Members of the Board of Directors should contact their association attorney for information on proxy forms, consent ballots, notices of meeting, affidavits and recording. Do NOT wait until December when it will be too late to take action, start discussing this issue with your community, management and attorney today!
There are 2 Retrofits for Community Associations to contend with this year: one for fire sprinklers and the other for guardrails. Fortunately, both can be avoided by a vote of the membership in most cases. Those communities that fail to vote to forgo the retrofits could have major construction costs.
Sprinklers: Chapter 633 Florida Statutes requires that buildings over 75 feet in height or three stories plus with a construction contract executed after January 1, 1994 (except single-family and two-family dwellings) be retrofitted with automatic sprinkler systems that comply with Chapter 633.
A condominium or cooperative can avoid an expensive retrofit of the common elements, association property, or units of a residential condominium or cooperative with the new sprinkler system if the majority of the unit owners vote to forgo retrofitting and a certification of the vote is recorded on the public records. The association must also report the information to the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes. The vote to forgo retrofitting must be completed on or before the December 31, 2016 deadline. Otherwise the association must apply for the building permits necessary to complete the required retrofit installation.
Guardrails: Changes to the National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Code require that the spacing between any handrail and guardrail pickets not exceed 4 inches. The changes to the Code are being applied retroactively, meaning that if the community does not take action it could be subject to a fire code violation. Most 55+ communities (housing for older persons) that have buildings less than 75 feet high may vote to forgo the guardrail retrofit requirement by a 2/3 vote of the membership in favor of opting-out of the retrofit. The association must then file a retrofitting report with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Multiple Florida Fire Marshalls have already given notice in writing that they intend to apply the retrofit rules retroactively and impose fines and penalties on communities that fail to comply. Discuss how your community plans to handle retrofitting with your members and advisers as soon as possible.