While we have heard a lot about the Lakewood ordinance dealing with efforts to curtail construction defect lawsuits, little has been written about the Town of Parker ordinance also attempting to control defect suits by condominium associations. On November 3, 2014 the Town of Parker approved Ordinance No. 3.286.2 which adds Section 13.07.130(j) to the Parker Municipal Code.
The ordinance requires the Town Council, as a part of approval of any minor development plat for multi-family projects (i.e., condominiums), to add a note to the plat, AT THE REQUEST OF THE PROPERTY OWNER, that requires binding arbitration of certain claims. The claims listed are broad and include any claims between the owner of the property being platted, the developer, builder, designer or any construction professional and the association that are related to the property (including both common area and units), the common interest community or the declaration or other governing documents for the community.
The ordinance provides that the declaration may expand or restrict the claims that must be submitted to binding arbitration. The ordinance goes even further and provides that if the declaration is subsequently amended, it CANNOT eliminate the requirement that the claims described in the plat note, including construction defect claims, be submitted to binding arbitration.
The ordinance becomes effective 10 days after final publication which will be on November 27, 2014.