Recreational needs must be weighed against liability fears by  Quentin C. Yates

Q:  Our association has a number of families with children living in the community.  How can I, as a board member, address the needs of families with children against the remaining board members' concerns regarding liability issues?  For example, children skateboarding and skating in common areas?

A:  This is, indeed, a perplexing issue.  First, there is the need to provide families with children a place for them to play.  Then, there is the need for them to play safely and keep other residents safe as well. 

Finally, all of this must be weighed with the needs of the community.  For an accurate opinion of the liability exposure to your association, you should contact your insurance agent, association legal counsel and your property manager to get a clear picture of how great this may be. 

Generally speaking, allowing any activity that materially increases the association's exposure to liability should be examined and avoided, if at all possible, even if it inconveniences some families. 

Unless there are very unusual circumstances, it would not be a good idea to condone playing in the streets of the association as they are designed for vehicular traffic and can be very dangerous.  If there is an area in the Common Area, such as a parking lot that can be cordoned off and used from time to time, that may be an alternative. 

However, in most associations, parking is at a premium and this may not be possible.  Unfortunately, skateboarding and skating can be somewhat destructive to surfaces, so allowing them on basketball or tennis courts may not work either. 

You may wish to investigate building a place for this activity, but this would likely require a vote of the membership as it would be adding a capital improvement to the association and the attendant reserve funding.  You should contact your association's legal counsel if you want to pursue this option.

A better solution may be to find an area that is near your community that allows these activities.  If there are a significant number of families that desire this sort of activity, a group of parents may wish to accompany the children there and back as needed.

Finally, buyer education is key to this issue.  If your association has no, or limited, places for children to skateboard or skate, new purchasers should be made aware of this before they buy. 

It is very difficult to change the configuration of a community to accommodate the needs of a few.  Therefore, it is better that new buyers be informed prior to their purchase so they are buying with full knowledge of what they are getting.

As a board member, you are faced with many decisions that have a tremendous impact on the association.  You should make sure that you have the correct background information on this issue from your insurance agent, legal counsel and property manager, as well as the parties voicing concern. 

The diversity of ideas that are brought to a board meeting is one of its strongest points.  Although there may be differing opinions on the resolution of this issue, every attempt should be made to openly discuss the matter in a professional and respectful manner and the best interests of the association, as a whole, must always be foremost in your final decision.

Quentin C. Yates is a member of the Community Associations Institute (CAI) and is a Community Association's Manager at The Walters Management Company.  Readers can visit the CAI website at http://www.cai-sd.org and can get their condominium or homeowners association questions answered by calling the Community Associations Institute at (619) 299-1376 or e-mail at q&a@cai-sd.org or sending questions to: Condominiums, Homes, San Diego Union-Tribune, P.O. Box 120191, San Diego 92112-0191.

Back to S.D. Union Tribune Article List