Committee Recommendation
PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO
WATERVIEW TOWERS YACHT CLUB
DECLARATION OF CONDOMINIUM
[The following language shall replace the existing language in this section.]
ARTICLE IX. MAINTENANCE, REPAIR, ALTERATIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS OF CONDOMINIUM PROPERTY AND RELATED FUNDING.
The responsibility for the maintenance, repair, alterations, and improvements of the condominium property and restrictions shall be as follows:
3. Alteration and Improvement: There shall be no material alterations or substantial additions to common property, except as set forth below:
A. Voting Requirements
i. The Condominium Property. Material alterations or substantial additions to the exterior surfaces and structural property of the condominium buildings, the garage buildings and the separate storage building, including the doors, windows, roofs, tennis court, pools and pool decks, and the parking lot, not otherwise included within the Condominium Unit, shall require the approval of the board of directors and the approval of not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the total votes of the members of the association present or casting votes at any regular or special meeting of owners called for that purpose.
ii. The Buildings. Material alterations or substantial additions to the interior of either building, including club room, kitchens, postal areas, fitness room, flooring or floor covering, and painting of any interior surface, not otherwise included within the Condominium Unit, shall require the approval of not less than two-thirds (2/3) of the board of directors and the approval by not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the votes of the members who own the units in that building.
iii. Outdoor Items. Material alterations or substantial additions to the landscaping, fencing, perimeter walls of the property parcel, gates, and exterior lighting, shall require the approval of the board of directors and no membership vote shall be required, provided that no material alteration or substantial alteration of any of these items will obstruct owner views of the Destin Harbor, Gulf of Mexico, or the East Pass. If the material alteration or substantial addition obstructs owner views of the Destin Harbor, Gulf of Mexico or the East Pass, then the approval of the board of directors and the approval of not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the total votes of the members of the association present or casting votes at any regular or special meeting of owners called for that purpose shall be required.
iv. The Residential Floor Level. Material alterations or substantial additions to the common property on any individual residential floor level, other than the elevator or windows, shall require the approval of the board and approval by two-thirds (2/3) of the members on the affected floor. If approved as set forth herein, then the members on the affected floor (and not the Association) shall be responsible for funding the same.
v. Emergencies. Repairs of an emergency nature may be made upon authorization by a vote of a majority of the directors available for consultation, if same is necessitated and is in the best interests of the unit owners. No membership vote shall be required.
B . Funding Requirements
i. Annual Operational and Reserve Funding. Except for emergencies, material alterations or substantial improvements described in Sections 3.A.i., 3.A.ii., and 3.A.iii shall be funded by the current year’s operational budget, provided that such budget has been approved by the board of directors and distributed to all owners, and by reserve allocations, provided that the material alterations or substantial improvements have been identified in the reserve budget for which the total reserve amounts and contributions to current year reserves have been approved by owners at the last annual meeting.
1. Except for emergencies, material alterations or substantial improvements with an estimated cost in excess of $50,000 under paragraph 3.A.i. and $25,000 under paragraph 3.A.ii shall require approval of not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the total votes of the members of the association present or casting votes at any regular or special meeting of owners called for that purpose. Any increase in the operational budget or additions to reserves in excess of $50,000 following the annual adoption of the budget shall require approval by the board of directors and the approval of not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the total votes of the members of the association present or casting votes at any regular or special meeting of owners called for that purpose. Relocation or removal of interior walls or supports within a specific building requires approval of not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the total votes of the members of the association present or casting votes at any regular or special meeting of owners called for that purpose.
2. Material alterations or substantial additions that are exclusively or substantially for the benefit of one building and not funded by the annual operating budget or owner approved reserves shall be charged against and collected solely from the unit owners of that building. Any surplus funds remaining from such project will be returned to owners in proportion to their assessment. If an owner or owners desire to make a voluntary monetary contribution to the building project, the Association shall escrow such funds and not commingle them with funds for any other purpose. If the building project is to be funded exclusive by voluntary monetary contributions from an owner or owners, then the contributions shall cover 110% of the projected cost. Any voluntary monetary contributions from owners are separate from any regular or special assessments authorized pursuant to Article XVII of the Declaration. If the original or subsequent voluntary monetary contributions prove to be inadequate to cover any project related cost overruns, the deficiency shall be charged against and collected soley from the unit owners of that building. If the cost overrun is determined by the board of directors not to be directly the result of the funded project, the board of directors can determine a fair funding of the cost overrun. Relocation or removal of non-structural support interior walls within a specific building without use of common expenses and/or using voluntary monetary contributions requires the approval of not less than two-thirds of the board of directors and the approval by not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the votes of the members who own the units in that building.
ii. Regardless of the funding source for any material alteration or substantial addition, all common property remains common property for all owners and for common use of all unit owners after any changes are made.
