When Homeowners Associations Go Too Far. Turning Neighborhoods n2 Battlegrounds

[cityimrov]

Strange, I thought people would like HOA's.  It gives the "common man" power they could normally never have.  In national elections people always complain the rich get elected, a common person could never run,  those crooks always take my money, buddy-buddy system, my representative never listens to me, etc etc etc... 

Doesn't HOA solve all those problem?  It allows people to pool their resources to a common easy to access "government" of sorts. 

It would seem like it would be a better solution.  Your in charge, you have a chance to run and be elected, you can talk directly to your constituents (your neighbors), etc.  You can run for the board or complain directly to the board - they live a few blocks over!!!  Doesn't it solve all the complaints that people have over regular politics?  What's there to complain about?  If the entire neighborhood doesn't like flamingo's - well - that's that. 

Who know's, what's next?  HoA Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc!! 

[thekillingwax]

My brother bought a house in a subdivision and he's had issues over his lawn dying and he's complaining about it. Whatever. He had to sign a stupid contract and agree to the terms to live there. I wouldn't buy a car that required me to eat glass and set my face on fire every time I got into it and I wouldn't live somewhere where I'd be forced to conform to insane regulations.

But that's the american dream- get a big house out away from the city and have your pretty lawn and 2.5 kids. If the rules get created when you've been there a while, that's one thing but moving into a subdivision and signing a contract to abide by stupid rules and then complaining about getting in trouble when you don't follow them? Sorry.

[Charles Hunter]

What about when the rules (pretty day-glo green lawn 24/7/365) conflict with good environmental policy, rules, and even laws (water and fertilizer restrictions)?  And these are conditions that have changed since 99.999% of HOA rules were written.

[kellypope]

Do HOA contracts ever get renewed? You can cross out what you disagree with in a contract, rewrite it, and resubmit it before you sign it. Is there a way to ammend contracts? Charles, you made a good point. Did anyone see Riverkeeper's recent post?

http://www.riverhugger.com/2009/11/judge-approves-historic-nutrient.html

As we mentioned in previous posts, St. Johns Riverkeeper is one of the parties involved in a recent settlement with the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that will require the state of Florida to establish meaningful limits for the nutrient pollution that is triggering algae blooms and poisoning our waterways. Unfortunately, many of the state's biggest polluters and some politicians tried to get a federal judge to overturn this decision. Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle rejected arguements made by those seeking to further delay cleanup and avoid compliance with the Clean Water Act.

I can't predict what this will mean for homeowners, but I hope it prevents overuse of biocides and synthetic fertilizers--which St. Augustine grass needs to stay "day-glo 24/7/365" since it isn't suited to our climate. Hypothetically, if we can't legally toxify our precious lawns for the sake of the grass, then won't HOA requirements for lawn standards need to be adjusted? Will native grasses or gmpalmer's style of habitat making (read: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,5912.0.html) become acceptable?

[reednavy]

Buy astro turf, problem solved.