Arnold residents celebrating change of leadership after HOA ‘ran out of control’

• LAUREN TRAGER
• | POSTED ON JUL 21, 2021

ARNOLD, Mo. (KMOV.com) — A group of local neighbors claim their homeowners association had gone rogue, and was acting more like a dictatorship than a helpful community organization.The neighborhood, located in Arnold, is the kind of place most people would like to raise a family; homes kept neat with respectful neighbors.”I don’t know any neighborhood that you can walk outside your door, call two or three neighbors and by the end, there are ten of you guys, sitting in the driveway, having a beer,” said one resident.All the neighbors News 4 spoke to requested anonymity, but there was one thing many said spoiled it all, and that was the over-reaching of their homeowner’s association.”We are dealing with abuse and selective enforcement. Selective enforcement is something a lot of people are experiencing and it’s not right,” said one resident.A homeowner’s association, and its fees and rules, is meant to protect a neighborhood from one or two bad apples. They are designed to keep property values up by enforcing standards throughout a neighborhood, making things better for everyone. But this large group of neighbors, most of whom didn’t want to be identified for fear of retaliation, contacted News 4 after they said their HOA was becoming more like a runaway train.”You are not some cop that is going around giving tickets, you are here to give us a voice,” said a resident.The neighbors said rules weren’t being enforced equally. One person might get a fine for a basketball hoop, for example, while others did not. One modification to a home might be allowed, another, denied. One man even got fined for his children playing in the street.”I don’t think a two or three member board should ruin our happiness, its not right,” said one neighbor.”[It’s hard] Not knowing if I do something to my yard, or I put up a certain flower, or I do an American flag, or a tree, if they are going to send me a fine,” said another.Fines were coming in frequently in recent months, they say, but only for some.”It can turn into a lien on your house and then can turn into foreclosure,” one resident. “It doesn’t seem right. It doesn’t seem American. It’s not why people move here.”  Read more:

https://www.kmov.com/news/arnold-residents-celebrating-change-of-leadership-after-hoa-ran-out-of-control/article_6a66a78e-ea53-11eb-bbe3-3b59d77ea3b3.html?block_id=990844