HOA added spike strips and gate arms w/ out community consent.

Good morning I have a question I hope someone can assist me with. Our current HOA was turned over to the community 1 year ago this month. I have been a resident in our community for 4 years (while it was under control of the builders). Our community is a gated community but we have had some issues where unwanted guests have been following UPS trucks in to grab packages, and such.

I will give as much detail as I can so please bear with me.

Our new HOA board took it upon themselves to invest approx. $18.5k of the HOA money to put in additional measures that included the following.

Qty- 2 gate arms (one at each entry gate)
Qty- 2 Speed bumps placed at the same gate with the gate arms
Qty- 2 security spikes (speed bump approx. 2” high, plus the spikes another 1.5-2” high with spikes extended).
Qty- 2 lighted DO NOT Enter signs
Qty- 8 different warning signs posted at the entrance.

In addition to these “security measures” the gates were changed so one side stays closed (entrance) and exiting the gates will only open as wide as the ground spikes. (I was informed of this by the installer and not the board since they would not respond to my requests or any of the other residence)

Now the homeowners were not notified that the HOA was considering such measures, the community was only informed via newsletter that these devices will be installed in the coming weeks. So the items were ordered and nobody in the community had the opportunity to ask questions, request quotes, understand the operation, or take a vote if we wanted such items.

As soon as the letter was sent to us dozens of home owners had questions via our community forum. Unfortunately our HOA board refused to answer any of our questions, emails, or PM’s requesting clarification about the new security measures that will be installed.

As you can see this upset us we requested an Emergency meeting (we had to send the request via our management company) as far as we know this message was delivered but ignored.
1. I made 2 phone calls to the management company the 1st message they said they did not know anything about these new security measures.
2. 2nd was requesting them to contact me via email or phone call (again nothing)
I reached out to one of the board members requesting a meeting (I sent this request via electronic mailing that was delivered to them) again I was ignored.

My 2 major issues I had with the new security measures were the following.

1. How will the school buses get into the subdivision if one gate is closed, per the school board and bus driver if they cannot get into the subdivision because of the gates the children would have to wait at the front entrance by the busy road. (this road is 55 mph and to have children as small as age 6 is totally unacceptable.
2. I own a show car (American muscle car) that is 100% custom I take to car shows. The underside is in pristine condition (fully painted you can eat off the underside) it’s that clean. I take this car to 1000pt judged car shows. My issue is my vehicle is lowered and some of the components (custom $1800 hi-polished exhaust system, lower control arms, ect…) sit 2.5” off the ground. How will my vehicle get over the spikes without causing damage to my show car.
Again these are questions I asked, many other homeowners requested clarification and never responded to.

So fast forward to the security measures were installed, the gate arms malfunctioned dozens of times (the rams ripped off 20+ times), the gate spikes malfunctioned causing damage to one residence tire (HOA paid for the damaged tire after the security cameras showed the person did no wrong doing.

Now my question is I have measured the spikes, and the underside of my car the spikes will come in contact with my front air dam (may cause damage), once my front tires go over the spikes will pop back up and come in contact with the underside of my vehicle causing damage to painted and polished aluminum areas until the rear tires go over the spikes.

My question is do I have any recourse to take against the HOA or the board for the following.

1. Ignoring requests by myself and homeowners for clarification (time frame was 4 weeks from the day we were notified the security measures were going in to the time the contractor started).
2. If my vehicle is damaged can I request the HOA pay for repair costs. Again I have been in the community years before the new board took over.
3. Currently my vehicle has no way to leave our community without damaging the vehicle.
4. When I brought this up at the HOA meeting we finally had no answer or response was given.
Any insight about this issue is welcomed.

Thank you

Sean,

Typically, the Board has full authority over the common areas. I agree that it would have been best to have gotten input from the membership. However, this didn't happen and you must deal with things the way they are.

My suggestion is to take pictures of the measurements you made, and include them in a detailed letter to the Board. Be polite in the letter and inform them that the modifications to the front gates have resulted in infringing your ability to ingress and regress the property without causing damage to your vehicle every time you enter or leave the development. Then ask them, politely, what they are going to do to address this issue.

Send the letter via certified mail to the registered agent with copies (via first class mail) to the MC, and every board member.

In fact, you may want to spend a couple hundred dollars and have an attorney write the letter for you, as they will be able to cite applicable laws regarding ingress and egress.

The spikes ought to be adjustable. Maybe you should check with the manufacturer before writing your letter.

I am going to agree with Douglas

Last June, we had a terrible accident on a private road we maintain which claimed the lives of two teenagers. It was determined that working with two other community we were going to install speed bumps on the road to make people stop at the posted stop signs and slow down the traffic, in that order. We had four Board meetings and four newsletters and NO ONE said anything UNTIL the day the bumps were actually installed and then all hell broke out.

EXACT same comments came out, the Association did this without community consent.

Apathy rules.

food for thought:

NO vehicle with 2.5" ground clearance is DOT compliant for the public roads.

It may, depending on state, be LEGAL.

> If the board turns me down and says sorry about your luck what would my next step be in this matter

Get yourself and like-minded individuals elected to the Board and vote to modify or rip out everything that you don't like.

Other than that, there's not much that you can do. You'll likely lose a lawsuit and, even if you win, you'll only win money, not action. The HOA probably hasn't broken any laws, parking your show car at your HOA probably isn't a right, bus access probably isn't a law and so on and so forth.

I think that Florida has an ombudsman; you can give that a shot.

But, really, if you don't like something about your HOA, well, get elected and change it. That's why they have elections.

Makes perfect sense to me, rip out 18K worth of improvements because it inconveniences one homeowner who has a car that isn't normal. If a speed bump and spikes have the possibility to do damage, I shudder to think what a pothole would do just from driving down the street. Do you demand the city repave the streets you drive on to prevent damage? Use your trailer to take your show car to shows.

