A grieving widow in Port Orange, Fla., has a statue of an angel in her front yard, a token of the happy years she spent with her husband before she lost him. But her neighborhood homeowners association says the statue violates community covenants, and if she doesn’t remove it, she’ll pay a fine, Orlando TV station WESH reported.
Norma Freiji (pictured above) was one of the first residents of the 13-year-old Ashton Lakes subdivision, and she said that she has always had yard art displayed. But now the HOA is asking all residents to remove statues in front and side yards. That means that cute figurines dotting many yards in the subdivision — pelicans, egrets, gnomes and even a basketball hoop affixed to a garage — must go. Homeowners received a letter recently from the HOA outlining the demands.
“I have her lit up at night with a solar light. She looks so beautiful,” Freiji told WESH of her angel statue. She began to weep as she explained its significance to her and her deceased husband. “I just have it because I lost my husband, and it’s just sentimental, that’s all.”
Jim Clapprood is the resident who was asked to remove a basketball hoop from his garage or pay a $100-a-month fine. He said that he understands HOAs must have rules to protect home values, but this is going a little too far. “A basketball hoop for children to play at the end of a cul-de-sac — I don’t see how that affects values,” Clapprood said.
The HOA has declined to comment on the requested statue removal in the neighborhood. The HOA president didn’t comment either, but WESH went to his house. The station discovered a decorative fountain in his front yard and a cat statue near his door.
Fights between residents and their neighborhood HOAs are a dime a dozen. Recently, a soldier living in a condominium fought back against the condominium association when it demanded that he remove American flags from the front of his home. But HOAs do have broad rights to ban certain objects from being displayed on homes — including political yard signs.
Which is why you should NEVER buy in an HOA property. My attorney told me
years ago never to do so because it is a defacto defect in title to give away
any ownership interest in your title other than municipal easements. The
HOA itself is what reduces property values not what people do to there
property. Zoning is more than sufficient to maintain values.
Unless this woman signed a contract agreeing to these absurd “covenants” she is under no legal obligation to remove her statue from her own property, and further, the HOA can be sued in court for due process and civil rights violations. “Covenants” are NOT LAWS–They are not legally enforceable or binding unless they are put in writing and signed by all parties involved. Anything less is unlawful and a severe violation of rights.
She should have examined how her rights may be violated by joining a “home owners association” and what authority they might have over her.
I’m guessing that they want the statue gone because it’s a Christian symbol, and the homeowner’s association is likely run by Jews.
Wouldn`t supprise me one bit, Jolly Rogers, if that HOA wasn`t jewish run.
When you buy on a home in a subdivision with an HOA, you are SCREWED! They will slip in the HOA agreement along the hundreds of documents you need to sign when closing on a property. You probably don’t even realize you have signed your rights away, but you have. When something like this comes up and you say BS, they will whip out the document you signed and tell you FOAD or else. NEVER, EVER buy a home in a HOA neighborhood.
I’ll bet if it was a statue of Obummer or Karl Marx, it wouldn’t be a problem.