Some perspective for further consideration: In many areas, ALL new subdivisions have an HOA because the municipality requires them. An HOA allows the City to require the developer to include all sorts of prestige, property value adding elements without the City getting stuck with the bill for owning and maintaining them over time: detention ponds, landscape buffers, entry features, even clubhouses. They are becoming harder to avoid in my area unless you are a fixer upper buyer.
Having worked in the development field for a couple decades now, I promise you that the HOA docs and rules were NOT carefully thought out and agonized over with a big research budget and focus group testing. The money guy told his lawyer "And ban those big ugly camper boxes from driveway storage" and here we are. In most cases, nobody ever intended to ban the parking of a high top van in your driveway. It's the eyesore mohos and TTs sitting in place unmoved for months they are looking to avoid.
I was the HOA board president at my HOA for 10 years (precisely so that the job wouldn't get filled by a power-hungry fascist). Board member do NOT generally enjoy dealing with this stuff. They hired a management company precisely to handle the routine stuff for them. A request letter like I suggested above to the management company will be presented to the Board in the next update and a recommendation made. 9 of 10 times, the board approves what the management company suggests.
