Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Private Club Transparency topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sponsor seeks transparency for mandatory private‑club dues in metro‑district communities
Summary
Representative Hamrick introduced HB 26‑13‑16 to require private clubs that are made mandatory by recorded covenants to publish basic budgets and financial disclosures; homeowners said dues have doubled without explanation, while realtors and golf‑industry groups urged more time and warned of unintended consequences. The sponsor laid the bill over for further work.
Representative Hamrick told the committee HB 26‑13‑16 aims to give homeowners forced to buy mandatory social memberships the same financial transparency that applies to HOAs and metro districts. "House bill 26‑13‑16 brings these shadow entities into the light," Hamrick said, describing residents' petitions and repeated, unexplained dues increases.
Homeowners from the Blackstone neighborhood and a coalition of residents described decades‑old covenants that require social membership, say dues have risen steeply and assert there is no way for residents to vote on club decisions. Heather Garbers, a Blackstone homeowner, said monthly dues "have more than doubled" while promised amenities were not delivered and the club declined to share financials.
Industry witnesses urged caution. Brian Tanner of the Colorado Association of Realtors asked the committee not to "take a statewide sledgehammer to what seems to be a localized issue," warning the bill, as written, could disrupt the private‑club development model and create transactional uncertainty. Representatives of the National Golf Course Owners Association likewise argued for tailored solutions such as notice, explanation of dues increases and regular communications rather than an outright statewide mandate.
Committee members pressed technical and legal questions about who signs contracts, who can place liens and whether courts must ultimately decide enforceability. Karen Safran of the Colorado Department of Law said the dynamics create multi‑party relationships that often must be litigated in individual cases.
At the sponsor's request, the committee laid HB 26‑13‑16 over to allow further stakeholder work with the Land Title Association, realtors and club owners and to draft clarifying amendments. No final vote was taken.
