Homes: Protecting homes, protecting people
The role of homeowners associations is changing with society in the early 21st century, and more change is on the way.
By JUDY STARK, Times Staff Writer
Published September 25, 2004

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Time was when people thought their condo or homeowners association existed simply to collect the monthly maintenance checks and keep the guy next door from painting his house purple.

But that's changing, a result of demographics and events in society, experts say.

After the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, people in master-planned communities said that safety and security were their No. 1 priorities. They didn't want to leave what they believed were the safe confines of their community for the dangerous wider world. They began to look to their associations to provide entertainment and activities, said Randy Jackson, a planner from Costa Mesa, Calif., at last month's Southeast Building Conference in Orlando.

"Formerly, associations were there to enforce the rules. Now, they're there to put on social events," he said.
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Let me see if I understand this. After September 11, people decided they needed a homeowner association to coordinate their social lives because they were too frightened of terrorist attacks to go off the HOA property? Yeah, sure. If you say so.

And they keep telling us that the mainstream media have all these layers of oversight and scrutiny to keep pure nonsense from getting in print. Dan Rather, calling Dan Rather...what is the frequency, Kenneth?