Beaumont Tashjian Law Blog

Monday, December 6, 2021

New Law for Emotional Support Animals & How it Affects Reasonable Accommodation Requests

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, approximately 48 million households own at least one dog. Other estimates go as high as sixty-eight percent (68%) of all American households. The Insurance Information Institute estimates that thirty percent (30%) of Americans adopted a pet during the pandemic. Wherever the final tally falls, pet ownership is clearly woven into the fabric of community association living—and so are pet restrictions. 

Although pet restrictions, such as number and size limitations, are common and often considered a positive instrument to keep property values up, associations may have a legal duty to allow an owner to keep emotional support animals, even if in violation of the CC&Rs.


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Monday, November 8, 2021

New Election Laws: Term Limits are BACK

Board, managers and owners alike will recall back to 2020, when Senate Bill 323 (“SB 323”) shook up association elections by limiting the number and type of candidate qualifications that could be enforced. Under current law for example, directors and candidates must be members of the association. SB 323 also provided for just four (4) disqualifiers that an association could enforce, through their governing documents: a) the owner is delinquent, b) they’ve been an owner for just one (1) year, c) they’ve had a past criminal conviction that would impact the association’s fidelity bond coverage, and d) if elected, they would be serving on the board at the same time as another board member/candidate who holds a joint ownership interest in the same separate interest.

One seemingly unintended consequence of SB 323 was that it made term limits effectively, unenforceable. In other words, associations could no longer set or enforce a maximum number of sequential terms that any one person could serve on the board, through their governing documents.

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Sunday, September 5, 2021

Beaumont Tashjian Welcomes its Newest Team Member - Kumar Raja, Esq.

Beaumont Tashjian is pleased to announce that Kumar Raja, Esq. has joined the firm.

Kumar S. Raja, Esq. is a senior associate at Beaumont Tashjian, where he primarily handles the Firm’s litigation and enforcement matters. He also provides general counsel services for the Firm's diverse community association clientele on a wide array of subjects, including risk management and corporate governance. His passion is developing creative solutions which foster community harmony. Board member education and support are cornerstones of Mr. Raja's practice. Mr. Raja has over 10 years of experience representing common interest developments.

Mr. Raja holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (Dean's Honor List), where he wrote for the school's newspaper (Daily Bruin). At Loyola Law School in Los Angeles (J.D. 2002), Mr. Raja participated in the school's Scott Moot Court Program and completed externships at the LA City Attorney's Office and U.S. Bankruptcy Court (Hon. Kathleen March).

Mr. Raja is a proud member of Community Associations Institute (CAI) and has been an invited guest speaker at state and local CACM and CAI chapters throughout the state. He is an award-winning author having written several articles on Covid-19 topics and new legislation affecting common interest developments. 

kraja@HOAattorneys.com | 866.788.9998


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Monday, August 2, 2021

The Los Angeles Homelessness Crisis: How the City’s New Anti-Camping Law Impacts Your Community

The homelessness crisis in Los Angeles is impossible to ignore. While it seems that over the years, the crisis has become embedded into the fabric of the City’s culture, with encampments such as Skid Row becoming household names, legislators and local leaders have continued to grapple with solving, or at least mitigating exacerbation of the situation. It’s also no secret that this hot button issue has left community association boards and managers wondering, “What is the City doing to help?”

This question is more relevant than ever, given the pandemic’s impact on homelessness over the last year alone. As of the date of this letter, the State of California reports the highest homeless population by far, according to the U.S.


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Monday, July 5, 2021

RIDGELINE PROTECTION ORDINANCE: REZONING THE BEL AIR BEVERLY CREST NEIGHBORHOOD

As you may be aware, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission is currently considering two ordinances meant to protect the City’s ridgelines: (1) the Ridgeline Protection Ordinance (CPC-2021-3001-CA), and (2) the Zone Change Ordinance (CPC-2021-3059-ZC). If implemented, these proposed ordinances would create a two-step process whereby the City Planner would re-zone much of the area located East of Interstate 405 to Coldwater Canyon Drive between Mulholland Drive and Sunset Boulevard.

The Ridgeline Protection Ordinance coupled with the Zone Change Ordinance establish a new district in the Los Angeles Municipal Code and are intended to address maintenance of the ridgelines within the city. In short, this ordinance will be used to re-zone the lots located closest to ridgelines, create two new zoning designations, RP1 and RP2, and implement development regulations to “preserve and protect” the ridgelines that surround the City of Los Angeles.

If approved, future buildings would be required to follow strict guidelines for construction, improvements and development including height and grading restrictions on nearly all of the lots between Interstate 405 and Laurel Canyon.


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Monday, June 7, 2021

COVID-19 UPDATE

As you have heard, effective June 15th, the State of California and Governor Newsom have confirmed that restrictions and protocols related to the pandemic have been lifted. This means that counties are no longer placed into “tiers” based upon their COVID-19 case rates and hospitalizations, and very limited mitigation measures are in place. Specifically, there are “no restrictions” for capacity or physical distancing, with respect to most venues. In other words, the association’s fitness center, clubhouse, swimming pool area, etc. may reopen fully, without limitations.


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Monday, May 3, 2021

COVID-19 UPDATE: Memorial Day & More

Diving Back In! How to Safely Reopen the Common Area Facilities

With Memorial Day quickly approaching, community boards and managers are feeling the pressure to reopen pool amenities as soon as possible. This begs the question, “how do we reopen the pool?”


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Monday, April 19, 2021

We support SB 391 (Min).

SB 391 will allow for common interest developments throughout California to conduct meetings via teleconference during a state of emergency.


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Monday, April 5, 2021

The HOA Show Podcast Presents: Episode 16: “AMENDING AND RESTATING GOVERNING DOCUMENTS” with BRITTANY A. KETCHUM, ESQ.

In this episode, Brittany A. Ketchum, Esq. was a guest on The HOA Show Podcast.



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Monday, March 15, 2021

Beaumont Tashjian Congratulates Associate Attorney on 10-Year Anniversary

Beaumont Tashjian (BT) proudly congratulates Brittany A. Ketchum, Esq. on celebrating her 10-year anniversary with the firm. Brittany is an associate attorney with BT, where she provides general counsel services to the firm’s clients and manages the firm’s governing documents department. Brittany has significant experience providing legal opinions to the firm’s clients, as well as review and analysis of governing documents, interpretation, and recommendations to same.



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Monday, March 8, 2021

Moving from the Red Tier to the Orange Tier: What you Need to Know - By: Tawnza Sofranko, Esq.

As you likely know, COVID-19 cases are on the decline and, as a result, many counties are quickly moving through the State’s Red Tier and into the Orange Tier. The Red and Orange Tiers allow for lifting/relaxing of certain restrictions based on reduced infections, ongoing vaccinations throughout the county, etc. As the case has been throughout the pandemic, homeowners’ associations are not necessarily mentioned in State and county orders. So, what do the Red and Orange Tiers mean for common interest developments?


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