C. Project Consideration Requirements
Except for emergencies, all projects brought before or considered by the board of directors for funding, with or without the use of Common Expenses, requires a minimum of two (2) contractor quotes. An internal quote by WTYC maintenance staff to do and manage the work will be considered the same as a contractor quote. The board may require additional quotes at its discretion.
Proposed Amendment to the WTYC
Declaration of Condominium
Background. In response to numerous requests, the WTYC Board of Director’s (BOD), has been tasked with developing changes to the WTYC governing document the Declaration of Condominium, Article IX, entitled “Maintenance, Repair, Alterations, and Improvements of Condominium Property.” In particular, changes are proposed to Paragraph 3 of that section entitled “Alteration and Improvement.”
Purpose. The purpose of changing that paragraph of our governing document is to allow the flexibility of each building to make material changes without an unnecessary burden of an all-member vote for certain otherwise reasonable changes. In addition, the goal is to provide the separate buildings with project and funding flexibility without giving up other owner’s rights for major changes that may be proposed by owners in one building.
Process. A draft amendment was draw up by the WTYC attorney at Anchors Gordon. A review of the draft amendment by several BOD members and owners indicated a need for additional clarification and details regarding the definitions of “material alterations and substantial additions.” In addition, the committee wanted to clarify specifics about funding with and without use of HOA common funds.
The BOD appointed a four (4) person committee to review, revise, and clarify areas of the draft. Rick Ragghianti, Rick Pershing, Connie Harrison, and Ron Bachman were so appointed.
Committee Approved Amendment. After several on-site conversations, phone meetings, and consultation with other owners, the committee unanimous agreed to language that provided the principles and concepts for needed project flexibilities. A final version was approved by our condo lawyer. Her only concern was that the Amendment increased owner flexibility rather than providing for traditional reliance on the BOD. But, that additional owner flexibility was the direction given to the committee.
The “Committee Approved Amendment” was presented to the HOA BOD on April 14, 2022. The BOD voted to send the amendment to all owners for approval with a unanimous endorsement encouraging owners to vote for approval of the amendment.
Q& A’s Regarding Amendment to the WTYC
Declaration of Condominium
Q1. Do owners give up any rights to approve major changes to the exterior of the condominium property?
A. No. Any proposed material alterations and substantial additions to the exterior surfaces and structures under the Committee Alternative still require BOD approval and 75% of all-owner votes cast. This is the same as currently required.
Q2. Will each building have new flexibilities regarding material alterations or substantial additions for interior changes which are primarily associated with one building?
A. Yes. Changes made to the interior of each building previously required approval by 75% of votes from all owners voting on a change. The Committee Alternative requires a two-thirds vote of the BOD and 75% of the votes of only the members who own units in that building.
Q3. Why were pools and pool decks included under the exterior approval requirements rather than the interior approval requirements?
A. Similar to the tennis court, pools and pool decks are visible exterior facilities, rather than being separate interior areas of the buildings. Owners in both buildings frequently use both and have equal ownership in any exterior physical structures. Under the Committee Alternative, changes to visible exterior facilities require votes from all owners.
Q4. Can owners in one building make changes to the exterior pool and pool deck associated mainly with that building?
A. Yes. But material changes to exteriors structures require approval of the BOD and 75% of all-owner votes cast. See question 6 for flexible options to making any material change for a specific building.
Q5. Do projects using common expenses or voluntary monetary contributions for exterior changes have different owner approval requirements?
A. No. Funding with or without use of common expenses for exterior changes would still require BOD approval and 75% of all-owner votes cast.
Q6. What are the funding options for making exterior material changes substantially associated mainly with only one building?
A. The Committee Alternative provides for five (5) funding options for making exterior material changes that substantially impact only one building.
1. One-building exterior material change - If using common expenses to pay for a one-building exterior material change, the change would be subject to approval by the BOD and 75% approval of all-owners casting votes. The value to all owners would need to be presented for success of an all-owners vote.
