Who can enforce HOA deed restrictions?

Living within a deed restricted community, you are aware that there are specific things you agreed to comply with. If you fail to comply with one of those restrictions, who do you believe has the authority to force you into compliance?

The normal answer would be your Association. Many on this site would also add that a member of the Association could bring enforcement action through the courts. Well, would you believe that the answer is anyone (be they a member of your Association or not) may actually bring legal action to force such compliance?

In Virginia, there is such a case that was resolved years ago.

In the Star Fort subdivision, located in Winchester VA, the deed restrictions included language that residents would pay part of their assessments to maintain the Star Fort battlefield (which there development was near). Over the years, the Association was dissolved. However, a civil war reenactment group, trying to discover ways to fund the battlefield, discovered the deed restriction and brought the issue to the County board of supervisors. The County filed a civil suit against the residents of the subdivision to force compliance with the deed restrictions and requested permission from the court to collect the assessments to maintain the battlefield. The court ruled that, since the deed restrictions were still in effect, residents must pay the assessments and granted the County authority to collect. The maintenance of the battlefield was turned over to a private organization but the residents, who do not have an Association, must now pay an annual assessment to preserve the battlefield.

Here are the links:

Board Seeks to Preserve Star Fort Winchester Star newspaper article, 2008-06-26

Thanks to Civil Suit Filing, protection of history-rich Star Fort a bit closer Winchester Star Article, 2008-07-19

The Future of Star Fort From a bloggers site.

Star Fort Master Development Plan Approved from the minutes of the Frederick County Board of Supervisors - mentions that assessments would be used to fund the fort.

Letter from Homeownerfrom the minutes of the Frederick County Board of Supervisors, 2009-12-09 (obviously, a very upset member)

Tim

Two things seem obvious from the Board of Supervisors minutes:

1. Without including the Fort, the open space for the development would have been insufficient. The arrangement was needed to get the development approved.

2. Fee arrangements and limitations on activities on fort grounds were proposed by the developer and by the preservationists. Both apparently thought they had a stake in the proceedings. And the Board of Supervisors considered both perspectives in the decision to allow the development.

This raises the question as to whether the homeowners could amend their deed restrictions to eliminate the contributions to the battlefield? Without reading the actual restrictions, my first guess would be that removing the contributions would also require approval from the government agency that entered into the agreement.

I wonder how many of these homeowners were aware of the contributions when the purchased?