HOMEOWNERS are furious over a new law that could leave them with a hefty fine for having rubbish in their yard.
Residents have criticized their community after it was announced that anyone who fails to maintain their front and back yards will be fined $500.
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The new Community Preservation Ordinance has many homeowners living in Gilbert, Arizona up in arms.
Starting July 18, those living in the city can expect to pay a hefty fee if a neighbor reports seeing problems like dead grass, piled debris or cars that don’t run on someone’s property.
One neighbor admitted he felt it gave the city too much power over his property.
“I see this as a form of violation of the Fourth Amendment,” Chris Lindahl said at a community meeting, according to the local NBC affiliate. KPNX.
“My HOA currently does not have the authority to police what happens in my yard.”
However, urban planning manager, Eva Cutro, believes that this could be a positive change for the city.
“It’s really just about keeping Gilbert as it is today and preserving it for the future,” Cutro said.
She clarified that while this ordinance is contingent on neighbors notifying the city, residents will not immediately receive citations.
Instead, the city hopes to work with the property owners to resolve everything.
City leaders also plan to only report to the council every three months to prevent abuse of the system.
US Sun has reached out to Eva Cutro for comment.
DRAMA OF ORDER
Other cities have adopted decrees that also have significant financial consequences.
Fred Wintrich, who lives in Dunwoody, Georgiawas shocked when he was fined $1,500 for parking his trailer in front of his house, according to Atlanta Draft.
Dunwoody City Code violations state that residents cannot park their RVs in front of their homes.
What is an HOA?
One in five Americans lives in an area with a Home Owners Association – or HOA. But what exactly do they do?
- An HOA is a homeowners association – an organization that aims to maintain a clean, cohesive place for its residents to live.
- Entire neighborhoods, subdivisions, condominiums, single-family homes or townhouses within “a planned development” will often constitute an HOA.
- They also serve as a regulatory body for the tenants, who manage and finance the HOA through monthly fees.
- Its main goals are to keep the community functional and visually appealing and maintain property values.
- They focus primarily on a neighborhood’s common areas, like roads, parks, and pools — but they can also stipulate what residents can do with their property, like yards and sidewalks.
- These restrictions often impose uniformity on properties, for example, ensuring that most houses look the same and that all sidewalks are free of weeds.
- An HOA Rule Book of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&R) is distributed to all residents, and an elected volunteer board of directors enforces these regulations.
- Violating these rules can result in penalties such as fines and even litigation – as most HOAs are incorporated and subject to state law.
- HOAs are often the subject of controversy, with some members feeling that the rules are too punitive and restrictive, or that the leadership has too much power.
- But other HOAs like this give communities the power of self-government and can ensure a degree of harmony among residents.
Violating the rule can result in a fine of up to $1,000 per citation or up to six months in jail.
“A disabled veteran who hasn’t received even one parking ticket in the state of Georgia in the last 15 years has been sent to prison?” Wintrich said.
“For a trailer in my garage?”
The ordinance has been in effect since 2008, according to Councilman John Heneghan, who spoke to Rough Draft Atlanta.
Wintrich said the rule was unclear because it did not provide a clear definition for the word “street yard” used in the ordinance.
“City law said you can’t park in the street lot,” Wintrich said.
“It didn’t say anything about the driveway. So in my unlegally trained brain, having your trailer in the driveway wasn’t against the laws.”
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