• Are you confused by the explosion of video services over the Internet? Want to watch movies and TV programs delivered by Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, Amazon video, and Sling TV?
• Allan Hide from Fairfax County's Department of Cable and Consumer Services will cover the "enabling devices" (including Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick, Blu-ray players, and game consoles) required to access these services. He will also share tips on ways to lower one's cable bills and will clarify the tech specs on buying a new TV. A Q&A session will follow the presentation.
• Allan's office manages the development of cable and its regulation in the county, including standards, construction and complaints. His division coversees the county's non-exclusive cable television franchise agreements with Comcast of Virginia Inc., Cox Communications Northern Virginia, and Verizon Virginia Inc. through enforcement of the franchise agreements, inspection of the facilities, and attention to citizen concerns. For more info, go to http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/cable/regulation/.

• We are fortunate that a good bill was approved by the Local Government Committee on February 2nd and is on its way to the Senate floor. The vote will occur not later than Tuesday, so please email and/or call as many Senators as possible no later than Monday morning.
• Below are talking points

For Responsible and Fair Short-term Rentals Please Support Sb 1578 (Norment) Without Amendments

• SB 1578 upholds local government authority to establish and maintain applicable state and local laws, ordinances and regulations.
• SB 1578 permits localities to establish penalties for hosts in violation of the locally developed rules.

Airbnb's Attempt to Undermine Accountability:

• Airbnb is expected to seek amendments to SB 1578 that could restrict localities' authority to implement regulations in a way the best serves each community.
Airbnb wants to:
• Undermine enforcement of tax collection and avoid enforcement of rental limitations by hiding the information about stays at a large segment of properties.
• Preempt local governments' zoning and land use authority by mandating that short-term rentals be permitted anywhere.
• Keep neighbors in the dark about whether a neighboring property is a short-term rental property by restricting registration to only properties rented for more than 30 days per year.
• Restrict accountability for tax collection by forbidding localities from conducting any audit of applicable taxes paid by the online rental platform.

SB 1578 will promote regulations that are fair, reasonable and consistent with other home-based businesses.

• Hosts must register that they are renting rooms
• All currently required taxes must be collected and remitted.
• Hosts must demonstrate compliance with reasonable local zoning requirements.

Vote YES on SB 1578

A model for Home-owner/Condo association declarations has been developed by the Virginia Legislature and HOA lawyers for use in developing declarations of new associations and for possible improvements in the declarations of existing associations. The model has been modified according to the comments that were received before December 1, 2015.

New Rules for Property Owners’ Associations (POA's): By 2015 HB 1632, the Code of Virginia requires the Common Interest Community Board (Board) to “develop and publish best practices for the content of declarations consistent with the requirements of the Property Owners’ Association Act (§ 55-508 et seq.).” Declarations refer to the specific sets of legal documents that create common interest communities. Usually, the "declarant" is the developer who draws up the declaration initially, which is then subject to change by the association membership (property owners).

A draft of the Best Practices document, and its recommendation will be presented at the Board’s December 10, 2015, meeting. View the draft at:
    VIEW DRAFT (pdf) | Best Practices for the Content of POA Declarations
Comments on the draft Best Practices document must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 30, 2015. Comments should focus on best practices applicable to all associations generally and be limited to the topic of declarations. Direct your comments to the attention of the Board’s Executive Director, Trisha L. Henshaw, through ONE of the following methods: E-mail: CIC@dpor.virginia.gov or Fax: 866-490-2723 or Regular mail: DPOR, 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 400, Richmond, VA 23233-1485

• For member associations responsible for stormwater facility maintenance, Fairfax County offers a free day of training for the maintenance contractors. Kindly pass this information to your contractor.
• What: Stormwater Facility Maintenance Awareness Training Program for stormwater facility maintenance contractors
• WHere: Herrity Building, 12055 Government Center Parkway (Rooms 106 & 107)
• Deadline for registration:  October 2 (close of business) 
• Registration Link: http://tinyurl.com/oxxvktp
• PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS TO ENSURE QUALITY OF TRAINING:
  1. Only 2 attendees per company
  2. Current/valid Virginia Business License
  3. If office is in Fairfax County, a current BPOL tax (Business/Professional/ Occupational Licenses)
  4. Facility Type(s) your company services (e.g., Wet/Dry Ponds, Underground Detention Facilities, Bio-retention, Vegetated Roofs, etc.)

