2006 Code of Virginia § 55-79.75 - Meetings of unit owners\' associations and executive organs

55-79.75. Meetings of unit owners' associations and executive organs.

A. Meetings of the unit owners' association shall be held in accordance withthe provisions of the condominium instruments at least once each year afterthe formation of said association. The bylaws shall specify an officer or hisagent who shall, at least 21 days in advance of any annual or regularlyscheduled meeting, and at least seven days in advance of any other meeting,send to each unit owner notice of the time, place, and purposes of suchmeeting. Notice shall be sent by United States mail to all unit owners ofrecord at the address of their respective units and to such other addressesas any of them may have designated to such officer or his agent; or noticemay be hand delivered by the officer or his agent, provided the officer orhis agent certifies in writing that notice was delivered to the person of theunit owner.

In lieu of delivering notice as specified in the preceding paragraph of thissubsection, such officer or his agent may, to the extent the condominiuminstruments or rules adopted thereto expressly so provide, send notice byelectronic transmission consented to by the unit owner to whom the notice isgiven, provided the officer or his agent certifies in writing that notice wassent.

B. Except as otherwise provided in the condominium instruments, theprovisions of this subsection shall apply to executive organ meetings. Allmeetings of the unit owners' association or the executive organ, includingany subcommittee or other committee thereof, shall be open to all unit ownersof record. The executive organ shall not use work sessions or other informalgatherings of the executive organ to circumvent the open meeting requirementsof this section. The unit owners' association may, to the extent thecondominium instruments or rules adopted thereto expressly so provide, sendnotice by electronic transmission consented to by the officer to whom thenotice is given. Minutes of the meetings of the executive organ shall berecorded and shall be available as provided in 55-79.74:1.

Notice of the time, date and place of each meeting of the executive organ orof any subcommittee or other committee thereof, and of each meeting of asubcommittee or other committee of the unit owners' association, shall bepublished where it is reasonably calculated to be available to a majority ofthe unit owners.

A unit owner may make a request to be notified on a continual basis of anysuch meetings which request shall be made at least once a year in writing andinclude the unit owners' name, address, zip code, and any e-mail address asappropriate. Notice of the time, date, and place shall be sent to any unitowner requesting notice (i) by first-class mail or e-mail in the case ofmeetings of the executive organ or (ii) by e-mail in the case of meetings ofany subcommittee or other committee of the executive organ, or of asubcommittee or other committee of the unit owners' association.

Notice, reasonable under the circumstances, of special or emergency meetingsshall be given contemporaneously with the notice provided members of the (i)executive organ or any subcommittee or other committee thereof or (ii)subcommittee or other committee of the unit owners' association conductingthe meeting.

Unless otherwise exempt as relating to an executive session pursuant tosubsection C, at least one copy of all agenda packets and materials furnishedto members of the executive organ or subcommittee or other committee thereoffor a meeting shall be made available for inspection by the membership of theunit owners' association at the same time such documents are furnished to themembers of the executive organ.

Any unit owner may record any portion of a meeting required to be open. Theexecutive organ or subcommittee or other committee thereof conducting themeeting may adopt rules (i) governing the placement and use of equipmentnecessary for recording a meeting to prevent interference with theproceedings and (ii) requiring the unit owner recording the meeting toprovide notice that the meeting is being recorded.

If a meeting of the executive organ is conducted by telephone conference orvideo conference or similar electronic means, at least two board membersshall be physically present at the meeting place included in the notice. Theaudio equipment shall be sufficient for any member in attendance to hear whatis said by any board member participating in the meeting who is notphysically present.

Voting by secret or written ballot in an open meeting shall be a violation ofthis chapter except for the election of officers.

C. The executive organ or any subcommittee or other committee thereof mayconvene in executive session to consider personnel matters; consult withlegal counsel; discuss and consider contracts, probable or pending litigationand matters involving violations of the condominium instruments or rules andregulations promulgated pursuant thereto for which a unit owner, his familymembers, tenants, guests or other invitees are responsible; or discuss andconsider the personal liability of unit owners to the unit owners'association, upon the affirmative vote in an open meeting to assemble inexecutive session. The motion shall state specifically the purpose for theexecutive session. Reference to the motion and the stated purpose for theexecutive session shall be included in the minutes. The executive organ shallrestrict the consideration of matters during such portions of meetings toonly those purposes specifically exempted and stated in the motion. Nocontract, motion or other action adopted, passed or agreed to in executivesession shall become effective unless the executive organ or subcommittee orother committee thereof, following the executive session, reconvenes in openmeeting and takes a vote on such contract, motion or other action which shallhave its substance reasonably identified in the open meeting. Therequirements of this section shall not require the disclosure of informationin violation of law.

D. Subject to reasonable rules adopted by the executive organ, the executiveorgan shall provide a designated period of time during a meeting to allowunit owners an opportunity to comment on any matter relating to the unitowners' association. During a meeting at which the agenda is limited tospecific topics or at a special meeting, the executive organ may limit thecomments of unit owners to the topics listed on the meeting agenda.

(1974, c. 416; 1978, c. 363; 1989, c. 58; 1990, c. 662; 1992, c. 72; 2000, c.906; 2001, c. 715; 2003, cc. 404, 405, 442; 2005, c. 353.)