What is the name of your state? TX
My daughter lives in a "Homeowner Association" community. This community is a "horse" community and there is a rule in the bylaws that all houses on the corner lots have to have a "white" fence, in keeping the horse community look. The builder of her house did not tell her in advance of this rule. It was only after the house had been started that she found out.
It states in the bylaws that anyone can attempt to change the rules.
Whenever someone has horses and have a metal fence, the white paint looks good. But my daughter and the family behind her are the only residents to put up a wooden fence. It was obvious to her that by painting a wooden fence white, that it would become an eyesore and not have anything to do with a "horse community" look.
My daughter attended a meeting with the agenda of starting to change this law. After a very heated debate, there were several people who agreed with my daughter, that a 6' white wooden fence would not look very good. There was a show of hands and it was determined that there was enough interest to get the motion put on a mail ballot (a lot of the property owners live elsewhere).
Then the next issue (trying to do away with wooden fences altogether) was voted on. There were not any supporters of this motion. It was voted down.
The association president asked if there were any other fencing issues. No one raised their hands. She then said "Good, all of the fencing issues are taken care of".
Before my daughter (or anyone else who had raised their hand in favor of my daughter's proposal) knew, the president had thrown out her proposal. In other words, she had somehow worded it so that if you didn't raise your hands on the second proposal, then you were not "for" any of the proposals. However, it was not real clear at the end of the meeting that this is what happened.
My daughter, and her supporters, went home expecting to get a mail ballot. It never came. The next thing she received was a letter giving her a deadline to paint her fence white, or incur a fine.
She called the president (who is a lawyer, by the way) and argued with her that there was a show of hands that her motion would be put on a ballot. The president explained that the last vote was for "all" the issues and that there were no hands raised. My daughter explained that no one that had raised their hands earlier realized what was happening. My daughter told her that it should have been obvious that there as a misunderstanding because neither my daughter nor anyone else that agreed with her raised their hands on the second vote. The pres basically said "Sorry".
My daughter argued the point enough and made the comment that what had happened that day seemed very shifty. The pres told her to show up at the next board meeting with anyone who agreed with her and they would consider it. Of course she was not able to get everyone there. She did get one person (a very prominent person) in the neighborhood to show up. That person explained that she did not understand that Erin's proposal had been shot down. She too thought there was going to be a mail ballot on the issue. The president did agree that things had gotten a little confused, but the board would not automatically relent to a mail ballot. They told Erin that at the "next" Homeowner's Association meeting they would have a vote. There would not be a discussion or debate ... just a show of hands to see if there were enough votes to get it on a mail ballot. The problem is ... the meetings have been so ugly and mean, that anyone who agreed with my daughter has vowed "never to attend another meeting".
Another issue that my daughter brought up regarding painting of fences is ... The rules state the corner lots have to have white fences ... but that all others have to be painted or stained a complimentary color. There is a house down from hers whose fence has been built longer than hers ... and is still bare. This family has never gotten a call or a letter regarding the painting of their fence ... but my daughter has gotten calls, letters and now an ultimatum. She expressed the feeling that she felt like her family was being picked on and that it wasn't fair. The answer to that was "We have not noticed that house, and we haven't gotten any complaints on them". In other words, it seems the issue is not about the rules ... it's about popular concensus.
It is obvious that the board does not want to see this rule changed and are doing everything in their power to see that it doesn't. My daughter realizes that the rule might not be changed, but that she has every right to try. Especially since it states in the bylaws that a homeowner has the right to get a rule changed. She is ready to live with whatever happens ... but only wants the chance to have a vote of all of the property owners.
I just want to interject this situation into the mix. At another meeting one of the new homeowners proposed that he wanted to put up a black gate on his white fence. He was told by the board that that was not possible, it was against the rules. He told him that he had already bought his gate. They told him they were sorry, it was against the rules. He DEMANDED on getting his proposal on a ballot. A big scream fest followed. It got very ugly. They did put it on the ballot ... and it was passed that he could put up his black gate. All of the above was entered on the Association's website for all to see.
My daughter was not at that particular meeting, but asked the board about it. She told them that it looked like to her that if you have enough money and a loud enough voice that all you have to do is demand something ... when others that try to go through the proper channels get shot down. She was told that his issue was not really convered in the by-laws. She wants to know why it was necessary to put it on a ballot ... if it wasn't against the rules. There was another house that put siding on their house. When my daughter questioned why they were allowed to put up siding, she was told that it was not siding it was "Hardie Board". This type of material was not forbidden. My point of this story is ... if the board could okay "fancy" siding without a ballot ... then why could they not okay a black gate without a ballot. My daughter believes they are not being truthful.
It seems they are making up the rules as they go.
There is another property owner who says he has checked with his lawyer and was told that the bylaws were not legal. I don't know all of the reasons he thinks this. But one reason was that the homeowners pay dues ... and that it is not a voluntary situation. He said that the homeowners should have a right to get their proposals put on a ballot ... without going through a percentage of hands being raised to determine if it would be put on.
My questions are:
Can you give me any suggestions of how to battle this type of issue.
Are Homeowner Associations empowered to issue fines and to pick and choose who gets their proposals on ballots (especially since it states in the bylaws that property owners can try to get the rules changed)?
Do you have any other comments regarding this?
