Board approves revised charter‑club RRMPs as amended after extensive debate over email/privacy rules

The Sun City West Governing Board on Feb. 20 approved revised Chartered Clubs Rules, Regulations and Procedures (RRMPs) as redlined, but removed proposed changes to the publicity/email provision (Section 7.1) after a lengthy board debate and public comment from club leaders.

Director Chatham moved the RRMP revisions per the Charter Clubs Committee recommendation; Director Williams seconded. Directors and club representatives spent the bulk of the meeting debating structure, length, discipline procedures, accommodations, and a contentious draft change to Section 7.1 governing email and member contact information.

Supporters of the working-group draft argued the redlines fix inconsistencies and add enforceable procedures. Director Rhodes praised the effort as a "Herculean" amount of work and urged the board to salvage and adopt what it could. Critics — including club officers on the floor — said the document remains too long and that the proposed publicity/email wording would hinder ordinary club operations and volunteer communications.

Nick Turner, who led the RRMP working group as a primary drafter, told the board the intent was not to stifle club business but to limit public exposure of personally identifiable information and to prevent abuse: "We're not saying that the group leader cannot email the members of the group. That's club business. What we're saying is ... me as a member ... I can find [another member's] email, invite them out for dinner. We're trying to stop that." Turner also said the working group could revise the 7.1 language if given direction from the board.

Multiple club presidents spoke during the public-comment portion. Tennis Club president Larry Plaster and scrapbooking co‑president Diana Gohman said the proposed changes to email and contact-list rules would change how clubs operate and asked for opt‑in/opt‑out options. Jim Scott, a resident who reviewed the RRMPs, described the 60‑page packet and urged more than editorial fixes; he said the discipline section was particularly long and complex.

Directors described two paths forward during debate: (1) accept the working-group document as a base and adopt it now, with the chartered-clubs committee and working group to continue iterative fixes, or (2) send the entire document back for a full rewrite. Several directors favored a middle path: approve the package while identifying a short list of the most contentious items for prompt follow-up.

To narrow immediate controversy, Director Chatham proposed — and the board adopted — an amendment removing the proposed edits to Section 7.1 (publicity/email). The amendment passed by voice vote (7–1). After that amendment, the board approved the remainder of the RRMP revisions as redlined, by a 7–1 roll-call vote. Director Horwath cast the lone recorded no vote in the final approval.

The board also directed the Charter Clubs Committee to accept further feedback and to present prioritized, discrete issues (for example, accommodations, email/contact list rules, and discipline processes) for staged review. Director Chatham invited club officers and residents to the committee's next meeting to provide input.