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What happened

Sunland Springs Village is a planned community in Maricopa County, Arizona, subject to Arizona’s Planned Community Act (A.R.S. Title 33, Chapter 16, §§ 33-1801 to 33-1820). The community is governed by a homeowners association that conducts its business through board of directors’ meetings, some of which are closed to residents. The homeowner in this case owns residential property in the community and holds it through the AZNH Revocable Trust.

According to the opinion, Sunland Springs did not permit residents to attend its closed meetings except by invitation, and its board president determined what business would be addressed in closed sessions. Before a closed meeting, the association gave members notice of the date, time, and place and quoted the language of A.R.S. § 33-1804(A) that allows meetings to be closed. Its closed-meeting agendas identified matters only by the paragraph of Section 33-1804(A) corresponding to the topic.

The opinion states that Sunland Springs conducted formal business and voting during its closed meetings. Among other things, the board approved a $917,000 budget item, granted the community manager up to $7,000 in discretionary spending authority, addressed 13 waivers of the community’s minimum-age requirement for residents, and authorized foreclosures against two homeowners—all in closed session.

In December 2023, the homeowner filed a declaratory-judgment action in Maricopa County Superior Court (No. CV2023-096192), alleging that Sunland Springs failed to conduct its meetings in compliance with Section 33-1804. After initial discovery, the homeowner moved for summary judgment on three points: that the board improperly voted and took formal action in closed meetings; that it had to designate closed-meeting agenda items by formal action at open meetings; and that its notices and agendas for closed meetings were deficient.

The superior court, the Honorable Rodrick J. Coffey presiding, granted summary judgment in part and denied it in part. It agreed that Section 33-1804 required votes to occur in open session, but held that the statute did not require the board to select closed-meeting agenda items by formal action at an open meeting, and did not require notices or agendas to describe closed-meeting topics beyond citing the applicable paragraph of Section 33-1804(A). The parties agreed the ruling resolved all claims, the court entered a final judgment under Arizona Rule of Civil Procedure 54(c), and both sides appealed.

On April 28, 2026, Division One of the Arizona Court of Appeals issued a published opinion authored by Judge James B. Morse Jr. and joined by Presiding Judge Andrew M. Jacobs and Judge Brian Y. Furuya. The court affirmed that all votes and formal actions must occur at open meetings and that the content of the association’s notices complied with the statute. It reversed on the agenda issue, holding that closed-meeting agendas must reasonably describe the matters to be addressed, and it remanded for factual development on whether the board properly delegated to its president the duty to identify the reason for closing a meeting.

Because both parties prevailed in part, the court declined to award costs on appeal to either side and remanded for further proceedings consistent with its opinion. As of the opinion’s issuance, a petition for review was pending before the Arizona Supreme Court (No. CV-26-0167-PR), so the decision’s ultimate status could change.

This is a landmark 2026 interpretation of Arizona’s HOA open-meeting statute, A.R.S. § 33-1804, and it draws a bright line for planned-community and condominium boards: they may deliberate on sensitive matters such as legal advice, litigation, personnel, and member appeals behind closed doors, but they may not vote or take formal action there. Approving budgets, granting spending authority, ruling on waivers, or authorizing foreclosures must happen at an open meeting where members can be present and can speak before the vote. Boards that have historically finalized business in executive session will need to move those votes into open session. The decision also reshapes how boards must describe closed-session business. An agenda—even for a closed portion of a meeting—must give members information reasonably necessary to understand what will be addressed, not merely a citation to the statutory paragraph that authorizes closing the meeting, while still protecting personally identifying and privileged information. For homeowners, the ruling strengthens the right to meaningful notice and participation; for associations and managers, it signals a need to revise meeting notices, agendas, and closure procedures, including how the authority to state the reason for a closed meeting is delegated. Because the opinion is published it is binding Arizona precedent, but a petition for review is pending in the Arizona Supreme Court (No. CV-26-0167-PR), so its status could change.

Open-meetings note: the published decision is treated here as a landmark Arizona planned-community open-meetings authority because it distinguishes deliberation from formal board action under A.R.S. section 33-1804.

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