2. Two-building exterior material changes - If using common expenses to pay for exterior material changes
affecting both buildings, the change would be subject to approval by the BOD and to 75% approval of all-owners casting votes. Packaging either the same or different material changes desired by each building would improve the chance of success of an all-owners vote.
3. One-building funding of exterior material changes – If not using common expenses to pay for an exterior material change primarily associated with one building, but instead would mean funding by only those owner in the single building, the change would still be subject to approval by the BOD and 75% approval of all-owners casting votes. Approved funding by a owners in the single building would likely improve the chance of success of an all-owners vote.
4. Individual Owner(s) Voluntary Monetary Contribution Funding – If not using common expenses to pay for an exterior material change primarily associated with one building, the change would be subject approval by the BOD and 75% approval of all-owners casting votes. Private funding by one or more owners would likely improve the chance of success of an all-owners vote.
5. Combination One-building funding and voluntary monetary contributions by one or more owners - If not using common expenses to pay for an exterior material change primarily associated with one building, the change would be subject approval by the BOD and to 75% approval of all-owners casting votes. Charges only made to owners of a single building combined with voluntary monetary contributions for one or more owners would likely improve chances of success of an all-owners vote.
Q7. Do projects using common expense versus voluntary monetary contributions for interior changes have different approval requirements?
A. No. Funding with or without use of common expenses for interior changes would require two-thirds vote of the BOD approval and 75% of all votes in that building.
Q8. Can owners in one building pay for interior material alterations without funding from common expenses?
A. Yes. owners in one building can separately fund changes that are exclusively or substantially for the use of one building. If approved by two-thirds of the BOD, and supported by a vote of 75% of all votes in that building. owners in that building can make material changes that previously required votes from both buildings.
Q9. What are the funding options for making interior material changes substantially impacting only one building?
A. The Committee Alternative provides for four (4) options for one building making interior material changes that substantially impact only one building.
1. One-building interior material change - If using common expenses to pay for an interior material change in one building, the change would be subject approval by two-thirds of the BOD and 75% approval of owners in that one building. The value would need to be presented to the BOD and the owners in that building for likely success.
2. One-Building funding of interior material changes - If not using common expenses to pay for an interior material change primarily associated with one building, the change would be subject to approval by two-thirds of the BOD and to 75% approval of owners in that one building. The value would need to be presented to the BOD and the specific owners in that building for likely success.
3. Individual Owner Voluntary Monetary Contribution Funding – If not using common expenses to pay for an interior material change primarily associated with one building, the change would be subject to approval by two-thirds of the BOD and to 75% approval of owners in that one building. Private funding would likely improve changes of success of single building vote.
4. Combination One-building funding and voluntary monetary contributions by one or more owners - If not using common expenses to pay for an interior material change primarily associated with one building, the change would be subject to approval by two-thirds of the BOD and 75% approval of owners in that one building. Interior material changes made with funding from only owners of that building combined with voluntary monetary contributions would likely improve chances of success of a single building vote.
Q10. Can owners provide individual voluntary monetary contributions to completely or partially to pay for projects not covered by common expenses?
A. Yes. Private monies may be donated to cover some project costs, if collected and escrowed by the BOD prior to commencement of work. Voluntary monetary contributions can be combined with one-building funding, but voluntary monetary contributions cannot be combined with projects covered by any common expenses.
Q11. Will projects using voluntary monetary contributions for interior changes have the same new flexible approval requirements?
A. Yes. Funding without use of common expenses for interior changes would still have the more flexible standard of two-third vote of the BOD and 75% vote of all owner votes in that building.
Q12. What if there are cost overruns on projects using one- building funding or voluntary monetary contributions for funding?
A. Any project using one-building funding and/or voluntary monetary contributions would need 75% approval of owners in that one building. In that case, any cost overruns would be paid from additional voluntary monetary contributions or as a last resort an assessment could be made to owners only in that one building in order to complete the project. If the project is to be funded exclusively by voluntary monetary contributions, initial escrowed funds are required to total 110% of the projected costs. If there are cost overruns in that case, the first option is to seek additional voluntary contributions, before assessing all owners in that one building. The board of directors may decide if there are mitigating factors to otherwise cover a cost overrun.
Q13. Are the amendment changes limited to the paragraph entitled Alteration and Improvement?
A. Yes, all proposed changes are included in the new paragraph 3 for Alteration and Improvement.
NOTE: The Q&A are provided for information purposes only. The actual language of the amendment is the only legal document, and it will take precedence over any other written or verbal explanation of the amendment.