SHHA DUES ARE NOT REQUIRED FOR MOST UNITS, THEY ARE VOLUNTARY.
SEE UNIT COVENANTS UNDER Covenant Info above
WHAT’S HAPPENING:
The SHHA Board is working to make membership within the community mandatory. Their claim is that the NM Law requires it. This is not accurate. The Board met on Dec 9, 2023 and passed a motion to have mandatory memberships for all residents and lot owners in Sandia Heights. Cleverly they called Universal membership. The Board cites the HOA Act of 2013 as the law that requires all residents (home and lot owners) to now be paying members.
The ACT and LAW:
The Senate Bill was passed in July 2013 and added to the NM Statute NM Statutes-NM Chapter 47 - Property Law, Article 16 - Homeowner Association, Section 3 (47-16-3 NMSA 1978).
It reads: SECTION 3. CREATION OF A HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATION - An association pursuant to the Homeowner Association Act shall be organized in accordance with the laws of the state and be identified in a recorded declaration. The membership of the association shall consist exclusively of all lot owners in the development.
INTERPRETATION:
This statement, "The membership of the association shall consist exclusively of all lot owners in the development." only states that the membership of the HOA consists of all lot owners in our boundaries. It is not about dues. Homes elsewhere, ie High Desert, Tanoan, etc. cannot join our association. Residents living within the boundaries of Sandia Heights are a part of the association whether they pay dues or not. However, if you read the GRIT Feb 2024 Front page from the President "Some Changes", it states that 15% of the property owners are not SHHA members and not paying monthly dues. That's not an accurate statement. THe 15% are members based on the location of the home. The Statute confirms this.
Do be twisted by the double meaning of “membership”. ALL homeowners and lot owners are members. Some are paying members and others are non-paying members. Paying dues is not what the Statute is implying.
Membership is required, paying dues is not.
SHHA has two class of memberships - paying members and non-paying members. Using only members and non-members is misleading.
WHY DOES THIS MATTER:
Using the idea that it’s the law to get a windfall approach to passing this motion is wrong! The Board is using this double meaning of “membership” to specifically say that any lot owner must now pay dues and the law requires this. This is the issue. Whether or not the community wants it, is not the point. Using the law as a tactic that the community is out of compliance is a misstatement.
The Board should understand the finer points of the law better, and get with the community to pass this major change of doing business, not just say it’s the law and be done.
FINANCIALS:
The financials (on the website) show that SHHA has sufficient reserves and profits. The additional income from 15% is estimated at $50K in 2025 and thereafter. This will give SHHA more profit. There is no need for this money.
The only purpose noted as to why this is happening is stated that those who don’t pay are receiving the “community benefits” at a cost to those who do pay. So what! Do you want neighbor(s) with a hardship of cash subjected to this pittance? SHHA has no common areas. The only rationale by the Board is that SHHA will become more litigious. SHHA will be supporting a law firm.
VERY BIG CONCERN:
The motion passed already at the Dec Board meeting. Since, It is not a covenant change, there is no need to have 67% or 75% approval of the community for those Units who don’t have it in the covenants already. This passed with only 11-15 Board members in the room under the idea that it is the law. (Recall Board can vote this in with only 11 members present and a 6-in favor count). No outside discussion was brought to the community beforehand, and now it’s being sold as LAW. In the motion, the Board plans to implement this by 1/1/2025 whether you like it or not and it will result in a lien on the home when you sell if you choose not to pay.
The Motion that passed Dec 2023 Board meeting Red type is SHI comments
Sandia Heights Homeowners Association Resolution
Dec 13, 2023
Universal Membership in the SHHA by All Lot Owners in the Sandia Heights Development
1. Whereas on May 8, 1965, the first Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&R’s) for Unit 0 of the Sandia Heights Development were created and;
SHI - TRUE - CC&Rs were created.
2. Whereas the last large undeveloped section within the Sandia Heights Development has been planned, built, and completed in 2023 as the final unit and is now designated Hawks Landing and;
SHI - TRUE - Hawks Landing development was created
3. Whereas all units in the Sandia Heights Development have CC&R’s which provide for an Architectural Control Committee (ACC) to maintain the architectural integrity of the
Development and protect the Development’s environment and;
SHI – TRUE. The CC&Rs remain even if SHHA ceases and the ACC closed.
Covenants give homeowners the rights and capability of court action, not the ACC.
Sure, it easy and nice to rely on SHHA but if they become “too aggressive” , or a “bad HOA”, the covenants still keep the property value in balance.
4. Whereas all units in the Sandia Heights Development have CC&R’s which provide for a
Covenant Support Committee (CSC) to enforce the CC&Rs in all units in the Development and; SHI - FALSE
5. Whereas on July 24, 1975, the lot owners of the Development created the Sandia
Heights Homeowners Association (SHHA) as a New Mexico non-profit corporation, the purposes of which are to “provide for the services, improvement, beautification,
and maintenance” of the Development and;
SHI - SHHA was created to serve the community, not to be a profit business, or policing the neighborhood.
6. Whereas two of the primary services of the SHHA are the ACC and the CSC which
provide services to all units in the Development and;
SHI – see 3 and 4
7. Whereas in 2013 New Mexico legislation was enacted related to Homeowner Associations which provided that “The membership of the association shall consist of exclusively of all lot owners in the development…” and
This statement found in the NM Stature 47-16-3 is for HOA creation, This means that the homes in other communities (Primrose Point, Tanoan) can’t belong in SHHA. This law states nothing about paying dues to be a member.
For 40 years, SHHA has followed this statute. The law is location specific, not monetary. We have members who voluntarily pay and those who don’t. See #8
8. Whereas currently, of the 2,239 lots in the Development, 1,872 lot owners voluntarily pay membership dues to SHHA (83.6%), and 367 (16.4%) do not pay dues to SHHA and;
Those who don't pay are still in the membership because of the property boundary. $180 is not a lot. So why does SHHA care about this, they don't need the money.
9. Whereas those owners who do not pay dues are still receiving all the benefits and services provided to dues-paying members by the ACC and the CSC, therefore, be
it resolved:
FALSE. The Covenants in place are providing the benefit and protection for the community, not the ACC and CSC. The ACC/CSC are just liaisons for neighbors to use.
Some residents don’t see the ACC/CSC as beneficial.
Homes that don’t pay dues are members, but they don't get tram passes discounted, no notary services, no copies, etc. ACC applications are a cost to our non-paying members.
Resolved, that the Sandia Heights Homeowners Association (SHHA) Board of Directors
a. approves the creation of a process of formally and legally requiring, and notifying, all lot owners that universal membership in the SHHA by all lot owners in the Development includes the obligation to pay membership dues, and that such obligation be put in place no later than January 1, 2025, and;
Paying membership is not legally required. The Board cannot mandate this.
b. the SHHA bylaws be modified to clearly state that all lot owners within Sandia Heights Development are dues-paying members of the SHHA.
Finally the distinction is noted "dues-paying members". There is no reason to force this on homeowners. It allows the SHHA Board members to gain more power without going to the community.
Comments from Residents:
We want to emphasize that when we purchased our property in 2001, we purposely chose a property without mandatory HOA dues. This aspect was a significant factor in our decision-making process. We have lived without HOA membership for the majority of the time and have paid for committee services when needed, and everything functioned smoothly. This arrangement has worked well for us and our neighbors, demonstrating that mandatory dues may not be necessary for effective community management.
Please provide the community with the legal written opinion.
A resident can cancel paying dues to SHHA by calling Sandia Heights Services - (505) 856-6419. This is our method to keep a Board from overreaching.