HOA From Hell

I suppose that somewhere Home Owners Associations serve some sort of useful purpose, but for the life of me I haven't seen it yet. The one for my neighborhood hasn't done much for me except take my money and send the occasional letter out to the neighborhood reminding us when we are allowed to put our trash out for pick up and where to store those trash cans. Granted, you want to have some standards in your neighborhood. You don't want the houses around you to be in total disrepair or to be overgrown with weeds and unmowed grass. So I guess they do have some use.

However, in my mind this HOA has gone just a little too far. In this particular neighborhood, the HOA is actually telling the residents the type of vehicle they can park in their driveway. Jim Greenwood bought a new Ford F-150 pickup truck and parked it in his driveway. The Stonebriar HOA has sent him three notices and threatened him with fines because his truck violates HOA rules. The HOA would allow him to park a Honda Ridgeline, Cadillac Escalade, or a Lincoln Mark LT because they are fancier and don't look so much like a truck. Mr. Greenwood argued on appeal that his Ford was not much different than the Lincoln truck and was told that "It is our belief that Lincoln markets to a different class of people."

"A different class of people?" What's next? Be careful. Next thing you know you won't be able to serve Folgers Coffee, only Starbucks. God forbid that you want to eat a Hershey's chocolate bar. Only Godiva will do for the Stonebriar HOA. Standards are fine, but this borders on snobbery at best, discrimination at worst.