Contributed by Jamie Flores, CMCA
Community leaders often play a crucial role in effective compliance with community standards and design guidelines. To be successful with this portion of our jobs, we must proactively work to prevent compliance issues from happening in the first place.
Engaging with homeowners positively and proactively about community standards encourages collaboration and cultivates a sense of shared responsibility. By getting ahead of compliance issues before they become significant problems, we enhance the aesthetic appeal of our neighborhood and also can protect and increase property values. By educating homeowners about the importance of these standards, we reinforce a sense of community pride and ownership.
Consider the following three strategies for communicating about community standards and design guidelines:
❚ Focus on being a good neighbor. Begin your communications with a positive tone and focus. Starting out with a phrase like, “Being a good neighbor involves more than just saying hello,” can serve as a friendly introduction to discussing community standards. From there, highlight specific rules or guidelines that are current concerns within the community. For example, you could follow with, “Your home’s outside appearance goes a long way in keeping property values healthy and making the community a place that residents and neighbors are proud to call home.” By framing the standards in the context of neighborly values, you make the conversation less about rules and more about community well-being.
❚ Provide proactive and transparent education. It’s essential to keep homeowners informed. Instead of only sending out communications after issues are identified, consider sharing observations from drives around the community before sending out courtesy notices or violations. This gives homeowners the chance to correct minor issues and also informs the greater community that compliance efforts are active and ongoing. For example, instead of stating, “We continue to notice landscaping issues throughout the community,” be more specific by sharing something like, “In driving the community this week, we’ve noticed an increase in weeds, dead plants, and missing decorative rocks in yards. If you receive a courtesy or violation notice, please feel free to reach out. We’re here to help!” This approach humanizes the compliance process and encourages open communication.
❚ Remind them it’s a partnership. The goal of highlighting community standards is compliance and cooperation between the management team, the board, and homeowners. By committing to working together to resolve compliance issues, you instill a sense of collaboration and unity. Sharing language like, “We are committed to working together to help homeowners meet the community standards intended to keep our community vibrant” can reassure residents they are not alone in the process, but rather part of a collective effort.
When you apply these strategies, you can cultivate a supportive environment while effectively communicating the importance of adherence to community standards. By emphasizing positivity, educating proactively, and reinforcing the collaborative spirit, residents are more likely to feel valued and invested in the overall success of the community. Small, intentional efforts can highlight collaboration and contribute to a thriving neighborhood where everyone feels connected and is proud to call it home. Through these initiatives, we are not just managing a community; we are building an engaged neighborhood.
Jamie Flores is vice president, resident experience at CCMC Community Association Management in Scottsdale, Ariz.
>>Read more about compliance communications in Community Manager May/June 2025.
