Sec. 47-236. Amendment of declaration.
Sec. 47-236. Amendment of declaration. (a) Except in cases of amendments that
may be executed by a declarant under subsection (f) of section 47-228 or section 47-229, or by the association under section 47-206, subsection (d) of section 47-225, subsection (c) of section 47-227, subsection (a) of section 47-231 or section 47-232, or by
certain unit owners under subsection (b) of section 47-227, subsection (a) of section 47-231, subsection (b) of section 47-232, subsection (b) of section 47-237 or section 47-242, and except as limited by subsections (d) and (f) of this section, the declaration,
including any surveys and plans, may be amended only by vote or agreement of unit
owners of units to which at least sixty-seven per cent of the votes in the association are
allocated, or any larger majority the declaration specifies. The declaration may specify
a smaller number only if all of the units are restricted exclusively to nonresidential use.
(b) No action to challenge the validity of an amendment adopted by the association
pursuant to this section may be brought more than one year after the amendment is
recorded.
(c) Every amendment to the declaration shall be recorded in every town in which
any portion of the common interest community is located and is effective only on recordation. An amendment, except an amendment pursuant to subsection (a) of section
47-231, shall be indexed in the grantee's index in the name of the common interest
community and the association and in the grantor's index in the name of the parties
executing the amendment.
(d) Except to the extent expressly permitted or required by other provisions of this
chapter, no amendment may create or increase special declarant rights, increase the
number of units or change the boundaries of any unit or the allocated interests of a unit,
in the absence of unanimous consent of the unit owners.
(e) Amendments to the declaration required by this chapter to be recorded by the
association shall be prepared, executed, recorded and certified on behalf of the association by any officer of the association designated for that purpose or, in the absence of
designation, by the president of the association.
(f) By vote or agreement of unit owners of units to which at least eighty per cent
of the votes in the association are allocated, or any larger percentage specified in the
declaration, an amendment to the declaration may prohibit or materially restrict the
permitted uses or occupancy of a unit or the number or other qualifications of persons
who may occupy units. The amendment must provide reasonable protection for a use
or occupancy permitted at the time the amendment was adopted.
(g) The time limits specified in the declaration pursuant to subdivision (8) of subsection (a) of section 47-224, within which reserved development rights must be exercised
may be extended, the number of units may be increased and new development rights
or other special declarant rights may be created by amendment to the declaration if
persons entitled to cast at least eighty per cent of the votes in the association, including
eighty per cent of the votes allocated to units not owned by the declarant, agree to that
action. The amendment must identify the association or other persons who hold any
new rights that are created. Written notice of the proposed amendment to the declaration
must be delivered to all persons holding development rights or security interests in those
rights. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, the amendment
to the declaration is effective thirty days after the amendment is recorded and notice is
delivered unless any of the persons entitled to notice under this subsection records a
written objection within the thirty-day period, in which case the amendment is void, or
unless all of the persons entitled to notice under this subsection consent in writing at
the time the amendment is recorded, in which case the amendment is effective when
recorded.
(h) Provisions in the declaration creating special declarant rights may not be
amended without the consent of the declarant.
(i) If any provision of this chapter or of the declaration of any common interest
community subject to this chapter requires the consent of a person holding a security
interest in a unit as a condition to the effectiveness of any amendment to the declaration,
that consent shall be deemed granted if no written refusal to consent is received by the
association within forty-five days after the association delivers notice of the proposed
amendment to the holder of the interest or mails the notice to the holder of the interest
by certified mail, return receipt requested. The association may rely on the last-recorded
security interest of record in delivering or mailing notice to the holder of that interest.
(j) If the declaration of a common interest community, whether created before or
after January 1, 1984, contains a provision requiring that amendments relating to the
use of units, the relocation of boundaries between units and common elements or the
extension or creation of development rights may be adopted only by the vote or
agreement of unit owners of units to which more than eighty per cent of the votes in the
association are allocated, such a proposed amendment shall be deemed approved if:
(1) (A) Unit owners of units to which more than eighty per cent of the votes in the
association are allocated vote for or agree to the proposed amendment;
(B) No unit owner votes against the proposed amendment; and
(C) Notice of the proposed amendment is delivered to the unit owners holding the
votes in the association that have not voted or agreed to the proposed amendment and
no written objection of the proposed amendment is received by the association within
thirty days after the association delivers notice; or
(2) Unit owners of units to which more than eighty per cent of the votes in the
association are allocated vote for or agree to the proposed amendment but at least one
unit owner objects to the proposed amendment and, pursuant to an action brought by
the association in the Superior Court against all objecting unit owners, the court finds
that the objecting unit owner or owners do not have a unique minority interest, different
in kind from the interests of the other unit owners, that the voting requirement of the
declaration was intended to protect.
(P.A. 83-474, S. 37, 96; P.A. 95-187, S. 12, 29; P.A. 04-132, S. 4.)
History: P.A. 95-187 amended Subsec. (a) to replace "except as limited by subsection (d) of this section" with "except
as limited by subsections (d) and (f) of this section", amended Subsec. (d) to delete prohibition on an amendment changing
the uses to which any unit is restricted without the unanimous consent of the unit owners, added a new Subsec. (f) to authorize
an amendment that prohibits or materially restricts the permitted uses or occupancy of a unit, specify the percentage vote
required for the adoption of such amendment and require the amendment to provide reasonable protection for a use or
occupancy permitted at the time the amendment was adopted, added a new Subsec. (g) authorizing an amendment that
extends the time limits within which reserved development rights must be exercised, increases the number of units or
creates new development rights or other special declarant rights and specifying procedure for adoption thereof, redesignated
former Subsec. (f) as Subsec. (h), added Subsec. (i) re when a person holding a security interest in a unit is deemed to have
granted his consent to the adoption of a proposed amendment and added Subsec. (j) re when an amendment relating to the
use of units, the relocation of boundaries between units and common elements or the extension or creation of development
rights that requires at least an 80% vote is deemed approved, effective June 28, 1995; P.A. 04-132 amended Subsec. (j)
by replacing references to 80% "or more" of the votes and "at least" 80% of the votes with references to "more than" 80%
of the votes.
Subsec. (d):
Cited. 22 CA 497.