Blog

By Nathan R. McGuire, Esq.

This article first appeared in The Communicator, Winter 2021. To read more, click here. 

For the last two legislative sessions, we have faced some of the most historically significant bills since the Davis-Stirling Act. And that’s saying a lot considering the Davis-Stirling Act has probably been amended more than a hundred times since it was enacted in 1986. This year was especially challenging on legislators, advocates, and citizens wishing to engage in the process, given the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the legislative process. It has also demonstrated the need for modernizing the Davis-Stirling Act by allowing for the use of mainstream technology, which has become commonplace in our everyday lives.

Because of the pandemic, the legislature shifted its focus to the coronavirus, economic recovery, and housing affordability issues. Other bills, like the ones pushed by CAI’s California Legislative Action Committee (CAI-CLAC), including a bill to clean...

Not anymore. New law gives property owners the right to build second homes on their properties.
By Lisa Esposito

To Increase Affordable housing in California, Governor Newsom signed legislation that encourages homeowners to convert their garages into living spaces and build small dwelling units in their backyards as low-income rentals. On January 1, 2020, new laws went into effect voiding restrictions in planned developments that would prevent the construction of granny flats and the conversion of garages into rental units.

From the Homeowner's Perspective, California's New Laws: 

• make available an affordable type of home to construct in California because they do not require paying for land, major new infrastructure, structured parking or elevators
• can provide a source of income for homeowners
• allow extended families to be near one another while maintaining privacy
• can provide as much living space as many condominiums; and they’re well-suited for couples, small families, friend
...

By Nathan R. McGuire, Esq.
ADAMS|STIRLING PLC

October of last year marked the end of the legislative session in California and Halloween was a fitting backdrop for some of the year’s nightmarish results. While there was good mixed in with the bad, some of the legislation passed this year could turn out to be the most challenging ever to community associations, including SB 323 and AB 670. CAI’s California Legislative Action Committee (CAI-CLAC) fought hard and had great success in light of overwhelming political obstacles. Believe it or not, the horrific aspects of SB 323 would have been doubly dreadful if not for staunch opposition from CAI-CLAC.

Senate Bill 323 – Elections and E-mail Address Disclosure
Last year I talked about the defeat of SB 1265, which sought to interfere unnecessarily with community association elections. Governor Brown vetoed the bill, stating:

“California has over 50,000 common interest developments varying in purpose and size. Each one has governing document...