Selective Compliance vs. Selective Enforcement vs. Proactive Compliance
The following is a member submitted posting.
Getting Clarity!
There are three dynamics occurring in Surfside with regard to owner compliance with the Restrictive Covenants (CC&Rs). The Restrictive Covenants as amended August 18, 2018, list the Owners Responsibilities that owners shall comply with the CC&Rs. All members are required to uphold their responsibilities with the CC&Rs; owners do not have the option of ignoring some or all of the covenants.
Selective Compliance - (Surfside UNITED members)
Surfside United supporters and some members complain that they don't want to comply with the owner responsibilities, (CC&Rs Section 5.0 - Owner Responsibilities), because "it's not fair", that it's their private property, and it's their right to do what they want with their private property regardless of what the CC&Rs require them to do. Their desire to remove all covenants that relate to use of properties, such as tree heights and RV restrictions is self-serving and not in the spirit or honor of the commitment made when purchasing in SHOA. This form of "Selective Compliance" violates the CC&Rs while potentially taking away the rights of other owners who comply with all the CC&Rs.
Selective Enforcement
This form of enforcement is not happening although the perception lingers and is magnified by a vocal minority. There has been much talk about 'selective enforcement' or unequal enforcement of the CC&Rs. Under Owners Responsibilities, Section 5.1 states that, "Members have the right and responsibility to report any violations of Restrictive Covenants. Forms for reporting are available at the Association Office." In the past, violations were reported to the HOA by members. Some members are hesitant to file complaints against other members who are violating the CC&Rs. The member complaint driven process creates the appearance of selective enforcement. The HOA recognized that relying solely on a complaint driven process was not working well.
Proactive Compliance (HOA Compliance Efforts)
Proactive compliance was implemented in 2021 through the Tree, Brush, Vegetation and Noxious Weeds Committee. Recent claims have been made that there was no previous notice of proactive compliance in Surfside, and it was just implemented without warning. That is a false statement. Here are the facts:
In the published minutes of June 4, 2021 The Tree, Brush, Vegetation and Noxious Weeds Committee advised the following:
Getting Clarity!
There are three dynamics occurring in Surfside with regard to owner compliance with the Restrictive Covenants (CC&Rs). The Restrictive Covenants as amended August 18, 2018, list the Owners Responsibilities that owners shall comply with the CC&Rs. All members are required to uphold their responsibilities with the CC&Rs; owners do not have the option of ignoring some or all of the covenants.
Selective Compliance - (Surfside UNITED members)
Surfside United supporters and some members complain that they don't want to comply with the owner responsibilities, (CC&Rs Section 5.0 - Owner Responsibilities), because "it's not fair", that it's their private property, and it's their right to do what they want with their private property regardless of what the CC&Rs require them to do. Their desire to remove all covenants that relate to use of properties, such as tree heights and RV restrictions is self-serving and not in the spirit or honor of the commitment made when purchasing in SHOA. This form of "Selective Compliance" violates the CC&Rs while potentially taking away the rights of other owners who comply with all the CC&Rs.
Selective Enforcement
This form of enforcement is not happening although the perception lingers and is magnified by a vocal minority. There has been much talk about 'selective enforcement' or unequal enforcement of the CC&Rs. Under Owners Responsibilities, Section 5.1 states that, "Members have the right and responsibility to report any violations of Restrictive Covenants. Forms for reporting are available at the Association Office." In the past, violations were reported to the HOA by members. Some members are hesitant to file complaints against other members who are violating the CC&Rs. The member complaint driven process creates the appearance of selective enforcement. The HOA recognized that relying solely on a complaint driven process was not working well.
Proactive Compliance (HOA Compliance Efforts)
Proactive compliance was implemented in 2021 through the Tree, Brush, Vegetation and Noxious Weeds Committee. Recent claims have been made that there was no previous notice of proactive compliance in Surfside, and it was just implemented without warning. That is a false statement. Here are the facts:
In the published minutes of June 4, 2021 The Tree, Brush, Vegetation and Noxious Weeds Committee advised the following:
Notice of the Pro-Compliance was published in four issues of the Weekender: June 18, 2021; June 25, 2021; July 2, 2021, and July 9, 2021
The notice was also presented at the July 10, 2021 Annual Meeting in the Tree Committee report, "Based on member input, we have moved away from complaint driven compliance to proactive compliance. We have a new Compliance Officer and a new program for processing compliance issues."
The Surfside HOA Board responded to the concerns of owners who felt that the complaint driven compliance process was sporadic and didn't address many of the violations, and so the Board took action to develop a proactive compliance process for all violations of the CC&Rs, not only for the tree and vegetation height restrictions. This action is in full accordance with CC&Rs Section 6.0 - Restrictive Covenant Enforcement, 6.1 stating, "This Section 6 establishes the general mechanism for enforcing these covenants. The Board may adopt procedures, policies and methods to implement these enforcement provisions..."
The Surfside HOA Board responded to the concerns of owners who felt that the complaint driven compliance process was sporadic and didn't address many of the violations, and so the Board took action to develop a proactive compliance process for all violations of the CC&Rs, not only for the tree and vegetation height restrictions. This action is in full accordance with CC&Rs Section 6.0 - Restrictive Covenant Enforcement, 6.1 stating, "This Section 6 establishes the general mechanism for enforcing these covenants. The Board may adopt procedures, policies and methods to implement these enforcement provisions..."