Homeowners for Change

What the board owes you

These are the board’s jobs under California law, in plain words. This page is not an insult. It is the scorecard a careful board already lives on.

Money

The board should: Approve a yearly budget, collect regular and special assessments, look at the books every month, and keep a reserve plan for big repairs (study at least every three years, look at it every year).

Where Capri’s board has failed

  • $581 special assessment (September): May violate the 5% cap on special assessments without a clear and legal reason or exception. Most emergency exceptions require a board resolution documenting emergency criteria or a member vote — no supporting documentation of a resolution or member vote was provided.
  • Reserve fund misuse: Reserve funds were loaned to operational expenses. Civil Code §5500 prohibits using reserves for operational expenses except for specific emergencies. The amount, terms, and outstanding balance of this “loan” were not disclosed.
  • Budget transparency: Multiple special assessments (insurance + this one) appear to exceed the 5% budget cap. The board did not explain why levies were imposed without a membership vote when loan repayment was known in advance (not an emergency).
  • Reserve study access: Only portions of the reserve study were provided despite requests for the complete document. It is completely possible that our reserve study is deficient in that it lacks the detail required to manage our long-term planning.
  • $14,000 “recall cost” claim: On August 24, 2026, association counsel Brad Walker of Tinnelly Law Group wrote Scott Magner that election costs, additional management fees, and legal expense for this recall “are now estimated to exceed $14,000.00,” and that responsibility “rests with the members who signed the Petition and not with the incumbent Board.” We have still not been given an itemized accounting. The Inspector of Elections invoice we have seen was closer to $1,500. That same letter is itself a legal bill — written after Scott asked how the election works — and the board then repeats the $14,000 figure as if owners caused it.

The solution

  • Full financial disclosure: Publish the complete reserve study, all board resolutions on special assessments, and reserve fund loan documentation (amount, terms, balance).
  • Budget compliance: Ensure all special assessments comply with Civil Code requirements; seek a membership vote when the 5% cap is exceeded.
  • Reserve fund protection: Never use reserve funds for operational expenses without a proper emergency resolution and member notification.
  • Monthly financial review: Make monthly financial statements available to owners within 30 days of month-end.
  • Itemize legal and election bills: Publish every invoice behind the August 24 “estimated to exceed $14,000” figure — attorney, inspector, printing — with dates, amounts, and what work was done. Do not spend association money on a cease-and-desist to an owner who asked how to vote, then call that bill the cost of the recall.

Property

The board should: Repair and maintain common areas (buildings, roads, pool, landscaping, as your CC&Rs assign). Hire vendors with care: more than one bid when the job is large; owners can see the file before the big check is written.

Where Capri’s board has failed

  • $200k+ roof expenditure: We had set aside about $100k for each of the 20 roofs in our community for replacement. The vendor originally recommended a $7k leak repair. Instead of following the professional and instead of staying within our budget, the board decided to spend more than $200k to completely replace the roof on the building down to the wood. How was that roof prioritized? When was the project discussed, voted on and approved? How could the board approve the amount based on the reserve funds available? We asked all the questions, requested all the documentation and to this point have been consistently denied, shut down and given excuses about what had happened. The president and vice president should have recused themselves from discussing and subsequently voting on their own roof. The roof should have been inspected to determine the best course of action (repair leak, replace underlayment, or full replacement) and multiple bids should have been taken, with discussion in at least one board meeting, and a clear decision to proceed should have been voted on before spending a dime.
  • Vendor selection process: No documentation provided showing multiple bids were obtained for the president and vice president’s $200k+ roof. (On a different roof, the board did a repair and did get multiple bids.) Owners cannot verify the file before the check was written.
  • Incomplete documentation: Roofing contracts and invoices were provided, but the full decision-making file (bids, board deliberations, recusal records) is either incomplete and lacks documentation, missed crucial steps, or was denied for member inspection and review.

