Amended Code of Regulations of Trimble Run Condominium Association, Inc. — the document that supersedes the 07/29/80 original. No later The leak-and-repair language is in the Declaration (unit vs. common pipes), not Article VI. Article VI is only the budget. The missing later Declaration pages would help; send them if you have them.
This copy is 55 pages and ends mid-Article VI. If you have a later article (including Article VII on units and common elements), send it and we will add it.
Article II, Section 3
Special meetings — the 25% rule
The President shall promptly call special meetings of the Association when so directed by a Resolution of the Council or by a petition signed by Unit Owners having Proportionate Interests aggregating twenty five percent or more, specifying in each case the purpose thereof. No business shall be transacted at the meeting other than as specified in the notice thereof.
The trigger is 25% of proportionate interests, not a headcount. 40 of 159 units is the working target if interests are equal. Collect extra so a weighting surprise does not sink it.
Article II, Section 6
Voting and proxies
Each vote shall be cast by the Unit Owner or by his duly authorized proxy. All such proxies shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the Secretary at least one day before the meeting for which the proxy has been given and shall be revocable at any time by written notice to the Secretary. No proxy shall endure for more than one meeting and any postponements thereof, unless the proxy shall state some longer period of duration, which in any event shall not exceed eleven months.
Deliver voting proxies to the Secretary, at least one day before the meeting. One proxy, one unit. Do not dump every building on one neighbor.
Article II, Section 8
Quorum
The presence at a meeting in person or by proxy of persons or entities having the right under Section 6 of this Article to cast no less than fifty percent of the votes appurtenant to all Units shall constitute a quorum. If less than a quorum is present at any meeting, a majority of those Unit Owners present may reschedule the meeting for a later date. A quorum at such second-meeting shall exist if there is present, in person or by proxy, thirty five percent of the votes appurtenant to all Units.
Calling the meeting is step one. Filling the room — or the proxy stack — is how votes actually pass.
Article III, Section 1
Who sits on Council
The business, operation and affairs of the Property and of the Association shall be managed on behalf of the Association by a board of five natural individuals who are residents of Pennsylvania, who have reached the age of majority, and who may but need not be Unit Owners. Council Members may not be employees of the Association during their term of office. Further, at the time of nomination, Unit Owner candidates must have their accounts current with the Association.
Two-year terms, unlimited successive terms, meetings at least quarterly, no pay. Annual meeting: third Tuesday in October at 7:30 p.m.
Article IV, Section 11
Standing committees
Council may, from time to time, establish standing committees to assist in the management of the business and affairs of Trimble Run Condominium Association, Inc. Standing committees shall be composed of at least three individuals.
Petition item 6 asks Council to use this power for a resident events committee.
Article VI, Sections 1–2
Budgets, reserves, assessments
The Council shall periodically (and in no event less than annually), determine by resolution duly adopted the estimated Common Expenses and Common Profits, if any, for the ensuing period, which determination shall be reflected in an appropriate budget, including such amounts as the Council deems proper to establish reserves for replacements of said portions of the Common Elements.
Assessments are by proportionate interest, in writing, due in 30 days, and become a lien until paid.
Article III, Section 2(B)
Council’s duty to repair the Property
To maintain, repair, replace and operate the Property and in case of casualty to reconstruct and reestablish the Property and to make improvements therein.
That is a duty, not a favor. A cracked common pipe, a failed boiler, a roof leak into a unit — Council is on the hook to maintain, repair, and replace the Property.
Article VI, Section 1(1) · Article I
Common Element repair is a Common Expense
Expenses of administration, operation, maintenance, repair and replacement of all portions of the Common Elements, including such amounts as the Council deems proper to establish reserves for replacements of said portions of the Common Elements.
Article I already defines Common Expenses to include maintenance, repair and replacement of Common Elements, and “repairs and restoration in excess of applicable insurance proceeds.” If they skip a reserve study, they are skipping a sentence they already signed.
Article V, Section 3
When a unit leak is not the owner’s problem
The Unit Owners and any lessees or sublessees of a Unit shall be jointly and severally liable for liabilities arising out of their own conduct or arising out of the ownership, occupancy, use, misuse or condition (except when the result of a condition affecting all or other parts of the Property) of that Unit.
