CAI-NJ Aug. 2019(w)

LOOKING AHEAD LARRY THOMAS, PCAM | CAI-NJ CHAPTER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

I hope that everyone is enjoying the summer that has finally arrived. I’ve never seen such a wet dismal June in all my years (and that’s a lot of years...). It seems that more and more, there are new or changing laws or mandates that affect our communities. Whether it be ESA’s (Actually, I haven’t heard the “Emotional Support Animal” term in some time) or new pool regulations or some newly introduced proposed bill that would turn our communities upside down, we need to have discussions to make sure we are ahead of these changes or societal trends. Which leads me to this issue’s theme, “Pets”. When I first started in the business the governance and control of animals living in a common interest community was fairly easy. Either you were not allowed to have any pets or the right to have an animal living with you was spelled out in the governing documents. This has definitely changed over the last decade. With the popularity of comfort and service animals, the lines between pets and their purpose sometimes get blurred. It makes sense for all our homeowner leader and manager members to review their documents to see how pets and other animals are addressed. I’ve seen the term “exotic” animals mentioned as well as specific species of animals (goats, sheep, chickens, etc.). I’ve seen size of pets as well as quantity of pets outlined as well. I suggest that with the popularity and easing of restrictions on pets in society, our communities need to look at their regulations concerning pets and come up with realistic guidelines concerning the ownership of an animal companion. Exactly what is an “exotic” animal. A good idea is to detail what this means. It is very common to go to any public venue or event and see an attendee accom- panied by a small dog. Does this mean we need to allow them in our clubhouses and common area recreational areas? That’s a great question for your board and legal counsel. And again, remember that there is a discrete distinction between comfort/service animals and pets. So,

“When I first started in the business the governance and control of animals living in a common interest community was fairly easy...This has definitely changed over the last decade.” A few wrap up notes, we recently held our mid-year “New Member Breakfast” on July 9 at Greenbriar at Whittingham community in Monroe Township. It was very well attended and it’s always great for me to meet face to face our new members. This event was presented by the Our Annual Olympics hosted by our F.A.S.T. committee raised a great deal of money to be donated to the New Jersey Make-A-Wish Foundation, stay tuned for our final donation amount! During the last week of June, we hosted our annual golf outing at Forsgate. The golf committee always does a great job organizing this event and we squeezed through the day without any rain (contrary to the weather reports). Please enjoy the rest of the summer and take advantage of all that our state has to offer. We have the best beaches in the world and there’s nothing like a Jersey tomato or a piece of Jersey corn or just a stroll on the boardwalk along with a massive slice of tomato pie (pizza)! n we all want to enjoy our homes as much as possible and to create a mutually pleasurable environment for all (or most of) our residents, it’s important to examine your pet policies and make sure they are somewhat parallel with what the rest of society is experiencing. membership committee. The membership committee also created a new program, called the “CAI-NJ Ambassador Program”. See attached picture.

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