We have these HOA deals all around here. One group of homes nearby has all it's landscaping provided by professionals, only tile roofs allowed, a community swimming pool and nice park. Still, it irks me what some folks encounter. imp
HOA threatens 'jail time' for family over color of backyard play set
Legal letters demand removal of the purple (!) swing set within weeks. The offenders: the Stout family of Lee's Summit, Missouri. The offense: the color of their 2-year-old play set. It's stained a shade of purple.
The Raintree Lake Property Owners Association first put the Stouts on notice last year that the family's play set did not comport with the Architectural Review Board Guidelines for Architectural Control. Mom Marla Stout tells Yahoo Homes: "After the set had been in place for 11 months, we got a letter saying that we were being fined $200 for not getting approval to put up a swing set. My husband and another friend who happens to be an HOA president are both engineers. The way they read the bylaws was that if you put a pre-fabricated set you didn't need approval. "Colors had to be harmonious with community. There are over 2,000 homes in Raintree. Pick a color, any color, it's here. We have swing sets in place with multicolored canopies, huge yellow slides, etc. Ours blends with the trees and is shaded by four large trees. We honestly had no idea we'd done something wrong."
So she and her husband, Jack, appealed the fine -- and the appeals committee that represents the board found in the Stouts' favor. "That should have ended the process," Stout said. But the Architectural Review Board and the HOA board "continued to push the issue about the color," she said. "We asked for suggestions and were told they couldn't give us those and nothing existed as far as approved or disapproved colors for swing sets. They simply approve or disapprove based on personal preference." Now the HOA is suing the family, demanding that the play set be removed entirely. A lawyer's letter threatened that the Stouts could be held in civil contempt -- "which would bring with it a daily fine or jail time until the swing set was removed" -- if they ignored "any anticipated court-ordered injunction."
https://homes.yahoo.com/blogs/spaces/hoa-threatens--jail-time--for-family-over-color-of-backyard-play-set-
The Raintree Lake Property Owners Association first put the Stouts on notice last year that the family's play set did not comport with the Architectural Review Board Guidelines for Architectural Control. Mom Marla Stout tells Yahoo Homes: "After the set had been in place for 11 months, we got a letter saying that we were being fined $200 for not getting approval to put up a swing set. My husband and another friend who happens to be an HOA president are both engineers. The way they read the bylaws was that if you put a pre-fabricated set you didn't need approval. "Colors had to be harmonious with community. There are over 2,000 homes in Raintree. Pick a color, any color, it's here. We have swing sets in place with multicolored canopies, huge yellow slides, etc. Ours blends with the trees and is shaded by four large trees. We honestly had no idea we'd done something wrong."
So she and her husband, Jack, appealed the fine -- and the appeals committee that represents the board found in the Stouts' favor. "That should have ended the process," Stout said. But the Architectural Review Board and the HOA board "continued to push the issue about the color," she said. "We asked for suggestions and were told they couldn't give us those and nothing existed as far as approved or disapproved colors for swing sets. They simply approve or disapprove based on personal preference." Now the HOA is suing the family, demanding that the play set be removed entirely. A lawyer's letter threatened that the Stouts could be held in civil contempt -- "which would bring with it a daily fine or jail time until the swing set was removed" -- if they ignored "any anticipated court-ordered injunction."
HOA threatens 'jail time' for family over color of backyard play set
Legal letters demand removal of the purple (!) swing set within weeks. The offenders: the Stout family of Lee's Summit, Missouri. The offense: the color of their 2-year-old play set. It's stained a shade of purple.
The Raintree Lake Property Owners Association first put the Stouts on notice last year that the family's play set did not comport with the Architectural Review Board Guidelines for Architectural Control. Mom Marla Stout tells Yahoo Homes: "After the set had been in place for 11 months, we got a letter saying that we were being fined $200 for not getting approval to put up a swing set. My husband and another friend who happens to be an HOA president are both engineers. The way they read the bylaws was that if you put a pre-fabricated set you didn't need approval. "Colors had to be harmonious with community. There are over 2,000 homes in Raintree. Pick a color, any color, it's here. We have swing sets in place with multicolored canopies, huge yellow slides, etc. Ours blends with the trees and is shaded by four large trees. We honestly had no idea we'd done something wrong."
So she and her husband, Jack, appealed the fine -- and the appeals committee that represents the board found in the Stouts' favor. "That should have ended the process," Stout said. But the Architectural Review Board and the HOA board "continued to push the issue about the color," she said. "We asked for suggestions and were told they couldn't give us those and nothing existed as far as approved or disapproved colors for swing sets. They simply approve or disapprove based on personal preference." Now the HOA is suing the family, demanding that the play set be removed entirely. A lawyer's letter threatened that the Stouts could be held in civil contempt -- "which would bring with it a daily fine or jail time until the swing set was removed" -- if they ignored "any anticipated court-ordered injunction."
https://homes.yahoo.com/blogs/spaces/hoa-threatens--jail-time--for-family-over-color-of-backyard-play-set-
The Raintree Lake Property Owners Association first put the Stouts on notice last year that the family's play set did not comport with the Architectural Review Board Guidelines for Architectural Control. Mom Marla Stout tells Yahoo Homes: "After the set had been in place for 11 months, we got a letter saying that we were being fined $200 for not getting approval to put up a swing set. My husband and another friend who happens to be an HOA president are both engineers. The way they read the bylaws was that if you put a pre-fabricated set you didn't need approval. "Colors had to be harmonious with community. There are over 2,000 homes in Raintree. Pick a color, any color, it's here. We have swing sets in place with multicolored canopies, huge yellow slides, etc. Ours blends with the trees and is shaded by four large trees. We honestly had no idea we'd done something wrong."
So she and her husband, Jack, appealed the fine -- and the appeals committee that represents the board found in the Stouts' favor. "That should have ended the process," Stout said. But the Architectural Review Board and the HOA board "continued to push the issue about the color," she said. "We asked for suggestions and were told they couldn't give us those and nothing existed as far as approved or disapproved colors for swing sets. They simply approve or disapprove based on personal preference." Now the HOA is suing the family, demanding that the play set be removed entirely. A lawyer's letter threatened that the Stouts could be held in civil contempt -- "which would bring with it a daily fine or jail time until the swing set was removed" -- if they ignored "any anticipated court-ordered injunction."