The parenthetical matters. A condition affecting other parts of the Property — shared plumbing, a stack, a common line — is carved out of unit-owner liability. That is the leak-from-the-ceiling case.
68 Pa.C.S. § 3307(a)
Pennsylvania: association upkeep of common elements
Except to the extent provided by the declaration or section 3312(d) (relating to insurance), the association is responsible for maintenance, repair and replacement of the common elements and each unit owner is responsible for maintenance, repair and replacement of his unit. … If damage is inflicted on the common elements or any unit through which access is taken, the unit owner responsible for the damage, or the association if it is responsible is liable for the prompt repair thereof.
The Code of Regulations incorporates the Uniform Condominium Act. For a pre-1980 condo, § 3307 was made retroactive in 2004 (68 Pa.C.S. § 3102(a.1)) — it applies going forward and does not wipe the Declaration. Unless the Declaration shifts the duty, common pipes are the association’s repair.
68 Pa.C.S. § 3312(c)–(i)
Pennsylvania: association insurance is primary — then repair
If, at the time of a loss under the policy, there is other insurance in the name of a unit owner covering the same property covered by the policy, the policy is primary insurance not contributing with the other insurance. … Any portion of the condominium damaged or destroyed shall be repaired or replaced promptly by the association … Except for the costs of repair or replacement which are not covered due to deductibles, the cost of repair or replacement in excess of insurance proceeds and reserves … is a common expense. … that portion of any loss or claim which is not covered by insurance due to the application of a deductible … shall be levied by the executive board in accordance with section 3314(c).
§ 3312 is the modern insurance statute. It does not automatically apply to every pre-1980 condo unless the association opted the whole property into the Uniform Condominium Act (a recorded 67% amendment). Their own Code still says restoration in excess of insurance is a Common Expense, and Council must maintain and repair the Property. Do not treat 3312 as a slam-dunk until a lawyer confirms opt-in.
Declaration, Article I, Section 2 — Unit
Which pipes belong to the unit
Each Unit consists of the space within the Building designated as a Unit on the Declaration Plan, and includes the interior walls, floors and ceilings, windows, doors, fixtures, appliances, and all plumbing, heating, electrical and other utility and service lines, pipes, wires, ducts and conduits which serve only such Unit, wherever located, and interior stairs, porches, patios, fences, walls and other improvements which serve only such Unit; excluding, however, the exterior walls, roof and foundation of the Building in which the Unit is located.
Serve only that unit = owner’s pipe, even if it runs through a wall or ceiling. Exterior walls, roof, and foundation are never the unit.
Declaration, Article I, Section 2 — Common Elements
Which pipes are Common Elements
The Common Elements consist of: the Land; the exterior walls, roof and foundation of the Building; all plumbing, heating, electrical and other utility and service lines, pipes, wires, ducts and conduits, except such as are included within the Units; the parking areas, walkways, driveways and other exterior improvements; and all other parts of the Property not included within the Units.
A main, a stack, or any line that serves more than one unit is a Common Element. Council maintains, repairs, and replaces those. That is the leak rule — not Article VI.
Code of Regulations, Article IX, Section 1 · recorded Nov. 5, 1998
Council must insure the Common Elements and the Units
The Council shall obtain and maintain, to the extent reasonably available, the following insurance: 1. Property insurance against all risks of direct physical loss commonly insured against, covering the Common Elements and also covering the Units, but excluding any betterments and improvements installed by Unit Owners in the Units, in an amount equal to 80% of the replacement value thereof, exclusive of land, excavations, foundations and other items normally excluded from coverage; 2. Comprehensive general liability insurance covering all occurrences commonly insured against for death, bodily injury and property damage arising out of or in connection with the use, ownership or maintenance of the Common Elements; 3. Such other insurance as the Council may determine.
This is in your Code, signed Patricia A. Smith, President, attested Michael J. Maloney, Secretary, acknowledged November 5, 1998. The master policy covers the Units themselves, not only the hallways — owner upgrades excepted. A leak from a common pipe is first a Council insurance problem, not “file your HO-6.”