Q: After reading and re-reading my association bylaws, I am puzzled by my HOA board denying my changes because I installed 24-by-24-inch white stepping stones in front of my property so my guests could have a walkway. I was part of the ARC committee in the past, and as I interpreted the bylaws, I am only supposed to seek permission from the ARC committee and the HOA board if I am altering the architectural look of the property. My question is this: Did I really need to have filled out an ARC request? I do not think this small garden project broke the rules, nor did something out of the ordinary.

P.E., Tampa

A: While you may not read these exact words in your documents, use the following standard: Any time you do work or any change to the exterior of your home, submit an architectural change request (ARC request or form). Other than cutting grass and trimming hedges, submit an ARC request. If you plant a new flower, change your mailbox or cut down a tree, submit the form. Normally it does not cost anything, just a little time and planning. While you do not believe that your stones alter the appearance of your home, they are something that can be seen as different from your neighbor's home.

Q:I reside in a cooperative park and wonder if the same rules regarding the minutes of board meetings apply as you said in your column recently. We have a resident who sounds exactly like your reader and who has caused great turmoil over the last two years. He attends meetings and has an issue with every item and causes the meetings to last well beyond an hour.

S.C., Ruskin

A: You must understand how minutes will be used in the future: to record the business of the corporation. They will never be used for any thing official except if the association is sued or becomes involved legally in a lawsuit. So if the minutes will be used primarily in court in front of a judge, you should say as little as you can with only the facts. The judge will not be interested in what a disconcerted member is saying but only the motions and how they were voted. The minutes should reflect who was present and where and when the meeting took place. Putting too much in minutes may result in providing the court/judge with information they did not need.

As for the disruptive owner, the board needs to approve meeting guidelines that limit member discussion to only three minutes on agenda items. In other words, your directors need to take control of the meetings.

Write to Condo Line, Home, 1 Herald Plaza, Miami, FL 33132, or e-mail CAMquestion@cfl.rr.com. Include name and city.

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