Editorial Courtesy of the St. Augustine Record
Published March 21, 2004
The Florida Legislature has two bills making
their way through the 2004 session that would affect the regulations and
procedures under which homeowners could deal with problems they perceive
created by condominium homeowners associations.
House Bill 1223 is sponsored by Rep. Julio
Robaina, a Miami Republican, who is chairman of the state House select
committee on condominium governance. Among its many co-sponsors is state
Rep. Doug Wiles, a St. Augustine Democrat. The bill has co-sponsors from
both parties. The bill has since been modified in the business regulation
committee and is known as Committee Substitute for House Bill 1223.
A similar bill, Senate Bill 2498, has been
filed by Sen. Evelyn Lynn, an Ormond Beach Republican.
Both bills deal with condominium associations
and their regulations. The House bill creates an Office of Condominium
Ombudsman that would deal with complaints from members of associations
and other matters involving condominium associations. It also calls for
an Advisory Council on Condominiums within the ombudsman's office.
It also provides for a grandfathering and
modification of rental rights and certain voting criteria for any amendments
that would deprive owners of rental rights.
In addition to the bills, Senate President
Jim King, a Jacksonville Republican who also represents part of St. Johns
County, is looking into concerns raised by Steve Comley, an Amelia Island
resident. Comley's ire was raised when his homeowners association board
voted in 2000 to stop short-term condo rentals of less than six months.
Comley said he should be grandfathered in. He has been in Piper Dunes North
since 1996. Other homeowners agreed with him but the board ignored those
views, he said.
Comley favors taking the oversight of condominium
homeowners associations away from the Department of Business Regulation
because he says staff cuts have reduced the amount of attention the department
can give to condominium association problems. The House bill would put
the ombudsman office in the Division of State Lands where he said it belongs.
We favor Committee Substitute for House
Bill 1223 because it ensures uniform condominium association governance
to protect the vested rights of condominium owners, and it sets up a statewide
condominium ombudsman to deal with condominium complaints.
Many thousands of St. Johns County residents
live in condominiums that are governed by homeowners associations. They
would be affected by whatever the Legislature does this session. Now is
the time for them to join Steve Comley in raising their voices to legislators
to support Committee Substitute for House Bill 1223.
We endorse, too, Sen. King's review of
the issues Comley has raised about the Department of Business Regulation's
staffing problems.
Our lawmakers can walk away from a lot
on the table in Tallahassee this spring. But they must not ignore legislation
that ensures fairer governance and an ombudsman's office to benefit the
many residents of Florida who choose to live in condominiums. |