HOAs in the American Heartland
I take a certain childish pleasure in having been ridiculed for saying back in 1985 that private residential government was the most significant trend in housing and local governance. One Los Angeles Times reporter--Bob Sipchen, if memory serves--referred to me as a "crackpot." Book publishers told me confidently that homeowner associations were only found in Florida and a few other hot places where retirees congregated in condominiums and played shuffleboard while waiting for Death.

Here's a story from the Des Moines Register, in Iowa. That's IOWA, the landlocked, potato covered, football-crazed center of gravity of the American heartland. Can anybody read this and still underestimate the significance of common interest housing?

Neighborhood property rules for homes a growing trend
By MICHOLYN FAJEN
Register Correspondent
07/31/2003
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Residents who live in West Des Moines' Southwicke town homes must keep their garage doors closed, and they can't have big pets. If the town-home owners want to build a deck, they must first get permission from the homeowners association.

Members of Urbandale's Lake Halice homeowners association can't swim in the lake or use gas-powered boats.

Nationally, homeowners associations govern an estimated 80 percent of new homes. More than 55 million Americans are in homeowners associations, according to the California-based American Homeowners Resource Center. Of those homeowners, 75 percent believe the rules that govern their neighborhoods are appropriate.

"It protects us all and keeps the neighborhood beautiful," said Jody Warth, a member of West Des Moines' Heatherwood Association. "The goal is to avoid eyesores. Our neighborhood is a huge green space that works hand-in-hand with nature, and it's because we don't mess around with the natural aesthetics of the area."

Homeowners associations usually are created by the developer or builder and are typically run by an elected board. Common covenants - or property-use rules - cover the signature features of a neighborhood. Rules may include having a specified number of trees planted in the yard, muted colors of siding, requirements on fencing material or type of shingles. Association membership usually isn't optional.

"We do operate essentially as a government," said Jerry Manning, president of Country Club homeowners association in Clive. "You have a governing body, covenants that dictate what the homeowner can do, the power to assess dues and to enforce those dues and guidelines. But that power essentially comes from the people."

The emphasis in the last graph is mine. By all means, read the whole thing...