In this week's tip, we answer an age-old question: Is a board just doing its job or being persnickety?
The question arises in the context of a Goodyear, Ariz., HOA, which has fined an owner for leaving a cooler with a sign touting free water for anybody to snag—delivery drivers, passersby, neighbors. They claim he's violating the HOA's requirements to store items out of view.
The HOA told the Washington Post: “The community's rules do not allow a resident to advertise water bottle distribution from a portable ice chest, located next to their garage that is visible from neighboring property.”
Also: “The board has diligently worked with the resident so as to allow him to continue making water bottles available and has simply requested that the portable ice chest be screened from view,” the statement read. “Regrettably, the resident has declined to work
with the association to achieve a mutually agreeable resolution.”
Melissa S. Doolan, an attorney at The Travis Law Firm in Phoenix, who has represented community associations for the last 15 years, can easily see how this small issue
escalated without anybody realizing it was going to become a pitched battle.
“The way I took it, I think initially, someone just saw an item in view, took a picture, and sent a violation notice, not realizing the purpose,” she explains. “In
most communities, owners can't have random items in view. Maybe an owner is cluttering their front area with a couch or a TV. Or maybe they've been cleaning their garage and things are piled up in front.
“The board then calls those things
‘items in view,'” says Doolan. “Usually, owners can have things like a potted plant and a chair. When you have these other items, they could become an eyesore. But overall, my thought is that this board initially didn't realize what the cooler was being used for.”
Perhaps that's accurate. But at this point, who's crossed the line into being unreasonable: The HOA? The owner? Neither? Both?