This article describes the Notice of Architectural Guidelines and Procedures as it is defined in the new Davis-Stirling Act, effective January 1st, 2014.
An association must annually provide its members with notice of any requirements for association approval of physical changes to property. The notice must describe the types of changes that require association approval and include a copy of the procedure used to review and approve or disapprove a proposed change.
Requirements for Architectural Review
Listed below are the basic principles and rules upon which any procedure must be based. When developing its policy for review and approval or disapproval of a proposed change, the policy must meet the following requirements:
- The association’s procedure for making decisions shall be fair, reasonable, and expeditious. The procedure shall be included in the association’s governing documents, shall provide for prompt deadlines, and shall state the maximum time for response to an application or a request for reconsideration by the board.
- A decision on a proposed change shall be made in good faith and may not be unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious.
- Notwithstanding a contrary provision of the governing documents, a decision on a proposed change may not violate any governing provision of law, including, but not limited to, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (Part 2.8 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), or a building code or other applicable law governing land use or public safety.
- A decision on a proposed change shall be in writing. If a proposed change is disapproved, the written decision shall include both an explanation of why the proposed change is disapproved and a description of the procedure for reconsideration of the decision by the board.
- If a proposed change is disapproved, the applicant is entitled to reconsideration by the board, at an open meeting of the board. This paragraph does not require reconsideration of a decision that is made by the board or a body that has the same membership as the board, at a meeting that satisfies the requirements of Civil Code Article 2 of Chapter 6. Reconsideration by the board does not constitute dispute resolution within the meaning of Section 5905.
Learn more about Annual Policy Statement requirements.