For a limited time, the Conservation District will work with Fairfax County homeowners associations (HOAs) and owners of individual properties to develop a 3-year nutrient management plan for their lawn areas. Individual properties must be 2 acres or larger. For HOAs, no size restrictions apply, but management plans will only be created for common areas.

The program is a modest cost-share in which the property owner or HOA pays for soil tests ($10 each, plus mailing) which are processed by Virginia Tech. The results of the soil test(s) will be used by the District's Senior Conservation Specialist and Certified Nutrient Management Planner to develop the nutrient management plan and provide guidance on recommended fertilizer/lime applications, the size of the area to be treated, opportunities to reduce or eliminate grass, dates and duration of applications, a lawn care calendar, and opportunities for controlling weeds. If implemented, the plans will reduce lawn care costs and maintenance, and also support healthy local waterways, the Potomac River, and the Chesapeake Bay. To sign up, please contact Willie Woode at willie.woode @ fairfaxcounty.gov. This program is funded by a grant from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.

For individual properties that are less than 2 acres, please consider the Fairfax County Master Gardeners' Home Turf program: http://fairfaxgardening.org/home-turf/.

Highlights of Northern Virginia Legislative Forum, May 14, 2015, at Kingstowne’s Thompson Center

  Discussed negative public perceptions of associations:

1. Board members are overzealous retired people on a power trip; mini-governments with unlimited power
2. Fines are imposed to gain revenue and more power
3. Money-making industry for lawyers and others.
4. Property managers are more important than owners.
5. People dispute the claim of improved property values.

  Two bills from Northern Virginia legislators:

1. HB 1632 – Del. Bulova – State to develop “best practices” to guide improvement of HOA/Condo governing documents.
2. SB 1008 – Sen. Petersen – Homeowner bill of rights:
   • Access to all books and records
   • Cast a vote in proportion to ownership interest
   • Be notified of board meetings and right to record meeting
   • To be heard and represented by counsel at proceeding against owner.

Strongly recommended that HOAs and Condo Associations communicate to legislators the helpful, positive roles play by HOAs and Condo Associations; also to a contribute to the statewide legislative board, Virginia Legislative Action Committee -- http://www.cai-valac.org/

The Community Associations Institute (CAI), held its annual Conference/Expo on Sat. March 7, 2015.

One of the highlights of the meeting was getting an update on three bills that passed the General Assembly unanimously and are expected to take effect on July 1, 2015. A more detailed summary is attached.
• H.B. 2100 Limits the ability of associations to restrict ownersÕ rights to rent out their units and to charge rental-related fees. Owners can be required to provide evidence that tenants have received copies of the association rules and agree to follow the rules.
• H.B. 2080 Requires banks to notify an HOA of a foreclosure sale in their community.
• S.B. 1390 If the association fails to achieve an annual meeting quorum in three successive years despite good faith efforts, then a court can be petitioned to convene a meeting with a smaller quorum requirement.

• Thomas Davis Rust, Member, House of Delegates, 86th District, sponsored a free Community Association Education Seminar where industry leaders discussed the recent legislation that impacts homeowners and condominium association communities and their board members.
  • SPEAKERS: William A. Marr Jr., Attorney and Betsy Johns, MCCA PCAM
  • Key topics covered:
    • Common Interest Community Leadership Responsibilities and Tips for Problem Solving and other essentials for Board Operations
    • This year's legislative changes, especially regarding violation charges
  • This seminar was also sponsored by the Herndon Community Association Coalition.
  • A copy of the meeting agenda and handouts is available for downloading.

• Here is a list of issues identified by community association members that could be the subject of future Fairfax Federation membership meetings, or possibly additional workshops.

  Issues for civic associations and issues of general interest:
  1. Insurance needs of civic associations (i.e., what if someone is hurt at a community event?) Insurance needs of officers of civic associations
  2. Pros and cons of incorporation for a civic association. Does incorporation have an impact on civic association liability?
  3. Lake management issues for communities with lakes, eg, legal liability for injury or death, checking water quality, cleaning and maintenance, sediment and dredging, stocking with fish, etc.
  4. Dealing with language barriers. Should CAs do outreach in other languages? Is there a downside? How to communicate if people have limited literacy in their own language, as well as limited or no literacy in English?