Thank you for reading this.
My daughter lives in a "Homeowner Association" community. This community is a "horse" community and there is a rule in the bylaws that all houses on the corner lots have to have a "white" fence, in keeping the horse community look. The builder of her house did not tell her in advance of this rule. It was only after the house had been started that she found out.
It states in the bylaws that anyone can attempt to change the rules.
Whenever someone has horses and have a metal fence, the white paint looks good. But my daughter and the family behind her are the only residents to put up a wooden fence. It was obvious to her that by painting a wooden fence white, that it would become an eyesore and not have anything to do with a "horse community" look.
My daughter attended a meeting with the agenda of starting to change this law. After a very heated debate, there were several people who agreed with my daughter, that a 6' white wooden fence would not look very good. There was a show of hands and it was determined that there was enough interest to get the motion put on a mail ballot (a lot of the property owners live elsewhere).
Then the next issue (trying to do away with wooden fences altogether) was voted on. There were not any supporters of this motion. It was voted down.
The association president asked if there were any other fencing issues. No one raised their hands. She then said "Good, all of the fencing issues are taken care of".
Before my daughter (or anyone else who had raised their hand in favor of my daughter's proposal) knew, the president had thrown out her proposal. In other words, she had somehow worded it so that if you didn't raise your hands on the second proposal, then you were not "for" any of the proposals. However, it was not real clear at the end of the meeting that this is what happened.
My daughter, and her supporters, went home expecting to get a mail ballot. It never came. The next thing she received was a letter giving her a deadline to paint her fence white, or incur a fine.
She called the president (who is a lawyer, by the way) and argued with her that there was a show of hands that her motion would be put on a ballot. The president explained that the last vote was for "all" the issues and that there were no hands raised. My daughter explained that no one that had raised their hands earlier realized what was happening. My daughter told her that it should have been obvious that there as a misunderstanding because neither my daughter nor anyone else that agreed with her raised their hands on the second vote. The pres basically said "Sorry".
My daughter argued the point enough and made the comment that what had happened that day seemed very shifty. The pres told her to show up at the next board meeting with anyone who agreed with her and they would consider it. Of course she was not able to get everyone there. She did get one person (a very prominent person) in the neighborhood to show up. That person explained that she did not understand that Erin's proposal had been shot down. She too thought there was going to be a mail ballot on the issue. The president did agree that things had gotten a little confused, but the board would not automatically relent to a mail ballot. They told Erin that at the "next" Homeowner's Association meeting they would have a vote. There would not be a discussion or debate ... just a show of hands to see if there were enough votes to get it on a mail ballot. The problem is ... the meetings have been so ugly and mean, that anyone who agreed with my daughter has vowed "never to attend another meeting".
Another issue that my daughter brought up regarding painting of fences is ... The rules state the corner lots have to have white fences ... but that all others have to be painted or stained a complimentary color. There is a house down from hers whose fence has been built longer than hers ... and is still bare. This family has never gotten a call or a letter regarding the painting of their fence ... but my daughter has gotten calls, letters and now an ultimatum. She expressed the feeling that she felt like her family was being picked on and that it wasn't fair. The answer to that was "We have not noticed that house, and we haven't gotten any complaints on them". In other words, it seems the issue is not about the rules ... it's about popular concensus.
It is obvious that the board does not want to see this rule changed and are doing everything in their power to see that it doesn't. My daughter realizes that the rule might not be changed, but that she has every right to try. Especially since it states in the bylaws that a homeowner has the right to get a rule changed. She is ready to live with whatever happens ... but only wants the chance to have a vote of all of the property owners.
I just want to interject this situation into the mix. At another meeting one of the new homeowners proposed that he wanted to put up a black gate on his white fence. He was told by the board that that was not possible, it was against the rules. He told him that he had already bought his gate. They told him they were sorry, it was against the rules. He DEMANDED on getting his proposal on a ballot. A big scream fest followed. It got very ugly. They did put it on the ballot ... and it was passed that he could put up his black gate. All of the above was entered on the Association's website for all to see.
My daughter was not at that particular meeting, but asked the board about it. She told them that it looked like to her that if you have enough money and a loud enough voice that all you have to do is demand something ... when others that try to go through the proper channels get shot down. She was told that his issue was not really convered in the by-laws. She wants to know why it was necessary to put it on a ballot ... if it wasn't against the rules. There was another house that put siding on their house. When my daughter questioned why they were allowed to put up siding, she was told that it was not siding it was "Hardie Board". This type of material was not forbidden. My point of this story is ... if the board could okay "fancy" siding without a ballot ... then why could they not okay a black gate without a ballot. My daughter believes they are not being truthful.
It seems they are making up the rules as they go.
There is another property owner who says he has checked with his lawyer and was told that the bylaws were not legal. I don't know all of the reasons he thinks this. But one reason was that the homeowners pay dues ... and that it is not a voluntary situation. He said that the homeowners should have a right to get their proposals put on a ballot ... without going through a percentage of hands being raised to determine if it would be put on.
My questions are:
Can you give me any suggestions of how to battle this type of issue.
Are Homeowner Associations empowered to issue fines and to pick and choose who gets their proposals on ballots (especially since it states in the bylaws that property owners can try to get the rules changed)?
Do you have any other comments regarding this?
Thank you for reading this.
