As we wrap up our series on Keeping the Peace in your community association, it seems that no matter how much effort is put into resolving conflicts peacefully or preemptive measures taken to welcome new neighbors and invite the entire community to events, there are the inevitable struggles that arise between neighbors. In Part 5 we discuss an option for those situations when the two conflicting parties are unable to come to a resolution on their own.
Third Party Intervention.
Even those associations that are successful at building community still have disagreements, and some may require assistance instead of just having the disputing parties talk it out with each other. This is where the Association can help out by providing a forum or process for dispute resolution. The Board can create a Dispute Resolution Committee with volunteers from the community to help settle disagreements and arguments between neighbors.
While third party committees within Associations are a much better option than legal methods such as mediation, arbitration, or lawsuits to resolve conflict, each Association should strive to build community in an effort to prevent many disputes before they can begin.
We hope you enjoyed our series on Keeping the Peace and were able to take away some helpful suggestions that can be of assistance when conflicts arise in your community. Please visit our Building Community folder to review any of the other parts in this series.