If you have a trailer for your vehicle, why not simply utilize that trailer to protect the vehicle?

As Glen said, would you really want to take a show car on the open roads with only 2 1/2 inches of clearance? A minor pot hole could cause as much damage as the spikes.

What would happen if you put a sheet or two of plywood over the spikes?

The board made a decision to protect the entire HOA.

The board apologized or admitted they could of done better in communticated, but that does not vacate you as member from doing your own due diligence. If you were out of town when this meeting took place,you should of acquired the meeting minutes so that you knew what was going on within your HOA.

Now after the fact you want to whine about something that was done to protect you and everyone else in your neighborhood.

NEWS ALERT
Life is not perfect, even for you.

Do you really think spike strips and gate arms are protecting the community if so you have a false sense of security and you are living in fantasy land.

You tell me what more I could have done with what we were given it’s not like I just sat on my a$$ to wait for the $hit to hit the fan.

Let’s see how the communication has gone with our board.

No contact info for board members, our only contact info was for management Company and they would not give out any contact info for board.
No community web site until late 2014 early 2015.
No meeting minutes posted for the transition meeting in March
No information about crime in the subdivision sent out or posted.
1st indication we had a small crime issue was July 2014 when a neighbourhood watch meeting was scheduled (to form one and info) I did attend.
FB page created on 6/29/14 our 1st line of communication in the subdivision
1st indication the board ordered the security devices late August a newsletter sent to the community.
Myself and many other concerned citizens tried to reach out to our HOA, as well as management company in August (several times). To this day none of them have ever contacted us.
September/October devices are installed over the course of 4 weeks (2 weeks for each entrance).
Gate arms not working properly striking cars, trucks, trailers, school buses, arms broken on the ground more than they are installed.
Gate spikes take out a homeowners front tires (homeowner not at fault).

November we finally have a meeting but it’s a board meeting to approve the 2015 budget. We have over 60+ home owners come to attend to try and get answers from our board. What happens they board says they will NOT aner any questions they are just holding the meeting to approve the budget. Many of the residents including myself are pissed that they will not take the time to speak to the residents. ¾ of the residents leave in frustration, one resident stands up and tells them DO you see what you are doing you have lost half of your community you need to speak to them. A brief meeting no real answers I was told they would look into the issue for the gates and the school bus as well as my issue for my vehicle and the few others. To date nothing has happened.

Community web site finally goes up meeting minutes posted for the 2 meetings no mention about security issues, no mention about board meetings to address crime, ect…

Let's see the gate arms spends more time on the ground broken then it does on the device. The gates anyone can just push them and slip in. The spikes keep people from entering in the exit gate.

Please enlighten me on what I could have done please maybe I am missing something.

As one of the gentlemen posted about I will be writing a nice letter to our board with a solution I believe will work for all involved if needed I would be more than happy to pay for the lock down bars (it’s a bar that goes over the spikes to keep them locked down in place) with my own money. I would install them when I need to leave pull over and take them out as soon as I leave the subdivision.

Not legal unless your 'custom exhaust' is actually EPA approved for 'street use'.

'Street legal' in terms of hot rodding does NOT mean 'street legal' in terms of DOT and/or EPA.

I am sure your State Dept. Of Motor Vehicles is fully aware of your modifications - or not.

to repeat: 2.5" ground clearance will NEVER be DOT approved

your 'headers' are NOT EPA approved for public street use

ps. I used run a NHRA 4J Street Rod with 3.25" clearance - NY would NOT issue plates as it did not meet DOT or EPA standards (for many issues beyond clearance)

Then there should not be an issue with the legal security measures taken by YOUR association.

If you feel there is you are free to take legal action....

Your 'cause' would be: Interference with your use and enjoyment.......

BEST OF LUCK

ps. juuuust perhaps your neighbors are 'teed off' with noise emitted by your 'legal' vehicle - my neighbors were HORRIFIED when I cranked up my 427 with Holley 4 and then opened the 'cut off' and revved it to fine tune the low screws - took about 2-4 minutes, I wore hearing protection

A vehicle with exhaust cut outs is NOT street legal in any of the 50 states.

Whether they are open or closed makes no difference - the vehicle is NOT street legal.

Many dealerships sell vehicles for off street racing purposes.

You have been 'circular incline planed'.

With states that do not have state inspections, police can issue you a citation anytime. Just like any other state.

The point people are trying to make is.... if your modifications are beyond the scope of a "legal" car, the HOA does not have to make any effort to accommodate your request.

Sean,

Going back to the original issue, good for you for finding a possible solution.

Again, my suggestion is to provide the findings of your research in why your vehicle would be damaged by the security features. Then offer the lockdown bar as a possible solution along with your willingness to purchase the bar yourself. Then see what the response is.

Sean, although it is a good suggestion and your willing to pay for it, would that be legal? If you had something like that installed, would that make you liable?

I read your list and it looks like they are only guilty of running your HOA, in which lives many apathetic people, (like most hoa's)live. It's not part of the boards job to make sure that all members are informed of every move they make. That's why there are minutes and in your case a PM.

And since it was a board meeting they were within their rights to not answer the questions brought up by 60 people who had not bothered to be involved prior to the equipment being installed.

Your in good company though, as most people don't bother with hoA business until something is done that interferes with their lives, such as this.

Just imagine how helpful you would of been before the decision was made...

oops:



Resulting in a ground clearance of ??

D'OH

Read your condominium documents, The answer to your concern may lie there. These documents usually cover the procedure required ( and association approvals) required for the association to make capital improvements to the common areas. In many associations, the documents require that 75% of the owners vote for the improvement.