Arizona: Landowners thirst for fair play by HOA

Thanks to Fred Pilot for telling me where to find this story. There's a controversy playing out in AZ now over the announcement (I haven't seen it, but people are claiming it happened) that an attorney who was involved in a water dispute involving an HOA will now be running for city council. Seems that the HOA he represented shut off the water supply to some homes where the residents therein said they didn't belong to the HOA, but the HOA said they did. Here is a link to an article about the water dispute from May 25. HOA activists may be organizing opposition to his campaign.

It was, they thought, paradise. Until the letter arrived from attorney Augustus H. Shaw IV, who noted that there is "some uncertainty regarding whether you are a member of the Association." After laying out all the benefits of joining, Shaw dropped the bomb: "Please be aware that if you choose not to join the Association or it is determined that you are not a Member of the Association, you will not be entitled to the privilege of receiving Association provided water service." Three months later, on a 106-degree September day, the Saguaro View Homeowners Association cut off not only the Baynes' water but also that of their neighbor, a man whose family was living on the land long before Saguaro View ever devised a single covenant, condition or restriction.

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Arizona in the summer? 106 degrees Fahrenheit? No water? That's serious business. There have been a few of these cases where an HOA essentially drafted people into the development and required them to pay assessments and obey rules. These are difficult disputes to compromise, particulary if the owners say they have never been in any association but the newly-drawn property lines somehow include them, and the association is delivering some sevice--in this case, water--to the homes in question. As for the lawyer, it will be interesting to see if the HOA activists are able to influence the vote.