  Issues for HOAs and Condo Associations:
  1. Techniques for improving HOA assessment collection
  2. Amending covenants – pros and cons; how to do it. What are elements of good covenants?
  3. Understanding situations where HOAs have only limited rights to restrict, e.g. satellite dishes.
  4. How to recruit new board members
  5. Resale disclosure packets. What should be in the packet? Questions to ask a manager that handles the packets. Does website availability of HOA/Condo governing documents have an impact on the disclosure packet preparation?

• What issues are facing your association? If you have questions about administration and governance of associations (including voluntary civic associations) that you would like to see addressed, contact CASC chair Don Hinman - FedAssociationServicesChr2015 @ fairfaxfederation.org..

• The CICB website: http://www.dpor.virginia.gov/Boards/CIC-Board
• The CIC Ombudsman: http://www.dpor.virginia.gov/Homeowners-Associations/
• Important Announcement for HOAs and Condominium Associations
  • The new CIC Ombudsman Regulation (discussed at several Federation meetings as shown in Section VII.) went into effect on July 1, 2012. The regulation requires associations to develop an association complaint procedure and submit it by September 28 to the Office of the CIC Ombudsman
  • The Federation collaborated with the County in putting on a July 31 Open Forum at the County Government Center. The Forum featured presentations from Heather Gillespie (CIC Ombudsman) and Kenneth Chadwick (Attorney).
  • Another information source is the 17 July 2012 broadcast of Your Community, Your Call (Fairfax County cable TV), which focused in part on the new Ombudsman regulation. (The program also focused on legislation from the 2012 General Assembly session). This program can viewed via Video on Demand by clicking on the Channel 16 link in section III.

• Fairfax County has a Homeowner and Condominium Association Liaison Office.
• The HCA Liaison participates in “Your Community, Your Call,” a television program produced several times a year focusing on key issues for HOAs and Condominium Associations:

• CAI National
• Local CAI chapter serving Northern Virginia, MD, DC
• Virginia Legislative Action Committee of CAI (VALAC)
• Informational VALAC flyer
• VALAC requests donations from HOAs and Condominium Associations to fund its lobbying of the Virginia General Assembly for laws favorable to HOAs and Condominium Associations.

• Bond Release Process for New Subdivision Developments in Fairfax County: An Overview for Homeowners Associations. The CASC requested that the County develop this educational brochure for HOAs and provided detailed feedback during its development.
• The Federation is proposing that the county develop an educational brochure focused on shared county and community association responsibilities for stormwater facilities. Contact the CASC chair if you would like to be involved.

• Delegate Tom Rust and the Herndon Community Association Coalition sponsored on 10 December 2011 a Common Interest Community Seminar on Virginia Legislative Update for 2011
  • Agenda
  • Presentation
• Washington Post article concerning notification of Mortgage holders to inform them of Association Actions (21 May 2011)
• Washington Post article concerning investing Association Money (22 May 2010)

• Laws and Regulations Concerning Community Association Administration and Governance
  • Michelle Thompson, Fairfax County’s Community Association Liaison, was the featured speaker at the Feb. 23 Federation Membership meeting. Ms. Thompson updated attendees on recent state regulations and legislative initiatives that have significant impacts on HOAs and condominium associations. A state body known as the Common Interest Community Board (CICB) has been in existence since 2008. HOA and condominium leaders and residents need to be aware of CICB regulations.
  • State regulations governing management firms took effect in April 2010 and rules requiring state certification of individual managers took effect in March 2012. Regulations that took effect on July 1, 2012 require all HOA and condo boards to have in place (or to create) formal procedures for handling complaints from residents, and to submit documentation to the CICB. Association leaders in Fairfax County and throughout the state have a full plate and the presentation brought leaders to date on association responsibilities and issues.
  • Ms. Thompson also collaborated with Don Hinman on an update of state legislation (PPT PDF). Mr. Hinman serves as one of three community association volunteer leaders on the board of the Virginia Legislative Action Committee (VALAC) of the Community Associations Institute. He also chairs the Fairfax Federation’s Citizen Association Services Committee (CASC) and welcomes suggestions on how the CASC website can be made more useful to community association leaders.
  • If you have questions about administration and governance of associations (including voluntary civic associations) that you would like to see addressed, please contact Mr. Hinman at FedAssociationServicesChr2013@fairfaxfederation.org

• CASC Report: Federation Membership Meeting, 17 February 2011
• Note that the proposed association complaint process described in these materials went into effect on July 1, 2012.