Miramar, residents feud over fence: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Keeping up with the Joneses is so hard these days. Seems that to be au courant (I'm practicing my French in case Kerry gets elected and that becomes our official language), one must have "a nice wall." To wit:

A group of homeowners want the city to build a concrete wall in their Turtle Bay back yards, along Miramar Boulevard, but officials disagree on who should foot the bill. Neighboring communities, such as Estates of Miramar, Franklin Farms, River Run and Riverdale, already have concrete walls, built by their developers more than 20 years ago. "We have a wooden fence there now, and it's the worst-looking thing in the community," said Roland Bhola, who has lived in Turtle Bay for 10 years. "The other communities have a nice wall. We just want to be compatible."
...City officials also question who will maintain the wall. Several residents agreed to make it a community responsibility, but without a homeowners association, officials are leery. Moseley said that while researching the issue, it was determined a homeowners association was formed in 1981, but it never collected assessments and has not met since about 1986. "The city has made no decision about building a wall," she said. "But if the homeowners would like us to help get their association up and running, they can assess themselves, and then they can have a wall."


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Indeed. So if you want to look like a gated community, then jump-start your moribund HOA, assess yourselves, and put up your wall. Add in a moat and some alligators if you like. But don't expect "the city," meaning all the taxpayers, to foot the bill. I think that's the message here.