Enforcement
For associations where the association owns or otherwise has legal authority over the road sand parking areas in the planned community and takes enforcement action regarding the use of those roads or parking areas, the following apply: 1) the association is required to provide written notice to the owner regarding the date, time and location of the violation within 24 hours after the violation occurs, 2) the notice of violation shall state the make and model of the vehicle and shall describe the operator of the vehicle, 3) any fine or fee assessed may not exceed the standard fine or fee that would be levied by an enforcement officer in that town or city.
In my opinion, this bill is problematic in numerous ways. It will be borderline impossible to provide written notice 24 hours after the violation occurred. It will also be extremely difficult to give a description of operator of the vehicle (tinted windows?). Finally, limiting the amount of fines to whatever the city charges is going to make it not worth it for associations to bother with issuing a fine. I am pretty confident that all of these restrictions are a way to hinder associations from regulating parking and traffic within their associations!
Please watch! Every Monday during the legislative year, we post of a summary of proposed legislation to keep you up-to-date on what is happening with the house and senate bills working their way through the legislative process. You can find our summary on the Publications Page under Legislative Updates, Legislative Update Summary.
Please contact our office if you have questions regarding the legislature or community association governance.
Beth Mulcahy, Esq.
