Reader Questions: Open Forum- The Misunderstood Gem

Is Open Forum a necessary evil, or a valuable part of your board meetings? The law requires Open Forum to be a part of every open board meeting, under Civil Code Section 1363.05 (aka the “Open Meeting Act”), but often is misused and misunderstood by homeowners, boards and managers.

Open Forum can be a powerful and valuable part of an orderly board meeting, but it should not be unlimited, nor continuous throughout the agenda. Open Forum is often viewed negatively because it is not being used properly, and members and directors do not observe appropriate boundaries. Here are some tips to enhance Open Forum as a valuable community communications method.

1. Adopt written meeting rules to inform all attendees how Open Forum works, and incorporating the suggestions below. Have copies of the rules available at meetings.
2. Open Forum is the only part of the meeting when members speak to the board. This part of the meeting is reserved for member remarks only. Directors should never interrupt the speaker, and speakers should understand that directors will not respond to them during their Open Forum remarks. Open Forum should not be a time for arguing or interrogation. Implementation of this might take not only a statement in the rules, but also some patience as all learn the discipline of respecting these boundaries.
3. There should be reasonable time limits on Open Forum remarks. Most associations allow three minutes. If a large number of owners wish to speak, the time can be shortened to two minutes, so all have time.
4. Open Forum comments, just as any speaking during a board meeting, must be subject to some reasonable limits (such as no shouting, profanity or bigotry remarks).
5. Only homeowners have the right to speak in Open Forum. A common practice is to require the speaker to begin with the name and property address.
6. Consider placing Open Forum toward the beginning of the meeting. If owners are present solely to tell the board something, they can make their remarks and then leave. Some associations put Open Forum at the end of the meeting, but this can send a negative message to the community about the importance of member input. One association has Open Forum at both the beginning and the end of meetings, so a member can choose either time to make remarks.
7. If during a meeting the board needs input from homeowners in attendance, Open Forum can be reopened on the limited topic at hand. This should be by board motion, not by the Chair.
8. During Open Forum, directors and manager should be attentive, taking notes of any items which may need to be relayed to management or a committee, or even for a future agenda. However, not every Open Forum remark requires board comment or action.

Open Forum is a great time to learn of issues not being addressed by the board; what members think about how the association is doing; and of ideas and suggestions to help the association. Make it an important part of your meeting – you need it.

Reader tip: Read the Davis-Stirling Act yourself at the California Legislature web site – www.leginfo.ca.gov. Click on “California Law”, then click on the “Civil Code” box and press “enter”. You can then scroll down to the Davis-Stirling Act, which starts at Section 1350.

Written by Kelly G. Richardson

Kelly G. Richardson Esq., CCAL, is a Fellow of the College of Community Association Lawyers and a Partner of Richardson | Ober | DeNichilo LLP, a California law firm known for community association advice. Submit questions to [email protected]. Past columns at www.hoahomefront.com. All rights reserved®.