Virginia Code 55.1-1816: Meetings of the board of directors
A. All meetings of the board of directors, including any subcommittee or other committee of the board of directors, where the business of the association is discussed or transacted shall be open to all members of record. The board of directors shall not use work sessions or other informal gatherings of the board of directors to circumvent the open meeting requirements of this section. Minutes of the meetings of the board of directors shall be recorded and shall be available as provided in subsection B of § 55.1-1815.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 55.1-1816
- Association: means the property owners' association. See Virginia Code 55.1-1800
- Board of directors: means the executive body of a property owners' association or a committee that is exercising the power of the executive body by resolution or bylaw. See Virginia Code 55.1-1800
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Declaration: includes any amendment or supplement to the instruments described in this definition. See Virginia Code 55.1-1800
- Executive session: A portion of the Senate's daily session in which it considers executive business.
- in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Chapter 42. See Virginia Code 1-257
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- Lot: means (i) any plot or parcel of land designated for separate ownership or occupancy shown on a recorded subdivision plat for a development or the boundaries of which are described in the declaration or in a recorded instrument referred to or expressly contemplated by the declaration, other than a common area, and (ii) a unit in a condominium association or a unit in a real estate cooperative if the condominium or cooperative is a part of a development. See Virginia Code 55.1-1800
- Lot owner: means one or more persons who own a lot, including any purchaser of a lot at a foreclosure sale, regardless of whether the deed is recorded in the land records where the lot is located. See Virginia Code 55.1-1800
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
B. Notice of the time, date, and place of each meeting of the board of directors or of any subcommittee or other committee of the board of directors shall be published where it is reasonably calculated to be available to a majority of the lot owners.
A lot owner may make a request to be notified on a continual basis of any such meetings. Such request shall be made at least once a year in writing and include the lot owner’s name, address, zip code, and any email address as appropriate. Notice of the time, date, and place shall be sent to any lot owner requesting notice (i) by first-class mail or email in the case of meetings of the board of directors or (ii) by email in the case of meetings of any subcommittee or other committee of the board of directors.
Notice, reasonable under the circumstances, of special or emergency meetings shall be given contemporaneously with the notice provided to members of the association’s board of directors or any subcommittee or other committee of the board of directors conducting the meeting.
Unless otherwise exempt as relating to an executive session pursuant to subsection C, at least one copy of all agenda packets and materials furnished to members of an association’s board of directors or subcommittee or other committee of the board of directors for a meeting shall be made available for inspection by the membership of the association at the same time such documents are furnished to the members of the board of directors or any subcommittee or committee of the board of directors.
Any member may record any portion of a meeting that is required to be open. The board of directors or subcommittee or other committee of the board of directors conducting the meeting may adopt rules (a) governing the placement and use of equipment necessary for recording a meeting to prevent interference with the proceedings and (b) requiring the member recording the meeting to provide notice that the meeting is being recorded.
Except for the election of officers, voting by secret or written ballot in an open meeting shall be a violation of this chapter.
C. The board of directors or any subcommittee or other committee of the board of directors may (i) convene in executive session to consider personnel matters; (ii) consult with legal counsel; (iii) discuss and consider contracts, pending or probable litigation, and matters involving violations of the declaration or rules and regulations; or (iv) discuss and consider the personal liability of members to the association, upon the affirmative vote in an open meeting to assemble in executive session. The motion shall state specifically the purpose for the executive session. Reference to the motion and the stated purpose for the executive session shall be included in the minutes. The board of directors shall restrict the consideration of matters during such portions of meetings to only those purposes specifically exempted and stated in the motion. No contract, motion, or other action adopted, passed, or agreed to in executive session shall become effective unless the board of directors or subcommittee or other committee of the board of directors, following the executive session, reconvenes in open meeting and takes a vote on such contract, motion, or other action, which shall have its substance reasonably identified in the open meeting. The requirements of this section shall not require the disclosure of information in violation of law.
D. Subject to reasonable rules adopted by the board of directors, the board of directors shall provide a designated period during each meeting to allow members an opportunity to comment on any matter relating to the association. During a meeting at which the agenda is limited to specific topics or at a special meeting, the board of directors may limit the comments of members to the topics listed on the meeting agenda.
1999, c. 1029, § 55-510.1; 2000, c. 905; 2001, c. 715; 2003, c. 404; 2004, c. 333; 2005, c. 353; 2019, c. 712; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 9, 494; 2023, cc. 387, 388.