CC&R Re-Vote
We would like to thank all homeowners who voted on the CC&R Amendments. The voting saw almost 70% of the ballots being returned. All three amendments were supported by an overwhelming majority of almost 75% of all voting SMPOA members.
After further evaluation and consultation with legal counsel, the Board has decided to conduct a revote of the proposed amendments, specifically to ensure that approval is based on the majority vote of each tract as opposed to the majority of the entire community (which is how the vote was conducted). The existing CC&Rs contain ambiguous language regarding the approval requirement for CC&R amendments, and despite a majority of the community approving the amendments, we are making this decision to ensure the Association is carrying out the vote in the most legally sound manner, especially in light of feedback already received from certain members.
Contrary to claims by some, only one vote was counted for each household that voted, even if they voted electronically and by paper ballot. The voting is conducted by an independent voting company (Accurate Elections). Although not required by law, the board decided to follow Davis-Stirling secret ballot guidelines for a strict, independent anonymous vote.
We sincerely hope you will participate again and exercise your voting rights with the same enthusiasm carried out in the initial vote, and we apologize for the inconvenience in holding a second vote, but we believe it is important to avoid potential legal challenges despite the results of the initial vote.
To ensure total compliance with the CC&Rs, the following rules will apply:
Approval by Tract: Each proposed amendment must receive a majority of votes from homeowners within each specific tract to pass. An amendment must get a majority vote in all tracts in order to apply to any tract.
The "Future-Proof" Amendment: We are adding a 4th Amendment to this ballot. This amendment proposes that all future CC&R changes (after this vote) be decided by a majority of the entire Sunset Mesa community rather than by tract, ensuring we never face this logistical hurdle again and the SMPOA is unified under one set of CC&R covering all tracts and members. We believe this is consistent with the fact that in 2005, the CC&Rs for all 8 tracts were expressly intended to be subject to the same set of CC&Rs.
We will share further details on the re-vote, including the timing of the revote, shortly.
We deeply appreciate your continued participation in keeping Sunset Mesa a premier place to live.
Thank you,
SMPOA President