Attorney general weighs in on nixing Columbia Council
Interesting interaction between public and private government, forwarded by Nancy Levy. I am impressed that a public official took the time to opine on this issue, because I see so many examples of a hands-off approach that leaves associations to their own devices.
Doing away with the Columbia Council will not make it more difficult for elected Columbia Association officials to communicate with residents, according to a letter of advice from the office of Maryland's attorney general. The Aug. 18 letter from Robert A. Zarnoch, Maryland's assistant attorney general, addresses a Columbia Association board of directors' proposal to eliminate its role as the council. "In my view, the proposed elimination of the Columbia Council would not prevent the free exchange of views between CA directors and village residents," Zarnoch wrote in his letter. "Nor would it alter the directors' existing duty of loyalty to CA, their trustee responsibility with respect to CA members, or their obligation with respect to nondisclosure of confidential information."
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Also from the article:
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The quasi-public CA is a nonprofit homeowner's association that operates Columbia's recreational facilities and open space partly with revenue from annual tax-like fees it charges Columbia property owners.
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Critics of the move on the board and in the community argued the board would become almost a corporate entity that would work for the good of the CA and not residents.
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This is an interesting concept.
The critics contend that, as a "quasi-public" HOA, board members will work for the good of a corporate entity that is comprised of all owners of units in the subdivision, but not work for the good of the residents -- unless, presumably, what is good for the residents is also good for the "quasi-public" HOA..
..that is almost a corporate entity..
..but yet consists of individual members who form in the aggregate an organic whole..
..ruled by a "private" government..
..with powers, duties, and responsibilities that parallel those of a municipal government..
..but that is conveniently viewed by the law (that the Industry wrote) as a business entity rather than as a government...
..even though an association of homeowners cannot by any stretch of the imagination be held to be a business..
Sources:
Privatopia and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ConcernedHomeowners/message/154
Nice photo of yourself, Rico.
These enormous "New Towns" like Columbia are few and far between. They are too risky for the builders. And the self-governance issues are becoming very challenging for these older private communities. They are dealing with major population change, infrastructure deterioration, and no outside help of the sort that cities get.
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