When Yvonne Meyer and her husband, Michael Gollub, lived in Anchorage, Alaska, they found it nearly impossible to connect with their neighbors.

“It was a very transient place,” recalled Meyer, “and I knew that at some point I wanted to live in a place where people had a sense of community.”

They eventually left Alaska for the Puget Sound, and when their house-hunting activities brought them to North Kitsap, they discovered the Shorewoods neighborhood. It seemed like a wonderful, community-oriented place with common property that included a sandy beach, tennis court, playground, clubhouse and pool. And since the community was responsible for managing and maintaining the jointly owned facilities and grounds through a homeowners’ association (HOA), it sounded like a ready-made opportunity to get involved.

“I was curious about the whole homeowners’ association thing,” said Meyer “but I had no clue what it was about. I hadn’t even heard of it.”

After they’d settled in, the couple started attending board meetings as a first step toward getting involved.

“I was curious,” said Meyer. “I wanted to find out what was going on, and I thought since we were paying dues someone should be there to represent our lot. So I started with a sense of duty.”

Meyer’s sense of duty turned quickly to attending “for the entertainment value,” she noted. “I had never attended board meetings before, and it was an eye-opening experience. There was a lot of conflict over decisions. I got to see a different side of my neighbors, both positive and negative.”

Gollub concurred that the meetings were educational. “But they were also incredibly boring, and at times, frustrating,” he said. “Sometimes people would be at each other’s throats, and then afterward there would be a ‘hug fest.’ I stopped going.”

“We couldn’t pinpoint any specific issues that were causing conflict,” added Meyer. “It just seemed like there were a lot of personality conflicts and personal issues. We couldn’t understand why people were becoming charged up.”

Their involvement in community affairs intensified after a few years, when Meyer learned that some of her neighbors were fearful that their children were going to be injured by people speeding past their bus stop on school days. In response, she volunteered to serve on the Hansville Traffic Safety Advisory Committee and set about trying to generate more awareness about the hazards of speeding and the effect it was having on the community.

She was shocked by the response to her efforts. “I had an expectation that people would be polite, and respectful. I thought that if we pointed out that there were children at risk, the adults would do the right thing.”

That wasn’t her experience. Instead, people were speeding up. Or advocating that ‘kids don’t belong on the road.’ And one time, when she and her husband were out walking, a neighbor who opposed the actions of the Traffic Committee drove up next to her and told her she’d ‘better look out for rear view mirrors’ when on foot.

“It was infuriating,” she said. “Some of the people were so rude. For me, pedestrian safety is a huge issue: I didn’t feel safe walking. And I couldn’t understand their reaction.”

Meyer eventually withdrew from the Traffic Committee, though she continues to be involved with community issues. “I couldn’t make the Tuesday meetings,” she said. “That was part of my reason. But I also didn’t feel like the committee was going to address my concerns. I’d never worked on a board before, and I didn’t know what was expected or what to expect. I think we all come to these things with an agenda – I wanted to increase pedestrian and bike safety in Hansville – but I don’t think we can pick and choose little projects and expect that to address the bigger issues affecting all of us.”

Gollub, who is currently serving a term on the Shorewoods board, agrees. “I think it all comes down to education,” he said. “There’s often a disregard for the business and formal aspects of community work, and there is very little written guidance for how to do things. And there are communication issues and personal conflicts that impact how people work together as a team. We have to be willing to work together, and that can be hard to do. I’m a scientist, and at work we have an SOP (standard operating procedure) for everything we do. I think that’s a good way to do things.

“I know what a good theory looks like, and I know how to follow things through to fruition. I can present my ideas fairly well, and I’m willing to listen. But do I have the skills to help you change your mind? I don’t. But if I did – if we all did – I think that would be a huge help to the community.”

A (very) brief history of homeowners’ associations

Homeowners’ associations (HOA) were originated in the 1960s by real estate developers for the purpose of developing, managing and selling homes. Developers typically divest themselves of responsibility for an HOA by transferring ownership of the association to the homeowners after selling off a predetermined number of lots. As a legal entity, an HOA has the authority to enforce the covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) of a development, and to manage common amenities.

Most homeowners’ associations are non-profit corporations, and are subject to state statutes that govern non-profit corporations and homeowners’ associations. According to Evan McKenzie, author of “Privatopia, Homeowners’ Associations and the Rise of Private Residential Governments,” the fastest growing form of housing in the United States today is common-interest development, a category that includes planned-unit developments of single-family homes, condominiums and cooperative apartments. Since 1964, homeowners’ associations have become increasingly common. The Community Associations Institute trade association estimates that HOAs governed 23 million American homes and 57 million residents in 2006.

HOAs have both advocates and detractors. Advocates claim HOAs provide community members with an opportunity to enforce and express shared values. Detractors counter that HOAs are undemocratic, and subject owners to potential financial risk and liability for board misconduct. The issue is complex. For general information about HOAs, a list of helpful links, and an exploration of how they differ from voluntary community and neighborhood associations, visit http://privatopia.blogspot.com/ or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeowners_association.

Managing community conflict: A primer

Conflict is one of the greatest threats to the stability of any community. In its most extreme form – war – conflict is the most serious sustainability issue facing modern human society. Community conflicts cannot always be resolved, but they can be managed if people understand their origin and have the skills to be proactive. Some of the most common causes of community conflict include:

Lack of technical (“What”) knowledge: Many community issues, such as wetlands mitigation and pedestrian safety, are complex. It takes time to develop enough comprehension to address the issues adequately for all stakeholders. Conflicts often arise when community members seek simple answers in an effort to avoid grappling with complexity.

Lack of process (“How”) knowledge: Many people volunteer on committees with little or no experience in formal decision-making, group facilitation, communication/collaboration or ecological literacy. When technical or personality conflicts emerge, they may lack the skill to work through the issues. This can lead to chronic conflict that continually “feeds back” into committee work, straining relationships and limiting effectiveness.

Lack of interest: Meetings carry a negative connotation for many people; in addition, when subjects are framed as watershed management or road-safety issues, they tend to attract only a small segment of the population. Conflict related to lack of interest often emerges at the point of project implementation, when people become aware of the personal impact and “come out of the woodwork” to voice their views. Over time, this dynamic can have a very negative impact on collaboration and positive change.

Communication breakdowns: One of the most common themes in community conflict involves scapegoating committee members for “failing to communicate” with stakeholders. However, these types of breakdowns belong to the community as a whole. Stakeholders contribute significantly to communication breakdown by not attending meetings or seeking out information, or by letting their contact information expire. All members of a community can, at times, exhibit poor communication related to emotions and general skill deficits.

Improving community affairs: What you can do

Start by getting educated. For information about board development and a list of helpful Web sites about managing a nonprofit, visit The Nonprofit Expert at www.nonprofitexpert.com/board_development.htm.

Does your board have teamwork or communication issues? To find a local practitioner who can help you address these issues, visit the Organization Development Network at www.odnetwork.org. To get informed about what is happening in your community, visit www.kitsapgov.com, www.kingstonchamber.org, www.hansville.org, www.pgst.nsn.us or www.visitkitsap.com. And finally, please be appreciative of those who serve. Remember, before they were board members, they were your neighbors!