ARTICLE IV: ASSESSMENTS

 

1. Creation of the Lien and Personal Obligation of Assessments. Each Mandatory Member and Voluntary Member owning a Lot within the association shall pay the following sums to the Association: (I) annual assessments or charges; (ii) special assessments against all Lots for the purposes hereinafter described, such assessments to be established and collected as hereinafter provided; and (iii) specific assessments against any particular Lot or Lots which are authorized and established pursuant to the terms of this Declaration. For all Mandatory Members, all such assessments, together with interest, costs, and reasonable attorney's fees actually incurred, shall be a charge on the land and shall be a continuing lien upon the Lot against which each assessment is made. Each such assessment, together with interest, costs, and reasonable attorney's fees actually incurred, shall also be the personal obligation of the Mandatory Member who was the Owner of such Lot at the time when the assessment fell due. Every Owner of a Member Lot, by acceptance of a deed therefore, is deemed to covenant and agree to pay the mandatory assessments covered by the continuing lien as set forth in this Section 1, whether or not such covenant and agreement be expressed in such deed, upon the effective date of this Declaration.
2. Purpose and Categories of Assessments. The assessments levied by the Association shall be used exclusively to promote the recreation, health, safety, and welfare of the residents in Hidden Hills Civic Association, to pay the Association's costs and expenses and the Association's liability, if any, for the activities of the Association, to pay ad valorem taxes, to pay any charges or costs assessed against the Association, and to pay insurance premiums, if any, and for such other related purposes as the Board may determine.
3. Annual Assessment. The annual assessments to be levied by the Association shall be determined as follows:

1. The initial annual assessments shall be established by the Board of Directors no later than thirty (30) days after the recording of this Declaration.
2. Within thirty (30) days prior to the date of each annual meeting of the Association, the Board shall cause to be prepared a budget for the maintenance and operation of the Property for the succeeding fiscal year. The budget shall include compensation of any entity which is employed by the Board to perform the duties imposed upon the Association hereunder. Such budget shall be based upon reasonable, good faith estimates of the actual expenses of the Association for such year. Based on this budget, the Board of Directors shall fix the amount of the annual assessment against each Lot at least thirty (30) days in advance of each annual meeting. Written notice of the annual assessment shall be sent to every Mandatory and Voluntary Member. Unless the Board shall otherwise determine, the annual assessments shall be payable in one annual installment on the first day of the second month of each fiscal year. The Association shall, upon request, and for a reasonable charge (not to exceed $10), furnish a certificate signed by an officer of the Association setting forth whether the assessments on a specified Lot have been paid.

1. If the annual budget established hereunder proves inadequate for such fiscal year, then the Board may, at any time within said fiscal year, levy a special assessment for the purpose of meeting the expenses of the Association. Such assessment shall not take effect until the assessment has been presented at a meeting of the membership called to explain the assessment, and provided that the members do not vote, by a vote of a two-thirds (2/3rds) of the Mandatory Members present, to disapprove the special assessment. Should the meeting to present the special assessment levied under this paragraph be properly called but a quorum is not present at the meeting, the assessment shall take effect on the date of the called meeting.
2. If the budget established hereunder for any fiscal year results in a surplus for such year, then the Board may credit such surplus to a reserve fund or make such other disposition of such surplus as the Board deems consistent with the obligations imposed on the Association hereunder. The Board shall take into consideration the existence and amount of such reserve fund when establishing the amount of assessments for succeeding fiscal years.
3. The budget and the assessment shall become effective unless disapproved at the annual meeting by a vote of a two -thirds (2/3rds) of the association membership present. Notwithstanding the foregoing, however, in the event that the membership disapproves the proposed budget or the Board fails for any reason so to determine the budget for the succeeding year, then and until such time as a budget shall have been determined as provided herein, the budget and the assessment in effect for the current year shall continue for the succeeding year.

4.        Special Assessments Against Specific Lots. Any expenses incurred by the Association which are occasioned by the conduct of a Member, his family, tenants, invitees or licensees, including reasonable attorneys' fees actually incurred in enforcing this Declaration, shall be specially assessed against such Member Lot; provided, however, that no such assessment may be made against any Member Lot after such Lot Owner has conveyed the Lot to a bona fide purchaser or after such Lot has been transferred in a manner which would, under Section 9 below, extinguish the lien for any outstanding assessments. Any expenses incurred by the Association benefitting fewer than all of the Member Lots or significantly disproportionately benefitting the Member Lots shall be assessed equitably among the Member Lots so benefitted; provided, however, that no such special or disproportionate allocation may be made by the Association for common expenses intended to be covered by any established reserve fund. The special assessments provided for in this section shall be levied by the Board of Directors, and the amount and due date(s) of such special assessments so levied shall be as specified by the Board.

