Homeowner boards can't exclude democracy
Nice op-ed by law prof Paula Franzese and Twin Rivers plaintiff Margaret Bar-Akiva. Thanks to Gregory Machyowsky for the link. Registration required.

Throughout the nation, private residential subdivisions controlled by homeowner association boards have become Goliath-like manifestations of a phenomenon known as privatization. Increasingly, we are witnessing the rise of "fortress America" as, behind gates and walls, residents agree to relegate to private contract and governing boards a host of matters traditionally considered to be within the public and governmental domain. The resultant loss of individual autonomy comes at a dear price, while the divide between the "us," however conceived, and the "them" widens. More than 250,000 homeowner associations now exist, and more than 50 million Americans live in a condominium, cooperative, planned, walled or gated community. These "privatopias can be anything but. Often preying on residents' desires for security, stability and preservation of property values, homeowner associations have created privatized regimes of governing rules to regulate everything from architectural style, the color of one's shutters, the permissibility of pets, screen doors and basketball hoops to the posting of signs and the flying of flags.