Page 15 - Nevada Cooperator January 2019

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THE NEVADA COOPERATOR —
JANUARY 2019
15
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with minimal need at all for a gym – not as,” notes McKelleb. “Because of this, many
to mention playground equipment – might associations have begun to adopt policies –
not be as quick to prioritize upgrades and some with consideration of FAA rules and
enhancements to those amenities, so the some without – to restrict their use, because
onus is on the new guard to champion those they make it easy to spy on a neighbor’s
common areas. “The biggest thing we see in backyard that otherwise is concealed by a
regard to changing demographics is that block wall.”
money actually gets spent to revitalize the
old and unused equipment,” says Brucker.
“It’s not a rewriting of a rule necessarily, but will act to avoid change and maintain the
rather a signal of evolving philosophies.”
Satellites?
A less obvious issue related to America’s Fischel Kahn in Chicago, notes that often
unquenchable thirst for additional enter-
tainment options is that of the satellite dish, it’s to make them more punitive, not less.
about which attitudes have changed signifi-
cantly over the last decade-plus.
In the heyday of DirecTV during the cess involved in fining owners, or imposing
mid-aughts, satellite television appeared other penalties on owners for violations of
to be the wave of the future. “Sometime association documents,” Rosenbaum says.
around 10 years ago, the FCC ruled that “Boards tend to find fining other owners
community associations could not flat distasteful, and generally hope that it won’t
out prohibit satellite dishes, and that they be necessary – and because of that, the rules
had to be allowed in limited common ar-
eas” says David Barrett, President of RCM gial. But as boards have been told by courts
Services in Allston, Massachusetts. “This to take their duties more seriously, and as
meant that they could still be prohibited [in owners have pushed the limits of ‘neigh-
associations] where there were no limited borliness,’ boards have found that they have
common areas, but other associations had to enforce their documents. And the more
to put limitations on dish installation lest the rules spell out exactly how that process
residents go wild.”
Since then, streaming services like Net-
flix, Hulu, and others have come on the as bulletproof as possible, in case the matter
scene and changed the game. “Everyone comes up before a court.”
cool (lol) is binge watching Netflix and Am-
azon,” jokes Scott B. Piekarsky, Managing increasingly leading to progressive change
Member of the Wyckoff, New Jersey-based can sometimes yield the opposite. For ex-
law firm Piekarsky & Associates, LLC, while ample, Barrett notes that while it’s likely
pointing to the very real – and somewhat that associations will have to welcome emo-
ironic – trend of associations loosening tional support animals, many boards are
their rules around satellite installations just reacting to this by drafting rules that make
as the increasing reliance on streaming ser-
vices has sharply reduced the demand for against pet owners, should Fido or Fluffy
clunky exterior dishes.
Drones
The affordability of drones has enabled boards want to maintain their control,” Bar-
those with authoritarian tendencies to turn rett notes. “I haven’t seen many communi-
their communities into surveillance states – ties acting progressively, i.e., ‘Let’s just make
and associations have had to react accord-
ingly to protect the privacy of individual thing like that.”
residents.
“The cost of drones has dropped signifi-
cantly, and almost all of them have camer-
Conservatives
Of course, in many instances, a board
status quo for as long as possible. Mark R.
Rosenbaum, a principal at the law firm of
when boards proactively revise their rules,
“The most common change I see is that
the board spells out in some detail the pro-
governing the process have often been vesti-
is to happen, the more boards can use that
road map to make sure that the process is
Even the issues discussed above that are
it easier for them to take remedial action
cause problems.
“Generally speaking, in New England
it easier for everyone to have pets,’ or any-
And when progressive change does
come, it may not be immediate. Brucker
agrees that as stated previously, human be-
ings have an inclination to resist change.
“There are many people, when presented
with any alteration to the status quo, will
automatically be negative,” he says. “But
when enough of their neighbors stand up at
an annual meeting and advocate for things
like park benches, or a place to put stroll-
ers, the board has to listen, or that board
won’t be sitting in its seats much longer.”
n
Mike Odenthal is a staff writer/reporter for
The Nevada Cooperator.
both gym and playroom rules. We ask that
residents clean up after their children and
that they not have parties in the playroom.
We also use the Duprey machine in the play-
room. It cleans everything and anything.”
Rapolla says that while they don’t have
a specific policy to keep sick kids out of the
playroom at 77 Hudson, they do what they
can to keep the playroom hygienic. They got
rid of all the small toys, and wipe down ev-
erything a couple of times a day. He relates
a story of one resident who accused them of
keeping a dirty playroom after her grandchild
became sick following a visit. Rapolla showed
her the sign-off logs building staff uses to
keep track of cleaning and hygiene, as well as
the products they used. That satisfied the resi-
dent, who backed off her accusations.
Screening Rooms
Rapolla says his building allows light
snacking in its movie screening room, and
that maintenance staff does a thorough clean-
ing of the space every week. An exterminator
visits once a month. The local fire department
does a walk through once a year, and the New
Jersey Department of Community Affairs
(DCA) also inspects once every five years to
make sure all the smoke alarms are working.
However, Hamilton says: “The trend is
away from screening rooms.” That said, she
recommends that if your building has one –
or wants to put one in – give a great deal of
thought to the materials used, from flooring
to seat upholstery. Install anti-bacterial and
anti-fungal products on the floors, and walls
and seat covers can make it significantly easi-
er to maintain a clean, hygienic environment.
Liability or Amenity?
Jeff Turk is a partner in the law firm of
Turk & Quijano, located in Braintree, Mas-
sachusetts. According to him: “Associations
are not the guarantors of the unit owners’
health and safety on the property. Rather,
they are bound by the standards of negligence
for most claims. In other words, they are re-
quired to exercise a reasonable degree of care
to persons lawfully on the property. In rela-
tion to pools, spas, and other such amenities,
they have an obligation to use reasonable care
to ensure that the systems are safe and prop-
erly maintained. This standard is usually met
by retaining a professional company to test
and care for the amenity. It is also a good idea
to be sure that your contract with such pro-
viders contains an indemnity to the associa-
tion in the event there is any violation of law
or unsafe condition which causes damages.
“Maintaining good records on main-
tenance and service is also crucial,” Turk
continues. “Such records will often assist in
defeating claims by either showing that the
association had no knowledge of a defect,
or that the system was in compliance with
all laws and regulations. Finally, a recurring
claim we are seeing is for mold-related in-
juries from air quality and, more recently,
from humid areas such as pools and hot tubs.
Since one of the primary issues in such cases
is to prove that the alleged damages arose
from our equipment rather than from other
sources, maintaining good records relating to
cleaning and treatment is extremely impor-
tant to defeat such claims.”
Finally, if your association is considering
putting in a gym, spa, or other amenity pack-
age, here is some expert advice: “If you’re go-
ing to put in a gym,” says Wollman, “put in
one with adequate equipment. The space has
to be well equipped enough for the residents
to actually use it.”
Hamilton adds: “Be careful. Hire a profes-
sional to design the facility and plan it out.”
In the end, there’s no point in spending the
money if it won’t improve your residents’ lives
and raise the values of their units.
n
A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter with
The Nevada Cooperator, and a published nov-
elist.
HYGIENE...
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