LarryB13 (Arizona)
Posts: 4,099
Posts: 4,099
Posted:
This was too funny to pass up.
An HOA in far North Phoenix has complained to the FAA about hot air balloons. Until recently, this area was all open desert and has been used for decades by commercial hot air balloon companies with the apparent knowledge and blessings of the FAA.
On Monday, Oct 12, the president of an HOA in this area saw a balloon heading for a landing near his subdivision and began freaking out. He claimed the balloon struck a tree, implying that a) the tree belonged to the association and b) damage was sustained by the tree and, by extension, the HOA. Someone called the media and the fire department.
The balloon operator told the local TV station that normally the passengers would be treated to a champagne breakfast upon landing but that did not happen in this case because the president of the HOA demanded that the balloon be removed immediately. After reviewing the TV footage and stills plus the county assessor's maps, it appears to me that the landing site was in a city-owned dry wash. The HOA owns some common property along side the wash but does not own the point where the balloon landed. The HOA also owns some roads in the area but not all roads; the roads flanking the wash are publicly owned. The president of the HOA had no lawful authority to demand that the balloon operator and passengers leave the area but it is not likely that anyone had a survey map to identify the boundary lines.
The whole story is at:
http://www.12news.com/story/news/local/valley/2015/10/12/hot-air-balloon-makes-hard-landing-in-n-phoenix-neighborhood/73821068/
An HOA in far North Phoenix has complained to the FAA about hot air balloons. Until recently, this area was all open desert and has been used for decades by commercial hot air balloon companies with the apparent knowledge and blessings of the FAA.
On Monday, Oct 12, the president of an HOA in this area saw a balloon heading for a landing near his subdivision and began freaking out. He claimed the balloon struck a tree, implying that a) the tree belonged to the association and b) damage was sustained by the tree and, by extension, the HOA. Someone called the media and the fire department.
The balloon operator told the local TV station that normally the passengers would be treated to a champagne breakfast upon landing but that did not happen in this case because the president of the HOA demanded that the balloon be removed immediately. After reviewing the TV footage and stills plus the county assessor's maps, it appears to me that the landing site was in a city-owned dry wash. The HOA owns some common property along side the wash but does not own the point where the balloon landed. The HOA also owns some roads in the area but not all roads; the roads flanking the wash are publicly owned. The president of the HOA had no lawful authority to demand that the balloon operator and passengers leave the area but it is not likely that anyone had a survey map to identify the boundary lines.
The whole story is at:
http://www.12news.com/story/news/local/valley/2015/10/12/hot-air-balloon-makes-hard-landing-in-n-phoenix-neighborhood/73821068/
