Posted on 04/19/2010 11:40:34 AM PDT by JoeProBono
PLANO, Texas, -- A Texas couple says they've downsized their garden display of spring bluebonnets, a state tradition, after their homeowners association threatened legal action.
Eddie and Melissa Smith's bluebonnet bonanza began five years ago with three plants from a local Plano, Texas, home-improvement store, The Dallas Morning News reported Sunday.
Explosive growth followed, and the bluebonnets spread over the Smith's entire lawn and jumped the sidewalk to curve around their corner lot, the newspaper said.
"We didn't add more seeds, didn't fertilize, didn't water any extra," Melissa Smith said. "It was God's handiwork."
But not everyone was a fan.
The Ridgeview Park Homeowners Association demanded the Smiths mow the bluebonnets and re-sod the front lawn, the Morning News said. Eventually, the association sent a certified letter through a Dallas law office requiring the Smiths to conform to the "aesthetic harmony" of the subdivision.
"It's funny to us that we can get in such trouble for growing the Texas state flower," Melissa Smith said.
The Smiths and the association have reached a compromise. The couple can keep the wildflowers as long as they are contained in flowerbeds. Any not in beds have to be mowed away or controlled with weed killer, the Morning News said.
Oh the joys of living under the diktatorship of an HOA.
They should not have complied.
There must be a bunch of Damn Yankees running the HOA...
A deal is a deal.
No one has to buy there.
True.
Problem is when the HOAs run-away from their intended purpose, then you are stuck unless you have the time to ‘run for office’ against people that don’t have to work...
Bluebonnetts are only pretty while in bloom and it’s a banner year! We have a few folks in the neighborhood here in San Antonio that have an abundance of bluebonnetts. Doesn’t seem to bother anyone, though it does look a bit out of place because they do take over the yard like weeds.
Once they’re done blooming, I’m sure the folks will mow down the leaves.
Having lived there for almost 10 years...Plano TX is one of those places that thrives because of it’s “manicured” lawns, large tract homes, some mansion type neighborhoods and a lot of women with implants, especially white teeth, cheating spouses and a large teenage drug problem. It’s the epitomy of the new rich. All show, no substance. I was more than happy to leave.
IMO you are both correct - I am a former Yankee and do hold a Board position with the HOA. But this is not a north-south, Republican-Democrat issue. It is an issue of preserving everyone’s home values within an area. While some HOA’s may get a bit carried away, but beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder and there is no accounting for taste - just look around you! But people do have a choice - abide by the agreement you signed when you moved in or don’t live there. BTW, at Christmas time our entire area except for one house is a huge lighted wonderland - no Santas but lots of angels and nativity scenes.
“There must be a bunch of Damn Yankees running the HOA...”
No; it sounds like you guys can take full credit.
Home owner associations do suck. However, if my neighbor had their whole lawn looking like this picture, I’d be having a talk with them myself. State flower or no state flower, what they do on their property affects my property values. And I very much doubt my property values are going to be enhanced by a neighbor whose yard looks like an empty field.
People who voluntarily buy in HOA-controlled neighborhoods have no choice but to comply with the dictates of the HOA, as they agreed when they signed their contract.
I would avoid buying in such a neighborhood, because I don’t like the idea of somebody telling me what to do with my property. Even without an HOA, the town has all sorts of control through zoning regulations.
I like it that one of my neighbors chooses to grow vegetables in the strip between his sidewalk and the curb. It looks kinda funky, but it is the only sunny spot he has on an otherwise wooded lot. He always jokes that the neighbors who object the most to his gardening always seem to be the ones who steal his tomatoes...
I sure wouldn’t, I don’t want a bunch of creeps for neighbors.
Nazis.
I have nothing particular against people who choose to live in a HOA.
The phrase “May your chains rest lightly upon you” comes to mind, though.
Maybe it’s just me. I suspect I’m one of those “Radical Individualists” that Al Gore prattled on about.
I'd agree they should not have bought there, but unless the community association dictat says specifically "Homeowners must all maintain x percent of their property in lawn of a,b, and c types of grasses mown to z height, and Texas bluebonnets must be confined to flowerbeds," homeowners have no way of knowing that the community association Nazis are going to have an issue with a particular type of vegetation.
We had some neighbors who put in Leyland cypresses to maintain their privacy. The community ass'n and its attorneys really had a field day with this. It was unattractive and not in keeping with community standards, they said. They racked up some big ol' legal bills, too. Unfortunately for them they'd picked on a doctor who had the money to pay for his own lawyer and he fought back. His lawyer pointed out that there was no place in the community documents that stated Leyland cypresses were not permitted and the community association could just go pound sand. It was nice.
Figures it was in Plano.
I have served on the community standards committee of my HOA, partly in self-defense. I agree that when a group of people from varied backgrounds live together, somebody has to keep the peace; in our community we have a lot of people from nations that, shall we say, do not have a tradition of private home ownership and careful maintenance, and they would indeed wreck everybody else’s property values. But some of these folks can be extremely petty, and they have a multi-hundred-thousand budget plus a tame law firm to play with, so they act out their resentments, fantasies, prejudices, and class hatreds.
Meticulous as I am about my home, I dream of the day I can escape.
I dream of the day I can escape.”
You may want to do it soon - the way the govt is going, you won’t be able to afford to sell your house. We have an exceptional neighborhood - some Asians, a couple from Russia, one Democrat, one from Jamaica and the rest of us are all rednecks. Most moms, although degreed, homeschool their kids and are great cooks. Not a lot of bling anywhere but all neat and tidy. Lucky me to be able to live in such a great area.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.