For years, the simple cedar birdhouses that Gregg Harcus hung in the trees behind his town home in Eden Prairie attracted wrens and other small birds.
Now they've landed him $650 in legal fees.
The homeowner's association that oversees Bluff Country Village Townhomes, where Harcus has lived with his wife since 2002, notified Harcus that his birdhouses violated association rules and had to be removed.
Harcus, who resigned in protest from the association's board of directors earlier this year, was surprised that his birdhouses ruffled someone's feathers. He said they have been in place for at least seven years and no neighbors have complained. Harcus said the violation notice came amid a simmering conflict between him and the new management company.
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So much for the notion that private HOA government is superior to municipal government because it's closer to and more responsive to constituents. Who ever heard of getting a bill from the city attorney to discuss an ordinance compliance matter? And all of this over a few birdhouses? This HOA has gone bananas.
1 comment:
> So much for the notion that private HOA government
> is superior to municipal government because it's
> closer to and more responsive to constituents.
Do you mean like this claim?:
"Since HOAs are very local and small, participants are often neighbors and hence have incentive to settle disagreements in a civil manner. You would also have more influence on your HOA than on Boulder City Council."
-Brian Schwartz. "Free-Market Alternatives to Zoning"
The Independence Institute. February 28, 2009
The constituents (or customers) of HOA private corporate governments are not the homeowners, but the professional property management companies and HOA law firms.
The homeowners are the HOA corporation's product.
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