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3/10/2006 10:00:11 AM

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"Cary homeowners rebel, oust board Revolutions happen in the suburbs. Just ask the people of the Parkway subdivision in west Cary. Earlier this month, a band of insurgents staged a coup d'etat and purged the 1,682-home association's entire board. The rebels said they struck to end the brief reign of the board's manager, Ed Link. For four months, Link scrutinized their fences, mailboxes and yards with a zeal that some had never experienced before -- and clearly did not appreciate. Grass-roots rebellions against homeowners associations are rare, even though more than half of North Carolina's homeowners live under an association. Most people "don't want to get involved" with their association until dues increase or the board starts aggressively enforcing neighborhood rules, said Jim Laumann, president of the Homeowner Associations of North Carolina. "If everything's going along smoothly, then they're the silent majority," he said. "But if things get out of control, then they're not hesitant to speak up and get involved." In the Parkway subdivision, the homeowners association had long been an afterthought for the commuters, retirees and stay-at-home parents who have spent $200,000 or more to buy houses there. There was little to get worked up about; the subdivision's 24 neighborhoods were usually quiet, and most folks kept their lawns tidy, their homes painted and their boats somewhere else. Folks began to buzz about the association in October, after the board made Link the association's day-to-day manager. In a letter to residents, board members wrote that it was "a brilliant new beginning" that would be marked by stronger enforcement of the subdivision's appearance rules. Link, a retired financial executive from New York, took to the job with a passion. He took complaints seven days a week. He quit going to the gym and got his exercise by riding around the subdivision on his bike, examining properties for overgrown grass, peeling paint and other rule violations. He sent out letters, including one to property owner Richard Stetter telling him to plant shrubs in front of a fence. "It became, for the first time in my life, a chance to be happy with my work," Link said, "to do what I wanted to do." He considered himself "a gift to this community" because he was helping spruce up the neighborhood and make the homeowners association more professional. Plus, he said he worked for what he considered a reasonable price, about $40,000 a year. He won accolades from people who thought the association needed to come down harder on scofflaws. "I've seen him riding his bicycle around the neighborhood, just making sure that people were doing what they should," said Ken Girodias, a consultant. "I appreciated his efforts to keep the neighborhood looking good." But others considered Link a nit-picking tyrant. Brian Butler began to complain after Link demanded, at the behest of the board, that he cut a couple of feet from his new, 6-foot-tall backyard fence. "It just didn't make much sense," Butler said, especially because neighborhood rules permit fences like his. "We just thought it was unfair." Butler's wife heard other complaints about Link from neighbors when she walked their dog. By late November, about a dozen disgruntled Parkway residents were going door-to-door like Jehovah's Witnesses, armed with clipboards, pens and proxy forms. They wanted to put two of their own on the association's five-person board. "The challenge was getting people to answer the door because they thought we were salesmen," said Dana Hogan, an information technology engineer. "When we got an answer at the door, probably 85 to 90 percent said, 'Yeah, I'll sign your proxy.' " Hogan joined the group after Link sent a letter chiding him for putting a swing set in his back yard where it could be seen from the street. There were other gripes. Some did not like the $6 annual dues increase required, in part, to pay Link's salary. Others thought it fishy that the board hired its former treasurer and gave him $40,000 a year for a job another company had been doing for about $26,000. (Board members said Link earned the money by doing work the previous manager refused.) The malcontents' ambitions grew to rebellion after their stack of proxies topped 900, the majority needed to take control of the entire board. They staged the coup at the association's annual meeting in Peace Presbyterian Church. Many in the crowd of 100 came to shout complaints about Link, prompting Girodias, Link's friend and supporter, to describe it as "an I-hate-Ed meeting." Butler, the man who clashed with Link over his fence, wielded the insurgents' weapon: a section of the bylaws that allows a majority of the association to remove board members for any cause. With a motion and a second, the rebels took over the homeowners association. Link resigned soon after the meeting. He said he could not work with the new board. "It was an amazing feat; you've got to give them credit," Link said. "What drives somebody that strong is a mystery." Call it dissatisfaction. Call it American tradition. Whatever you call it, remember that it still can spark revolt, even in the suburbs."