The solution

  • Transparent vendor selection: Require competitive bidding for all projects over a certain limit, such as $5,000; make bid files available to owners before board approval. At the very minimum the project file should be complete before approval and available for member inspection after it is approved.
  • Recusal documentation: When board members have conflicts of interest, document recusal in meeting minutes and ensure proper quorum for voting.
  • Project oversight: Provide owners with complete project files (bids, contracts, invoices, change orders) before major expenditures are approved.

Rules

The board should: Apply the CC&Rs and rules evenly. If someone may be fined, they get notice and a hearing.

Where Capri’s board has failed

  • Board composition questions: Five board members serving staggered two-year terms — no amending document found authorizing this structure. Original bylaws may specify a different board size or term structure. If no proper member vote amended the bylaws, current directors may be serving without legal authority.
  • Uneven enforcement: Concerns about selective enforcement of rules and a lack of transparency in disciplinary processes.

The solution

  • Governance audit: Verify the legal authority of the current board composition by locating the 1992 bylaw amendment and secretary’s certificate establishing the 5-member, staggered-term structure.
  • Consistent enforcement: Apply CC&Rs and rules uniformly to all homeowners; document all enforcement actions with proper notice and hearing opportunities.
  • Election reform: Ensure fair elections with proper voter lists, Inspector of Elections materials, and compliance with Civil Code election requirements.

Openness

The board should: Meet in the open with notice and an agenda. Keep minutes and money records, and let owners inspect what the law says they may see. Carry proper insurance and tell owners what the policies are. Run fair elections.

Where Capri’s board has failed

  • Document denial: Management refused document requests citing “lack of board approval” despite Civil Code §5200 requirements. Owners have a legal right to inspect specific records.
  • Privacy violation: The president exposed recall petition signer names — violating Civil Code §5200 and election privacy requirements.
  • Election transparency: Voter list and legal opinions denied; reverse cumulative voting concerns not addressed; data privacy violations may invalidate the election.
  • Meeting records: Limited board minutes provided; missing deliberation records on key decisions.
  • Insurance disclosure: Full insurance policies and coverage details not provided to owners.
  • Lawyer letter to Scott Magner: On August 24, 2026, the board authorized association counsel Brad Walker (Tinnelly Law Group) to write Scott Magner. The letter answered Scott’s August 11 emails asking how the September 24 recall works, including reverse cumulative voting. Counsel refused those explanations as “private legal advice,” called Scott’s emails “harassment and intimidation,” warned that speaking to neighbors could expose him to legal liability, told him to direct all future communications to the lawyer, and said neither the board nor management would engage with him unless legally required. It also ordered him to stop contacting association vendors. The HOA lawyer was present at the next board meeting.
  • IDR turned into a billing event: Sunni Spoon requested Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) to address known problems. The board brought the HOA attorney to that process, adding to the same legal bill they then blame on the recall.
  • Dan Vadchhedia’s candidate statement: The statement circulated for Dharmesh “Dan” Vadchhedia was not representative of him. Communication was handled poorly. The board and the Inspector of Elections did very little to correct the problem.

The solution

  • Full document access: Comply with Civil Code §5200 by providing all requested records within the legal timeframe. No board vote should be required for legal document requests.
  • Election privacy: Protect voter anonymity; never disclose petition signer names or ballot choices.
  • Transparent elections: Provide voter lists, Inspector of Elections reports, and all election materials to owners. Ensure reverse cumulative voting is properly explained and implemented.
  • Insurance transparency: Share complete insurance policies, coverage limits, and claim history with owners annually.
  • Regular communication: Publish meeting agendas in advance, complete minutes within 30 days, and maintain an open channel for owner questions.
  • Talk to owners, not at them through lawyers: Do not send association counsel to intimidate homeowners. Do not tell an owner he may speak to his board only through a lawyer. Treat IDR as the informal problem-solving meeting the Civil Code intends — not another hour on the attorney’s clock.
  • Correct candidate statements: When a candidate says the published statement is not his, fix it promptly. The board and the Inspector of Elections should not leave a wrong statement in neighbors’ hands.

Our commitment

If we are elected, we will:

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