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| “The ideal was that of self–governing local communities living the fantasy of the New England town meeting. The reality, too often, was an undemocratic oligarchy in which an apathetic body of residents was governed by a few dedicated or overly zealous neighbors who were for the most part told what to do by property managers and lawyers.” |
| “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” |
| “In CIDs, power is unitary. The board cites violators and holds the hearings that constitute the ‘trial’.” |
| “Common interest homeowners’ associations have rule enforcement powers that are commonly exercised in ways that are offensive to normal conceptions of due process of law and the separation of powers. The association board passes rules, prosecutes violators, and then judges the guilt or innocence of the people involved.” |
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Common Ownership Developments
What Lurks Beneath the Surface
Oligarchy
Common ownership developments are governed by homeowners associations (HOAs). The vast majority of HOAs are incorporated.
According to the law in California, “Each corporation shall have a board of directors.... the activities and affairs of a corporation shall be conducted and all corporate powers shall be exercised by or under the direction of the board. The board may delegate the management of the activities of the corporation to any person or persons, management company, or committee however composed, provided that the activities and affairs of the corporation shall be managed and all corporate powers shall be exercised under the ultimate direction of the board.”
Other states have similar laws.
The problem is that HOAs are also a form of government, a private government.
The powers of public governments in the USA are separated into different departments, with checks and balances between the different branches, to oblige them to control themselves and prevent any one branch from becoming tyrannous.
Incorporated HOAs must have a board of ‘directors’, with all powers exercised by it, or under its direction. Since the powers of these governments are not separated into different branches, no system of checks and balances between different branches of these governments is possible!
Even if the board delegates the management of any of the activities of the association to committee(s), however composed, the activities and affairs of the association must be managed and all association powers must be exercised under the ultimate direction of the board.
No committee can provide a check on the board’s power.
This scheme providing common ownership developments governed by oligarchic regimes is made possible by ‘your representatives.’
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| “The system of command in CIDs tends to be oligarchic, which is consistent with what is generally said about private governments. As noted by Berle and others, private governments–corporate and otherwise–seem to be temperamentally inclined toward oligarchy.” |
| “Although the directors of nonprofit community associations are elected to office by the corporation’s members, the structure of corporate governance fashioned by the California Corporations Code is essentially a ‘top down,’ oligarchic structure.” |
| “Because large numbers of residents chose to remain uninvolved, the dominance and power of individuals and factions who actively participate in association management can be disproportionately great and if that power is exercised irresponsibly or capriciously, a ‘tyranny of the petty’ can result.” |
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