My Homeowner's Association Sucks, Part 2

A couple weeks ago, I shared with readers of The Great Blog of Kéto my annoyance with my Homeowner's Association who has been preoccupied with persecuting yours truly for having Obama-Biden political yard signs on my lot by the porch of my townhome condo. After speaking with the manager of the property who interfaces between the residents and the HOA, I was directed to write a letter of response which I will share below. Enjoy yourselves!

To the Board of Directors,

This letter is written to you in response to the Letter of Violation I received from the Board on November 26, 2008 regarding my having Obama-Biden political yard signs in my lot next to my porch. I am writing because I feel the Notice of Violation is in error as it pertains to certain facts of the supposed violation. I am also under the impression that my townhome has been singled out possibly due to my political affiliation which would indeed be an unfortunate fact were that the case.

The "Violation" as pasted into Ms. Starr’s letter reads "12.34 No sign, flag, banner, advertisement, notice or other lettering shall be exhibited, displayed, inscribed, painted or affixed in, or upon any part of including without limitation and Home or Lot, that is visible from the outside without the prior approval being first obtained from the ACC; signs displaying the wording, "for rent" or "for lease" shall not be approved by the ACC. Nothwithstanding the foregoing, any Owner may display on his Lot one (1) discreet professionally prepared sign not to exceed twenty-four (24") inches in width and eighteen (18") inches in height and attached to a 2x4 post no higher than three (3) feet from the ground. Such sign shall contain no other wording than "For Sale", the name, address and telephone number of one (1) registered real estate broker, or a telephone number of an Owner or his agent. In no event shall more than (1) sign ever be placed on any Lot at any time."

In the next paragraph, Ms. Starr wrote, "Please remove the political sign from your yard. They are not allowed. Thank you." Regarding this, I would say that having read the HOA, Community Standards/Rules & Regulations from which the above paragraph is cut, that there is absolutely nothing in this section that states that political signs are not allowed, therefore I would submit that the above highlighted interpretation of such bylaws is incorrect. Furthermore, simply cutting and pasting the above sections of the paragraph—as was done in the Letter of Violation mailed to me—is misleading to anyone who does not read the correct bylaw which is actually section 20 on p. 6 of Rules & Regulations as section 12 actually deals with Charcoal Broilers. (By the way, there are a number of neighbors who have charcoal grilles & broilers which remain and are stored on their open porches. I’m interested to know if that does not constitute a violation. Certainly, I’d like to be correctly informed.) Further, the above paragraph is excerpted and upon reading, one realizes that this section actually deals with the situational allowance of patriotic and political flags, not their prohibition. Thus again, as previously noted, there is nowhere in the bylaws stated that political signs are not allowed on the Units, Lots, or Property of . As a matter of fact, section 20 specifies that “…provided, however, any Owner may display one portable, removable, United States flag or official flag of the State of Florida in a respectful way…”. Being that Barack Obama and Joe Biden are now the elected President and Vice President of these United States of America, I can rightfully argue that my banners which have remained up until this time are actually flags and symbols of the United States of America. I have reproduced section 20 in it’s entirety below, and have also attached the relevant pages from the bylaws & governing documents. You will notice that several clauses of section 20 are worded entirely different from those of section 12.34. I wonder why there is such a major discrepancy in wording for bylaws which are supposed to be legally binding upon resident homeowners.

20. Signs and Flags No sign, flag, banner sculpture, fountain, outdoor play equipment, solar equipment, sports equipment, advertisement, notice or other lettering shall be exhibited, displayed, inscribed, painted or affixed in, or upon any part of the Condominium Property, including without limitation any Unit or any vehicle, that is visible from the outside; provided, however, any Owner may display one portable, removable, United States flag or official flag of the State of Florida in a respectful way; provided, further on Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day and Veterans’ Day Owners may display an official flag of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Flags may not exceed 4½ feet by 6 feet. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any Owner may display from within the Unit one (1) discreet professionally prepared sign not to exceed twenty four (24) inches in width and eighteen (18) inches in height. Such sign shall contain no other wording than “For Sale”, the name, address and telephone number of one (1) registered real estate broker, or a telephone number of an Owner or his agent. In no event shall more than one (1) sign ever be placed on any Unit. Developer is exempt from this Section; provided, further the Developer specifically reserves the right, for itself and its agents, employees, nominees and assigns the right, privilege and easement to construct, place and maintain upon any property within the Condominium Property such signs as it deems appropriate in connection with the development, improvement, construction, marketing and sale of any of the Units. The prohibitions on signs displayed on or within vehicles contained above in this Section shall not apply to temporary parking of commercial vehicles such as for construction use or providing pick-up and delivery services and other commercial services.

In reference to the above Section 20, the clause referring to the dimensions of signage specifically refers to “For Sale” signage, and has nothing to do with political signage, yard signs, etc. Further, even if those clauses related to my Obama/Biden yard signs, the signs possessed by yours truly fall within the proscribed measurements listed. Further, the section 20 states, “In no event shall more than one (1) sign ever be placed on any Unit.” This would appear to mean that (even though this clause relates to “For Sale” signs) if it were to be interpreted to mean political signs that a resident homeowner may have one (1) sign on their Unit. Again, I would be glad if the Board can provide an alternate understanding of this very simple wording.

Now, I am interested to know about other violations in my community. During the election season, my son and I who both jog around our subdivision every week noticed a number of John McCain/Sarah Palin yard signs on the lots of several neighbors. I’m interested to know whether those neighbors also received letters of violation. Other neighbors have had "For Sale" signs in their windows, etc. and other banners and signs which appear to violate HOA bylaws. Yet another neighbor has a large red STOP sign on their porch… Are these not violations? Also, my house is on the very back side of our subdivision which is separated from the Interstate by a stone wall. The only way anyone would know that I had signs in my yard was if they lived in my townhouse block and were thus parking or jogging/walking on my sidewalk. In other words most people even in my townhome community have to go out of their way to get to my condo. My townhouse block is not a general throughway for the rest of the neighborhood; therefore no one can say that any of my signs detract from the aesthetic appeal of . I look forward to receiving by letter your clarification of these issues.

Best regards,
Kéto N. Hodges, BS/MIS, MBA/MIS, Entrep