Governor Amends COVID-19 Proclamation to Address Community Association Issues

On April 17, the Governor of Washington state amended his COVID-19 emergency proclamation to address several issues related to community associations.  This proclamation amendment first permits owners and directors in community associations to vote on association matters by mail, electronic mail, and proxy even if their associations' governing documents do not permit them to do so.  It next permits owners and directors in community associations to attend meetings by conference telephone and other types of similar communications equipment that allows all participants to hear each other at the same time even if their associations' governing documents do not permit them to do so.   It finally prohibits community associations from charging owners late fees and interest on delinquent assessments and from imposing fines on owners for violating their governing documents.  This proclamation amendment is currently scheduled to expire at 11:59 p.m. on August 1, but it may be extended beyond that date.    

If your association's governing documents do not specifically authorize voting by mail, electronic mail, and proxy and attending meetings by conference telephone and similar communications equipment, then you should consider taking this opportunity to schedule a meeting to vote on an amendment to those documents that contains such authorizations.

Washington Legislature Approves New Law Regarding Low-Water Landscaping

The Washington Legislature recently approved a new law regulating the ability of community associations and their governing documents to restrict low-water landscaping practices.  The law first states that an association's governing documents may not prohibit the installation of drought resistant landscaping or wildfire ignition resistant landscaping.  It next states that an association's governing documents may include reasonable rules regarding the placement and aesthetic appearance of such landscaping as long as those rules do not render the use of such landscaping unreasonably costly or otherwise effectively infeasible.  The new law finally states that an association may not sanction or impose a fine or assessment against an owner or resident for reducing or eliminating the watering of vegetation or lawns for the duration of a drought condition order issued by the department of ecology that is applicable to the property.  This new law takes effect on June 11, 2020.