The rights of Columbia?s business owners to speak at board meetings should be restored, Columbia Association Board Member Barbara Russell said in response to a board decision that may exclude them.
“This is really one of the worst things we?ve ever done since I?ve been on the board ? to disenfranchise anyone who doesn?t live in Columbia and illegally disenfranchise the business owners,” Russell said.
The board?s decision to limit public comment to Columbia residents violates state law and association policy, she said.
The Maryland Homeowners Association Act states that anyone who owns land in a homeowners association has the right to speak during an allotted meeting time.
If only residents can speak at the meetings, landowners who are not residents ? such as business owners ? would be illegally prevented from speaking, Russell said.
Board Member Patrick von Schlag disagreed, saying, “that is gerrymandering our words. I would interpret it to allow business owners to speak.”
The board also violated its rule of requiring three meetings for any policy change when it voted to limit public input, Russell said.
The policy change was sparked when Columbia Association Board Chairman Tom O?Connor refused to allow Dr. Diane McDonald, chairwoman of the Maryland chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics? Committee of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, to speak during the public comment portion of the board meeting because she is not a Columbia resident, Russell said.
O?Connor refused to comment.
McDonald said she wanted to say at the board meeting that a consultant?s study the board used when it decided not to fence the Lake Elkhorn playground had quoted an unrelated portion of a report her organization helped issue.
Board Member Cindy Coyle said she requested the board have a chance to vote on whether nonresidents can be excluded from speaking because she wanted other board members to have a voice.