3/10/2006 11:48:28 AM

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"It is kinda lame for the HA to come down on something like this. I mean, it's tacky, but it's not that bad. This woman may have an argument if it turns out other neighbors have violated the rules of the HA and have not been penalized the way she was. "

If she's looking for other rules that have gone unenforced, I guarantee you someone in the neighborhood has a dog that's too big/fat.

3/10/2006 5:31:51 PM

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"They knew about the rules when they moved in. By contract, they agreed to curtail some of their 1st amendment rights."

Eh. Seems like they could argue some public policy interests here.

3/12/2006 9:32:20 PM

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"Homeowner-association bill signed by governor By HANG NGUYEN The Orange County Register , 9/1/2004 A state law that takes effect next year will require homeowner associations to be more responsive when homeowners propose changes to their property. The bill, AB2376, authored by Assemblywoman Patricia Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, requires association boards to put their reasons in writing if they vote against a proposal. The bill, signed by the governor on Friday, will take effect Jan. 1. The bill also gives homeowners the right to request reconsideration at an open board meeting. The board is required to set deadlines for responding to homeowner proposals and requests for reconsideration. It also forces the homeowner association boards to send notices each year, reminding homeowners of the rules regarding the look of their homes. The law reflects a growing trend toward more empowerment for homeowners in their relations with associations. Last year, former Gov. Gray Davis signed AB512, also authored by Bates, which requires association boards to notify residents of proposed rule changes and give homeowners an opportunity to comment on the proposed change. Davis also signed a bill last year that requires associations to open their financial records and minutes for inspection and copying."

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"Blind couple sues over guide-dog dispute They say Indio homeowner association hounds them for unscooped droppings. The Associated Press, 9-17,2004 INDIO – Dennis and Shirley Bartlett know about their Desert Grove homeowner association pooper-scooper rules, but sometimes they simply miss the droppings left by their dogs, Nebraska and Marna. Residents have been complaining, and the association president mentioned it to the Bartletts. Now, the blind couple is headed to court to resolve the disputed droppings left in the street by the guide dogs. "Sometimes you will miss little pieces just because (the dog moves)," Dennis Bartlett said. "You can't get everything all the time." The Bartletts filed a small-claims suit, which will be heard by a judge on Sept. 22, against former association president Delmar Pierce, alleging harassment and prohibiting their guide dogs from doing what they were trained to do - defecate in the street. "This is outrageous, insensitive. They make a diligent effort to pick up after their dog. They're good neighbors, to put them through this is flat out harassment," said Jim Collins, head of the Include Me Inc. advocacy group for people with disabilities. The couple hope the suit persuades the association to amend its Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions to protect guide-dog users. Pierce didn't want to discuss the case, noting he's only had one conversation with Bartlett. Association attorney Margaret Wangler said an amendment to the CC&R isn't needed. The association, she says, is already required to make reasonable accommodations when a disabled person makes a request. "The association has never told them not to use the streets. Anybody can use the streets," she said. "The association's concern and the reason for getting in touch with the Bartletts was that they don't clean it up all the way, and that's a health and safety concern to the board." "

If these HAs keep allowing neighborhood tinpot dictators to run roughshod over people, there will be more call for gov't intervention and control to prevent it. And, of course, introducing more gov't control means neighborhood living will become even more tyrannical.

3/13/2006 2:47:43 AM

My aunt and uncle live in Westchase in Tampa, and I visited them last weekend. It's basically like Wakefield Plantation, except the entire neighborhood is gated.

HOAs can be a pain in the ass, but I don't really disagree with the ruling, residents knew what they were getting into when they moved there.

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"Manning said his personal feelings can't be allowed to trump his responsibility to the community. If Stacey Kelley is allowed to keep her sign, Manning said, there's nothing to prevent other residents from putting up signs that have negative messages about the troops."

Since I'm of the opinion that anyone should be able to do whatever they want with their property, I'd never live in such a community, and it was pretty tough for me to agree to live in a neighborhood with any HOA. Luckily, mine is extremely lenient so I've had no problems.

3/13/2006 11:51:31 AM