TV Parking

1) I've read a number of posts saying that there's few facts behind this story...That should be remembered!

2) On several threads like this before, one solution is hire a lawyer and turn in everyone in the neighborhood who parks a truck in their driveway.

The result is:

A) The HOA is in a pickle over selective enforcement of rules and becomes vulnereable to lawsuits.

B) Everyone who owns a pickup tends to band together and "go to war" against the HOA.

From what I've read this tends to be extremely effective at educating HOA's on reasonable rules, proper enforcement and rapid recognition that pickup truck parking isn't a crime against God, mom, apple pie, civilized society nor the HOA.

(The lawyer may be optional, but can certainly help with 'style' :-) )

Unfortunately, I have seen similar problems in my HOA-free neighborhood, with the city-sponsored neighborhood association. It was taken over by someone who appears to be a sociopath, and that person got some city ordinances changed (by lying and manipulating). Humans kind of suck, sometimes.

pitch wrote:
This is a fairly local story to me. I am not saying that I have any more knowledge than any one else,but I have read the original news reports.
The rules in this HOA are vague. "Private passenger type pleasure vehicles" are authorized.
In NY if your truck weighs less than 5600 pounds and is not used in any commercial activity,(having a ladder rack implies commercial activity),ask me how I know, you can register as a passenger vehicle,as this man has done. The HOA says whatever the state calls it has no bearing,it is still a truck.
The comment section of the news article was somewhat enlightening.
If anything is to be believed, the resident in question is a former police officer that lost his job due to some questionable actions. He is the kind of guy that enjoys poking the bear in the eye so to speak.

I can agree that the HOA has said "a pickup truck is NOT a passenger vehicle" - but then why is the other homeowner parking his pickup truck in the driveway without apparent issue? Does the HOA have an exception that only black pickups are not passenger vehicles? Or that only grey pickups are passenger vehicles? The two trucks appear to be very similar in size and style - why is one acceptable and the other not>? Because homeowner one is a fired police officer and the HOA doesn't approve of him in their community anymore?

pitch wrote:
This is a fairly local story to me. I am not saying that I have any more knowledge than any one else,but I have read the original news reports.
The rules in this HOA are vague. "Private passenger type pleasure vehicles" are authorized.
In NY if your truck weighs less than 5600 pounds and is not used in any commercial activity,(having a ladder rack implies commercial activity),ask me how I know, you can register as a passenger vehicle,as this man has done. The HOA says whatever the state calls it has no bearing,it is still a truck.
The comment section of the news article was somewhat enlightening.
If anything is to be believed, the resident in question is a former police officer that lost his job due to some questionable actions. He is the kind of guy that enjoys poking the bear in the eye so to speak.

Whether or not the person enjoys poking the bear in the eye, for a HOA to Stand behind "rules" to harass anyone is criminal.

The usual problem with HOAs and CC&Rs is that they tend to be subjectively enforced. As in the photo - one homeowner has a pickup parked in the driveway and is not in violation, another homeowner has a pickup parked in the driveway and is in violation.

To often, the actual rule is vaguely written to the point that the HOA can pick and choose which homeowners can ignore it and which can't by using criteria that is not spelled out, not clear, etc.

This is why I won't live with an HOA - because when you have a few people in control of a large group of people, the odds are the rules will not be enforced equally. Someone will receive preferential treatment, someone will be disliked. Too often an HOA board member becomes very zealot in their behavior, they become power hungry, and so on. If you have a good HOA board, great - but all it takes is for one good member to step down and you could be on the wrong side of the HOA and facing violation charges for things that aren't black and white rules.

I do not have an issue with stating you should not go into a development with HOAs you cannot live with. However, this case is different. I consider a truck a passenger vehicle and unless the CC&Rs explicitly stated you cannot have trucks parked in the driveway, I would have thought the truck would be just fine.

Lynnmor wrote:
Does this really belong in America?

Really Sad

Yes, yes it does.

A group of people have decided to live a certain way, restricting certain things. As long as those restrictions don't cross certain laws, regulations, and rights, they are legal.

If you don't want to live with those restrictions, DON'T MOVE THERE.

When wife and I were looking for our first house, we knew our lifestyle would not conform to the vast majority of HOAs, so we DID NOT BUY A HOUSE IN A HOA. Sorry I "yelled" there, but I don't know why people just don't get this. This is the USA, you have choices.

My sister and her husband have always lived in condos / HOAs. They LOVE it. The property is taken care of, the buildings are maintained, and -- get this! -- they KNOW and UNDERSTAND the restrictions! Shocking, isn't it?

I have very little compassion for people who seem to intentionally buy a house in a HOA and then cause problems after they move in. Many (probably most, if not all) of the stories I've read like this have "the other side of the story", and it usually doesn't reflect well on the person complaining.

If you look at it from the opposite way: A person moves into a restricted HOA, and then decides that everyone else has to conform to what he wants. Why is the new person in the right, when he is trampling on what other people want and have agreed amongst themselves to live with? Why do the "rights" of this new person supersede the "rights" of the other people?

Okay, off my box. I need another cup of coffee...

This is a fairly local story to me. I am not saying that I have any more knowledge than any one else,but I have read the original news reports.
The rules in this HOA are vague. "Private passenger type pleasure vehicles" are authorized.
In NY if your truck weighs less than 5600 pounds and is not used in any commercial activity,(having a ladder rack implies commercial activity),ask me how I know, you can register as a passenger vehicle,as this man has done. The HOA says whatever the state calls it has no bearing,it is still a truck.
The comment section of the news article was somewhat enlightening.
If anything is to be believed, the resident in question is a former police officer that lost his job due to some questionable actions. He is the kind of guy that enjoys poking the bear in the eye so to speak.

rockhillmanor wrote:

mlts22 wrote:
There is a neighborhood near me that is gated and like that. All vehicles have to be on a list (only luxury car makes), the only pickup allowed is the Cadillac one, and the max age of any vehicle can be five model years before it gets towed and a $500 "eyesore fee" assessed.

Needless to stay, I'll stay well outside those gates if I want to buy a house.

And what is really funny about that exception of the Caddy? It's nothing more than a Chevy Truck. Comes off the same assembly line with beefed up interior and they slap a Cadillac emblem on it!! :B

Can you say Cimarron?

Come to think of it, if the truck has P-Rated tires on it, then the home owner might have a case that it truly is a Passenger Vehicle. If it were a truck, it certainly would have LT tires :).

-Michael