Fence Removal

Our developement has a small lake. When the developer began constructing homes, he built an iron fence around the lake. A homeowner on the lake submitted a request to the ACC, to remove the portion of the fence between his property and the lake. The request was rejected by the ACC because they felt that the fence was part of the lake area and did not belong to the homeowner. The homeowner appealed to the board and his request was approved. Does the HOA have a legal right to force the homeowner to move the fence back to where it was originally. The other homeowners in the developement, want the fence returned.

The lake is considered common property. I assume that to mean that it is owned by the HOA. The management company has hired a maintenance company to maintain the lake area.

The fence is not mentioned in our covenants. The covenants only mention that it is the responsibility of the adjacent property owner to maintain the area between his property and the lake.

The fence was installed by the developer as a safety issue. He has told me that it was never his intention that the fence would be removed.

I don't know what the board was thinking when they voted to allow the homeowner to take it down. The homeowner actually re-located the fence on his property. I believe the reason he wanted to remove the fence was so he would have a clear view of the lake. It gives the impression that he owns the property all the way to the lake, and other owners are reluctant to fish in that area.