February 11, 2010
To the Editor:
The recent letter characterizing HOA’s as harmless volunteers ignores a mountain of evidence to the contrary. A Google search of homeowner association lawsuits reveals the not-so-neighborly nature of these private governments.
In the mainstream they are content to oversee the maintenance of community facilities and abide by the terms of the founding documents i.e. deed restrictions. The more left-leaning HOA’s however are leading the charge to fundamentally change the nature of established developments. (Specifics available at www.ledgesofhiddenhills.com)
As part of a special interest coalition of trade associations, real estate industry lobbyists and lawyer’s private governments remake the terms and conditions property owners bargained for initially by adding new restrictions on the use of private property and imposing special assessments to purchase and develop amenities not part of the original community. This remaking of established neighborhoods is done ostensibly for the common good (to protect property values) but the end result is a nanny state.
The liberals in our nation’s capitol don’t have a monopoly on activist government.
