COLORADO STATUTES

The following is an incomplete list of the more substantial parts of the Colorado Revised Statutes (CRS) that apply to many of the operating aspects of HOAs and metro districts:
           

• CRS Title 1 “Elections” contains the body of laws applicable to the election process that is followed by metropolitan districts.

• CRS Title 7 “Corporations and Associations” contains the body of laws applicable to the formation and operation of for-profit corporations, not-for-profit corporations, non-profit corporations and limited liability companies. HOAs are typically organized as one of these types of corporate entities and are therefore subject to the laws within Title 7.

          Because Title 7 is rather long (because it contains laws applicable to several types of
          entities), it is worth noting which articles within Title 7 that are applicable to which types of
          entities:

• Article 80 of Title 7 (commonly cited as the Colorado Limited Liability Company Act) is applicable to HOAs formed as limited liability companies.

• Articles 101 through 117 of Title 7 (commonly cited as the Colorado Business Corporation Act) are applicable to HOAs formed as for-profit corporations.

• Articles 121 through 137 of Title 7 (commonly cited as the Colorado Nonprofit Corporation Act) are applicable to HOAs formed as non-profit and not-for-profit corporations.

• CRS Title 32 “Special Districts” contains the body of laws applicable to the organization and operation of special districts. Metropolitan districts are one of many types of special districts that are subject to these statutes.

• CRS Title 38 Article 33.3 “Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act” (i.e. CCIOA or sometimes pronounced “kai-o-wa”) contains the body of laws applicable to the formation and operation of common interest communities. CCIOA was passed by the Colorado Legislature and became law in July 1992.

The following is an incomplete list of the more substantial parts of the Colorado Constitution that apply to metro districts:

• Section 20 of Article 10 of the Colorado Constitution is titled the “Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights” (or TABOR). This state constitutional provision restricts a metro district’s ability to raise property taxes on its residents and increase spending without first obtaining voter approvals for such tax increases.

• Section 11 of Article 18 of the Colorado Constitution limits people to serving two terms on a metro district board—unless the residents of the metro district vote to eliminate or otherwise lengthen the term limits for their metro district board.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Please note that because homeowner associations are private corporations, they generally are not eligible to receive any grant funding from the resources listed below. However, metropolitan districts--because of their public governmental status are eligible (in many but not all cases) to receive funding from the resources listed below.

Adams County
Parks & Community Resources Dept.
Open Space Advisory Board
9755 Henderson Rd.
Brighton, CO 80601
Main: 303-637-8000
website

Great Outdoors Colorado
303 E. 17th Ave, Suite 1060
Denver, CO 80203
Main: 303-226-4500
website

State of Colorado: Department of Local Affairs
Conservation Trust Fund
1313 Sherman Street, Room 521
Denver, CO 80203
Main: 303-866-6398
Fax: 303-866-4819
website

State of Colorado: Department of Public Health and Environment
Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability
4300 Cherry Creek Drive South C-1
Denver, CO 80246
Main: 303-692-3645
Fax: 303-866-4819
website

Note: The State of Colorado offers a recycled waste tire grant program to encourage the beneficial reuse and recycling of Colorado water tires. The Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability is responsible for providing financial incentives to various public entities, including metropolitan districts, to purchase products containing recycled or reused Colorado tires. The majority of projects that have been awarded funding in the past few years have been related to the purchase and installation of playground surfaces.
           

CONTRACTOR EVALUATION

Before hiring a contractor to service your neighborhood, you may want to consider doing some research to see if any reviews have been posted regarding the quality of their services.

Better Business Bureau (BBB): The BBB has a volunteer accreditation process for businesses. Consumers should consider checking the BBB website to see if any information exists for a particular contractor or business.

Consumer-Driven Business Rating Websites: Many websites allow consumers and to post reviews and ratings regarding contractor businesses. These websites do not collect complaints and forward them on to the business. Rather, they maintain an open forum where consumers may post their own reviews regarding a business and businesses can post responses to such reviews. The more popular consumer-driven review websites are as follows:

           

REGULATORY OVERSIGHT

REGULATORY BODIES FOR METROPOLITAN DISTRICTS:
  

REGULATORY BODY FOR HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATIONS

REGULATORY BODY FOR PUBLIC POOLS:
 

INFORMATION AND STATISTICS

U.S. Department of Justice
National Sex Offender Public Website
website

Note: This website provides a visual map and other information regarding the location of registered sex offenders. This is a free service provided by the Federal government and the information contained therein is the result of cooperative data-sharing arrangements between the Federal government and state and local law enforcement agencies. This is a great informational tool for homeowners to see whether sex offenders are living in or near their neighborhoods.

CrimeReports.com
11781 South Lone Peak Parkway, Suite 200
Draper UT 84020
Main: (801) 828-2700
Email: info@crimereports.com
website

Note: This website provides a visual map of crimes reported by various law-enforcement agencies. This service is paid for by those local law enforcement agencies who participate in providing data to the Crimereports.com website. The website also provides free email alerts to those who sign up for the free service. If your local law enforcement agency participates in this program, then this website is a great informational tool to see the frequency and types of crimes occurring in and around your neighborhood.

 

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

Special District Association
225 East 16th Avenue, Suite 1000
Denver, CO 80203
Main: 303-863-1733
Email: sdaco@sdaco.org
website

The Special District Association (SDA) is a non-profit, private organization that serves the interests of special districts across Colorado. Nearly 1,300 special districts (i.e. metropolitan districts, fire districts, water districts, etc.) across Colorado are members of the SDA. While SDA provides many benefits and resources to its members, it also provides free educational resources regarding special districts through its website.

Community Association Institute
National Offices
6402 Arlington Blvd, Suite 500
Falls Church, VA 22042
Main: 703-970-9220
website

Rocky Mountain Chapter Offices
3000 S. Jamaica Ct, Suite 390
Aurora, CO 80014
Main: 303-951-4973
website

The Community Association Institute (CAI) is a nation-wide non-profit, private organization that provides education resources and training to HOA board members and professionals who serve HOA communities (including property managers).

National Sheriffs’ Association
Neighborhood Watch Program
1450 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Main: (703) 836-7827
Email: nw@sherriffs.org
website

Note: Once organized, neighborhoods should register their neighborhood watch program through this website and receive additional information on growing and maintaining an active neighborhood watch program.