Politics: Homeowners associations can suck mah ballz

[theholycow]

I'm sure glad my house is not subject to a HOA.

http://www.ccfj.net/HOAFLturfwarHC.html

The Highland Creek Community Association, which oversees a development of nearly 5,000 homes, is pushing to plant fescue in place of Bermuda grass that a homebuilder says it mistakenly put down at about 60 of the 100 homes in the Dominion Crossing neighborhood.


Saying the neighborhood's design standards require fescue grass, the association wants to spray herbicide, dig up the Bermuda and reseed to grow new front lawns from scratch.

Residents say they don't like the solution. They packed a heated meeting about the dispute Wednesday, but some who attended said no one agreed to the association's plan. They're forming a committee to propose an alternate fix.

There's talk of asking for sodding and maintenance, and some are worried about whether herbicide would be dangerous to children, pets and the environment.

Resident Norman Gabel said he never wanted Bermuda grass, but the homebuilder planted it in his front yard a couple of years ago. Now that the association wants to take action, he says, the homeowners will suffer.

"We were told we do not have a choice because we are in violation," he said.

[...]

In an Aug. 8 letter to Dominion Crossing residents, Highland Creek Community Association attorney Timothy Sellers said the association can arrange to kill the grass and reseed with fescue at no charge if homeowners provide written permission. Residents who don't participate, the letter says, must do the work themselves or face fines that could be enforced through liens on their homes.