1. Association Approval of Special Assessments. Written notice of any meeting called for the purpose of taking any action authorized under Section 3(c), shall be sent to all members not less than fifteen (15) days, nor more than thirty (30) days in advance of the meeting. At any such meeting called, the presence of members, either in person or by proxy, entitled to cast ten percent (10%) of the votes shall constitute a quorum. if the required quorum is not present, another meeting may be called subject to the same notice requirement. No such subsequent meeting shall be held more than thirty (30) days following the preceding meeting.
2. Payment of Annual Assessments. Except as otherwise provided in this Article, both annual and special assessments shall be equally assessed against the membership and common profits shall be allocated equally among the membership. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this requirement of equal assessment shall not prevent disproportionate assessments against one or more of the members pursuant to specific provisions of this Declaration. Common profits shall be allocated in the same manner as assessments. Except as herein set forth, the assessments provided for shall commence as to all Members within the Association and subject to this Declaration on the date thirty (30) days after notice is sent by the Association to the Owner of each Member Lot at the Lot address or such other address as furnished by the Member to the Association; such notice may be addressed to "Member" at the Lot address unless the Owner has provided to the Association a written notice of the name of the Owner. Failure of proper notice to any Member shall not postpone the commencement of assessments for any other Member.
3. Lien for Assessments. All sums assessed to any Mandatory Member Lot pursuant to this Article together with late charges and interest as provided herein shall be secured by a lien on such Lot in favor of the Association. Such lien shall be superior to all other liens and encumbrances on such Lot, except only for:

1. Liens of ad valorem taxes;          

(b)      the lien for all sums unpaid on any first mortgage covering the Lot or any mortgage recorded prior to the recording of this Declaration; and
(c) the lien of any secondary purchase money mortgage covering the lot, provided that neither the grantee nor any successor grantee on the mortgage is the seller of the Lot.
All other persons acquiring liens or encumbrances on any Mandatory Membership Lot after this Declaration shall have been recorded shall take subject to the lien of the Association.
 
Effect of Nonpayment of Assessments: Remedies of the Association. If any assessment, or portion thereof, is not paid within fifteen (15) days after the due date, then a late charge, not in excess of the greater of Ten Dollars ($10.00) or ten percent (10%) of the amount of each delinquent assessment or installment shall also be included in the lien and shall be due and payable to the Association. The lien for assessments shall also include interest at a rate of ten percent (10%) per annum on any assessment, installment, delinquency or late charge from the date such sum was first due and payable. The lien for assessments shall further secure costs of collection, including court costs, the expenses of sale, any expenses required for the protection and preservation of the Lot, and reasonable attorney's fees actually incurred. If any delinquent assessment or portion thereof is not paid within ten (10) days after written notice is given to the Member to make such payment, the entire unpaid balance of the assessment may be declared due and payable in full, and proceedings may be instituted to enforce such lien. Such notice shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Member both at the address of the Member Lot and at any other address or addresses the Member may have designated to the Association in writing, specifying the amount of the assessments then due and payable, together with authorized late charges and interest accrued thereon. All actions for the collection of such assessments by suit, judgment and enforcement of the aforesaid lien shall be brought in the same manner as other liens for the improvement of real property. The lien for assessments shall lapse and be of no further effect as to assessments or installments thereof, together with late charges and interest applicable thereto, first becoming due and payable more than four (4) years prior to the institution of suit therefore.

1. Extinguishment of Lien. Except as hereinafter provided, sale or transfer of a Member Lot shall not affect the lien for unpaid assessments. The enforcement of any lien which is superior to the lien for assessments, as provided in Section 7 hereof, whether by sale under power or judicial sale or foreclosure, or the enforcement of any first mortgage or secondary purchase money mortgage by transfer in lieu of foreclosure, shall extinguish the lien for any special assessments and any installments of annual assessments which are inferior to such lien and which fell due prior to the date of such sale under power, foreclosure, or transfer.