MelissaG3 (Florida)
Posts: 1
Posts: 1
Posted:
I am an owner member of a new Community in Florida. My husband and I purchased the house brand new for my parents who are also owners and who live in the house as their primary residence.
Making a long story short- we were granted a verbal approval (by the Property Manager-PM)for a high-end fence ($4600) and once installed, were sent notice that we had not had the fence approved by ARC. It turns out that the Board (made up of the PM,the developer rep and one community member as President)- was not aware of my discussion with the Pm (which by the way i had email correspondence to show the Board)and the board agreed to let the newly established ARC take a vote and then the board would decide. Now the twist is that the "president of the ARC" (as designated by the PM) is close friends with the PM and voted against the fence, however the board voted to approve the fence which we now have in writing.
Note: The fence is a wrought iron black while other fences "approved" in the neighborhood have also been either wood or PVC privacy.
However, we have now been cited for having a "teeter-totter" in our back yard fenced, which by the way, has been there since Christmas, throughout the fence approval and has never been mentioned. The citation indicated that we must get it approved- I submitted the paperwork and the ARC denied it with ahnd written notes to us, signed by this friend of the PM, that the teeter-totter was an eye sore to neighbors and this is why 'I would not approve your fence because you can see in". (Again, the teeter-totter is a commercial grade- child freindly safety which we purchased from Sam's club- not an eye sore).
So the crux of the story, the ARC has approved other home sto have full play sets which you can see extended above the fences- sveral neighbors as well as other home owners in the community have commented how nice my parent's yard looks as I spent alot of money upfront getting professional landscaping and curbing etc done. Te back yard is nicely landscaped with trees etc in a community that are starter or "downsizing" homes.
I am attending a fines hearing Thursday night at which the ARC/Violations Committee is recommending we be fined $75 a day. We have now removed the teeter-totter and put it in the garage and will bring it out for thier grandkids to play on and then put it back.
However, firstly I have had the neighbors sign a petition indicating it is not an eyesore and they in fact do not have any complaints against it. The ARC is not consistently regulating and in fact, regulating on one person's agenda as what seems to be a personal anger (she has expressed thsi verbally many times) and are recommending the largest per day fine for thsi teer totter which you canbarely see when people actually have a car on blocks in a driveway and trash in teh yard.
Thank you for patiently waiting for the question- is there a statute, requirement etc that the HOA has to regulate consistently if approve play sets for others they have to provide specifications of what is allowed? is there any recourse against this person or the PM for harrassment? I just want to ensure that my parents are not constantly harrassed by this.
Any comments/thoughts are welcomed!
Melissa
Making a long story short- we were granted a verbal approval (by the Property Manager-PM)for a high-end fence ($4600) and once installed, were sent notice that we had not had the fence approved by ARC. It turns out that the Board (made up of the PM,the developer rep and one community member as President)- was not aware of my discussion with the Pm (which by the way i had email correspondence to show the Board)and the board agreed to let the newly established ARC take a vote and then the board would decide. Now the twist is that the "president of the ARC" (as designated by the PM) is close friends with the PM and voted against the fence, however the board voted to approve the fence which we now have in writing.
Note: The fence is a wrought iron black while other fences "approved" in the neighborhood have also been either wood or PVC privacy.
However, we have now been cited for having a "teeter-totter" in our back yard fenced, which by the way, has been there since Christmas, throughout the fence approval and has never been mentioned. The citation indicated that we must get it approved- I submitted the paperwork and the ARC denied it with ahnd written notes to us, signed by this friend of the PM, that the teeter-totter was an eye sore to neighbors and this is why 'I would not approve your fence because you can see in". (Again, the teeter-totter is a commercial grade- child freindly safety which we purchased from Sam's club- not an eye sore).
So the crux of the story, the ARC has approved other home sto have full play sets which you can see extended above the fences- sveral neighbors as well as other home owners in the community have commented how nice my parent's yard looks as I spent alot of money upfront getting professional landscaping and curbing etc done. Te back yard is nicely landscaped with trees etc in a community that are starter or "downsizing" homes.
I am attending a fines hearing Thursday night at which the ARC/Violations Committee is recommending we be fined $75 a day. We have now removed the teeter-totter and put it in the garage and will bring it out for thier grandkids to play on and then put it back.
However, firstly I have had the neighbors sign a petition indicating it is not an eyesore and they in fact do not have any complaints against it. The ARC is not consistently regulating and in fact, regulating on one person's agenda as what seems to be a personal anger (she has expressed thsi verbally many times) and are recommending the largest per day fine for thsi teer totter which you canbarely see when people actually have a car on blocks in a driveway and trash in teh yard.
Thank you for patiently waiting for the question- is there a statute, requirement etc that the HOA has to regulate consistently if approve play sets for others they have to provide specifications of what is allowed? is there any recourse against this person or the PM for harrassment? I just want to ensure that my parents are not constantly harrassed by this.
Any comments/thoughts are welcomed!
Melissa