Back in the Saddle Again

Wow, time really does fly - it's been over nine months since my last update regarding our HOA saga, I know that because we had time to have an entirely new child. When we last left our heroes (that's Jen and I of course) we had just been dealt a heinous blow at the hands of a mediation process that left a bad taste in my mouth and a gap in my wallet. Anyone that knows me knows that I don't like to lose, and despite the fact that we technically didn't lose anything - we also certainly didn't win. So, largely we've gone on about our business, raising a child, growing companies, the norm.

Jen, for a while even served on the Pinnacle Paradise HOA board, getting first hand access to what can best be characterized as the world's most inefficient, ineffective and inconsequential governing body. We had hoped that with her participation on the HOA board we could introduce some of the change that the community so glaringly needs. Not a month went by during this time where some homeowner wasn't met with what I would consider simply to be a complete disregard for logic and common sense. The community has crazy restrictions around things like fence heights that are simply too low, landscaping guidelines that are overly strict and home-based-buisness clauses that are outrageously archaic. I could go on and on here but the point most relevant is that even simply referencing the above restrictions, 30% or more of the community has fences that exceed that restriction, nearly every single month someone in the community violates the landscaping rules and just this last weekend someone held a 60+ person Barre class complete with 'house' music cranked up to 11 - I'd call that operating a business out of a home. When you have this many violations, or requests for exceptions, you know the guidelines are simply not reflective of the communities wants, needs or best interest.

Rather than acknowledge this, the AC board chooses to simply selectively enforce the CC&R provisions. If someone asks for an exception, they refuse to grant it - but if someone violates them, they chose to ignore it. That is of course unless that someone is building a home, in which case they can simply stop construction as they did in our case - when the incident is less cut and dry (i.e. they don't have an easy way to force compliance) they look the other way.

During her time on the board, Jen brought up the desire to change the CC&R guidelines, to which a 2 - 3 year timeline was quoted to actually perform those updates. We are talking about a 60 home community here and a $180 annual dues amount... nothing should take 3 years to complete. Meanwhile, residents are simply trying to do what every red-blooded American should be entitled to do - live their lives on the property they own and do what they want with their property. Yes, HOA's exist so no one builds an 8 story behemoth that blocks everyone's view or paints their home fluorescent blue (despite the fact that Grayson would love that) but frankly the City of Scottsdale's requirements ensure all of these no-brainers anyway. So, what purpose does a board serve that selectively enforces regulations which aren't in the communities best interest in the first place? I'd argue that they serve no purpose. I'd also argue that any decisions they make aren't enforceable due to the haphazard and discriminatory nature with which they are wielding them.

And that's exactly what I we're arguing, now with complaint # No. CV2019-009867. Hang on, and let's see where this ride takes us.

#HOA #lawsuit #arizona #family