Co-op Boards Have a Word for the Climate Mobilization Act: Terrifying (NY)

A group of co-op board members have gone public with how they feel about the looming cost of the retrofits that will be required to bring their buildings into compliance with the Climate Mobilization Act (Local Law 97). They are, in a word, terrified.  Read the entire article……………………………….

FGCU Water School promotes pond management through HOA project (FL)

When residents at Fairwinds, a small homeowner association (HOA) in Bonita Springs, noticed the only stormwater pond within the community starting to erode at the edges, there was concern for the safety of the houses built close to the water.   Read the entire article……………………………….

Larkspur Creek neighbors closer to easing backyard buffer (CA)

Homeowners in a creekside neighborhood in Larkspur could soon get relief from an environmental constraint they say prevents them from enjoying their backyards.  The restriction, a 50-yard creek setback, governs eight properties on Rose Lane. It was adopted to minimize storm runoff and erosion in Larkspur Creek, which runs behind the houses.   Read the entire […]

Hollister Ranch: Will the Public Ever Have Access? (CA)

It was questions about the residents, their holdings, their guests, their water wells, their livestock, and other inquiries from coastal commissioners that led to the CEQA environmental report gambit and the missed deadline. The commissioners wanted information on present conditions at the ranch, but the residents — through the Hollister Ranch Owners Association attorney — […]

What to consider before ripping out your lawn

The grass lawn is as much a part of the lore of the American suburban dream as white picket fences and apple pies. But that page may be turning—some Americans are reconsidering why they continue to put money and time into this less-than-eco-friendly part of the home.Read the entire article……………………………….

Maui Condo Owners Want To Tax Themselves To Save Their Homes From Rising Seas (HI)

As sea levels rise due to climate change, one spot on Maui is particularly vulnerable: Kahana Bay.  Hundreds of residents of this beachside community on the island’s northwest coast are trying to save their properties from collapsing into the sea, as happened to a home on Oahu’s North Shore in February. Kahana Bay residents formed […]

Whose lawn is it, anyway? (CO)

Nestled behind Willits along the Roaring Fork River is a charming subdivision known as River Oaks. In 2020, one of the riverfront homes sold for $2.2 million, according to the Compass listing. Had the Eagle County Department of Community Development followed a 1987 recommendation from the Colorado Geological Survey, the subdivision wouldn’t even exist.   Read […]

California Wildfires’ Impact HOA Insurance

Severe weather and natural disasters have been a challenge for communities in different parts of California for decades, from droughts to earthquakes to wildfires. The state’s most recent wildfire season is putting pressure on insurance companies to cut back on coverage to homeowners.   Read the entire article……………………………….

The Association’s Responsibility for Wildlife on the Property (FL)

As Floridians, we are familiar with various types of wildlife surrounding our neighborhoods. It’s not uncommon to spot feral cats and ducks while walking the dog, or large iguanas out on the golf course. And let’s not forget about the numerous alligators, as well as coyote and black bear sightings. As new communities develop and […]

Condo Complex Elevation Going Smoothly (NJ)

A major project to elevate Ocean Aire Condominiums, a complex in Ocean City’s south end plagued by flooding for years, is underway and on track for completion by the spring.      Read the entire article……………………………….

Climate Change Time: It’s Five Minutes Till Midnight (NY)

I attended a year-end meeting with the president of a Manhattan cooperative and an outside engineer. In October, the engineer had informed the cooperative that under the Climate Mobilization Act, the building was likely facing massive annual fines beginning in 2030 if it did not undertake major energy-efficiency retrofits to reduce the building’s carbon emissions. […]

Toronto condo cut costs by reducing its waste (ON)

The superintendent of an east Toronto condo found a way to cut the building’s maintenance cost by getting residents to reduce waste. Princely Soundranayagam has taken the building form from nearly 30 dumpsters of garbage per week to one.   Read the entire article……………………………….

Entire NJ Condo Complex Gets Lifted Amid Climate Change Floods

A 52-unit condominium complex at the Jersey Shore is being lifted 8 feet because climate change is flooding the area. NBC10 reporter Ted Greenberg talked to a scientist who said it’s the first of many such lifts expected in the future.   View the news report………………………………….

Ruling clears way for DeBordieu to start groin project (SC)

A beach renourishment project will begin at DeBordieu this fall with construction of three rock and concrete groins to follow before spring. A state Administrative Law Court judge this week rejected a request from an environmental group to halt the work while it appeals the permits.  Read the entire article……………………………….

Simple Ways An HOA Can Go Green

While there is continuing debate about global climate change, one related issue that all agree on is the need for better stewardship of the Earth. We all owe a debt of caring for our world. What better place to start than at home? While governments often move at a glacial pace to enact green policies, […]

HOA Initiatives to Build an Eco-Friendly Community Association

Environmental consciousness is at the forefront of everyone’s minds, and homeowners are even beginning to make purchasing decisions based on how green a property or community association is. To retain more residents and help reduce long-term costs, many Aurora, Colorado, HOAs are introducing initiatives that will help them be more eco-friendly.   Read the entire article……………………………….

Condo Board Moves to Comply With Climate Mobilization Act (NY)

If you want to see how co-op and condo boards will comply with the looming limits on building carbon emissions under the Climate Mobilization Act, take a trip to the condominium tower at 400 Central Park West.   Read the entire article……………………………….

