Condo Media - May 2018 - 37

ust before we were scheduled to travel to Palm Springs this
year for CAI's 39th Annual Community Association Law Seminar,
United Airlines denied a passenger's request to let her support
peacock on a flight. You read that right: a support peacock.

Imagine the logistical challenges of
bringing a peacock on a plane (peacock
trains can be more than four feet long)!
What is interesting about this story
though is not just how unusual this individual's request was, but how common
these types of incidents have become,
particularly in the community association context. It also serves to set the tone
for the discussions at this year's seminar,
a theme we like to call more of the same,
but still plenty to think about.
At this year's annual gathering of community association attorneys from across
the nation, we heard dozens of familiar
stories: communities wrestling with
requests for support animals, struggling
to limit short-term rentals, dealing with
residents "aging in place," and many of
the topics that regularly take up pages-if
not volumes-of this publication. At first,
the routine nature of the issues struck us
as disappointing. After all, we had come
to California to learn (and, OK sure, for
a break from the New England weather),
and this was not new ground. However,
upon reflection, we recognized that just
because the problems are not new to us
(or likely to many of the readers of this
publication), does not mean the perspectives and approaches offered by the
speakers are stale.
To the contrary, it was encouraging
to hear our analyses and approaches to

these problems-and the good advice
regularly printed here by all those who
contribute as part of CAI New England-
is consistent with the best practices
developed by experts in the field over
many state lines.
So, while the subject matter presented
more of the same in terms of issues,
problems, and challenges for our communities, we believe there is still plenty
to think about:
KEYNOTE SPEAKER-
JEFFREY TOOBIN
The keynote speaker at this year's Law
Seminar was Jeffrey Toobin, author, pundit, and legal analyst for CNN and The
New Yorker. Jeffrey's address was witty
and engaging, a feat made more impressive by the fact that he spoke predominantly about the history of the liberal/
conservative biases on the Supreme
Court. While most of Jeffrey's speech
had nothing to do with community associations per se, he jokingly shared that
he was a "satisfied, non-litigious" co-op
owner in New York. He also offered that
what we do as community association
practitioners-dealing with people's
homes and money-is serious business.
At first glance, this may seem like a
throwaway line to a room full of condominium attorneys, but we think it is
worth deeper consideration. If you are

reading this article, you are likely in a position to have a significant impact on both
people's homes and their money, whether
you are an attorney, manager, board
member, or other community association
service professional. Homes and money
probably rank among the top concerns
for any family in America, maybe just shy
of health and family. That is not something that any of us should take lightly,
even if it is part of our daily routine.
Like Jeffrey, we encourage all of you
to take a moment to step back: consider
how what may seem like just another part
of the daily grind to you is, for another
person, a potentially dramatic and unusual circumstance. By framing your approach to problems with this perspective,
you may find that the realm of solutions
expands considerably.
HOARDING-IT'S WORSE
THAN YOU THINK
Did you know that in 2014, hoarding was
recognized as a psychiatric disorder that
an estimated two to five percent of the
population suffers from? That's nearly 12
million people. Though both of us have
dealt with multiple incidents of hoarding
at the communities we represent, we
were surprised to learn of the incredible
prevalence of this issue. Hoarding can
present a bevy of problems for boards,
managers, and neighbors. Oftentimes,
May 2018

Condo Media - May 2018

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