Climate Change & Residential Communities – A New Reality Raises New Challenges

The reality of climate change is upon us. Weather patterns have changed, and seasons have been altered. We experience more intense heat, more frequent, destructive storms, wide-ranging wildfires, and more destructive cold. Tornadoes—the spawn of conflicting hot and cold air masses—touch down in places they were once almost unheard of. What was scientific prognostication only […]

Camas threatened with lawsuit over lake (WA)

City leaders say they have temporarily halted the committee’s activities after receiving notice last week that someone intends to sue the city, as well as the Lacamas Shores Homeowners Association over what he contends is a failure to maintain a biofilter on the shores of Lacamas Lake.  Read the entire article……………………………….

Camas and Lacamas Shores HOA receive notice of citizens intent to sue via federal Clean Water Act (WA)

Steve Bang’s patience has finally run out. After seven years of discussions with the Lacamas Shores Homeowners Association (LSHOA), city of Camas staff, council members, and state representatives and agencies, Bang’s attorneys at Plauché & Carr LLP sent a notice of intent to sue for violating federal clean water standards.   Read the entire article……………………………….

Sea rise under scrutiny in condo collapse

Scraped clean of tons of rubble late last month, the bare garage floor of Champlain Towers South appears to rule out at least one early suspect in its catastrophic collapse.  There were no telltale signs of a sinkhole.  Read the entire article……………………………….

Green Roofs Failing to Sprout on City’s Co-ops and Condos (NY)

In late 2019, city and state leaders boosted incentives for building owners who turn their rooftops green by installing gardens. Since then, according to the Department of Buildings, exactly 11 buildings have applied for the property-tax credit through April, Crain’s reports. That’s 11 applications, not approvals. Why the anemic response?   Read the entire article……………………………….

Deal would make Lakewalk more accessible, enable residents to fight erosion (MN)

The proposed ordinance would grant the residents of an upscale waterfront housing development called the Ledges on Lake Superior access across city-owned land, providing a homeowners’ association with a perpetual easement, so that mutually acceptable erosion control measures can be implemented and maintained.  The homeowners’ association would bear the cost of those shore-side improvements.    Read […]

Tahoe Keys association working on water solutions (CA)

The Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association is working on multiple solutions to the neighborhood water issues.  Last December, uranium was discovered in two of the communities’ wells and since then, the residents have had limited access to water.  Read the entire article……………………………….

Elk Point bubble curtain protects against aquatic weeds (NV)

When Charles Jennings moved to Elk Point four years ago, he noticed thick green and brown plants dominating the bottom of the marina. The plants were knocked back last fall but could possibly return.   Read the entire article……………………………….

Affluent Buyers Agree to Be Hobby Farmers at This Unusual Hawaiian Development

When buyers purchase new homes within the private Hawaiian community of Hokuli’a, they transform themselves into lady and gentlemen farmers, embracing the environmentally friendly traditions of the Big Island’s specially zoned Kona Field System—the largest, rain-fed agricultural region on Earth.   Read the entire article……………………………….

Eco-Friendly HOA Practices to Implement (NJ)

Being environmentally conscious is far more than a trend; it is a civic responsibility to do your part to make your neighborhood and our planet a cleaner place to live. Making your HOA practices more eco-friendly is easy to do and makes your community far more attractive to potential homeowners.   Read the entire article……………………………….

Tahoe Keys association addresses uranium in water (CA)

Wells shut down because of uranium contamination should be back online by watering season, according to the Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association.  Two of three wells in the Tahoe Keys were taken offline after trace amounts of uranium were found in December 2020.    Read the entire article……………………………….

Are We Actually Talking About Deferred Maintenance?

This may seem a little crazy, but what if we boil down something as complex as climate change, by asking a couple of questions:  Is ignoring climate change about the same as ignoring maintenance on something like, let’s say, your home?  Deferred maintenance… is that what this whole thing, really, is all about?  I got […]

Dana Point landslide drama likely to be replayed elsewhere along the coast (CA)

Some 60 oceanview homes in Dana Point sit precariously on a landslide-prone bluff, but efforts to upgrade the protective boulder wall lining the beach below have been rebuffed — even as the cliff becomes increasingly vulnerable to rising seas and pounding winter waves.  Read the article………………………………..

Ask Eartha: How to improve recycling at your condo complex

Dear Eartha,  My neighbor is on our homeowners association board and said they’re thinking of dropping our recycling program because it’s such a mess. There was a ton of trash in our recycling over the holidays, but I’m not sure if it’s the people who live here or visitors. Is there anything we can do […]

Clearwater condo owners and association at odds over sand and vegetation removal (FL)

Cindy Dervech and her neighbors woke up to the sound of workmen and a man in a Bobcat removing sand and vegetation from the Dune field behind the Regatta Beach Club in North Clearwater Beach.  “We saw them clearing everything out Monday morning,” Dervech said. “This time they went too far.”   Read the article………………………………

Climate, city bills push tiny HOA to the brink (AZ)

When he thinks about climate change, Craig Sullivan isn’t necessarily thinking about melting glaciers and rising sea levels.  For Sullivan and the other residents of the 68 units that comprise the tiny Ahwatukee homeowners’ sub-association called RD-1, “climate change is banging on our doors.”     Read the article………………………………