thedrifter
06-02-09, 10:32 AM
Lake Highlands homeowners group still silent amid outcry over veteran's car decals
10:10 PM CDT on Monday, June 1, 2009
The ominous deadline came and went and, so far, nothing's happened – at least not what you might have expected.
Frank Larison's car hasn't been towed, thank goodness.
Nor has the 58-year-old Vietnam veteran peeled off the military decals that landed him in hot water with his homeowners association.
And, incredibly, no one from the Woodlands II on the Creek homeowners association has bothered to contact Larison – or me, for that matter – since I inked a column last Wednesday about Larison's rift with his Lake Highlands HOA.
"Haven't heard a thing," Larison said Monday. "Not a word from anybody."
But make no mistake, a lot has changed since then.
Both Larison and I have been inundated with phone calls and letters from across the nation from folks outraged at the HOA for taking such a hard-line stance against a guy displaying U.S. Marine Corps emblems on his car's rear window, bumper and taillights.
Larison, who spent a combined 14 years in the Marines and U.S. Coast Guard, also has been bombarded with radio and TV interviews for six days. Several lawyers offered to stand up for him for free.
"I saw it on the news Thursday morning and I thought it was really crazy," said Michael Burns, a Dallas attorney now representing Larison. "I told him we'd get this straightened out for him."
On Friday, the law firm of Anderson, Burns & Vela sent a warning letter of its own, vowing to take "whatever legal action may be necessary" if "any attempt is made to tow" Larison's car.
As you may recall, the HOA's letter informed Larison his car would be towed at his expense if he failed to remove or cover up the decals.
The letter also warned that if Larison keeps "visible decal advertising" on his car on or after May 31 – Sunday – he could face a $50 fine each time he parks in his own little assigned space.
What roiled me was the fact that, according to Larison, no one ever bothered to ask him about his stickers before sending him the threatening letter.
That doesn't strike me as the neighborly thing to do, especially when the HOA board president lives a few yards away.
Indeed, a brief conversation may have smoothed things over. Instead, Larison was officially put on notice and the HOA president apparently went on vacation, which has allowed the issue to fester.
One HOA board member, Art Bradford, told a TV reporter that he wasn't even aware of the dispute.
"I didn't know anything about this. I haven't seen this," Bradford said. "I will be looking into it."
Bradford didn't call me back. Guess he's still looking.
Let's be clear here. I do not think that all HOAs are inherently evil, as some readers suggested. If that were the case, I don't think we'd have 20,000 of them in Texas alone.
"HOAs always seem to be cast as the villains in news stories," wrote one indignant Garland HOA board member. "The real villains are people who agree to abide by rules and then demand that the rules do not apply to them."
However, she said, in Larison's case, "I suspect that the covenants prohibit business advertising. If so, my personal opinion is that the HOA has overstepped its bounds."
Exactly. If the HOA doesn't want any decals, period, that's one thing. (Of course, someone will have to explain why other condo owners with stickers on their cars weren't targeted.)
And if the HOA doesn't allow "advertising" of any kind, so be it. The homeowners can fight to change that if they're unhappy, or move out.
But what Larison can't figure out is why his Marine decals were deemed "advertising" in the first place.
"I'm not advertising anything," Larison reassured. "I'm just proud to have had the chance to serve my country. Other than that, I really want to be left alone."
Now that's one helluva bumper-sticker idea.
Ellie
10:10 PM CDT on Monday, June 1, 2009
The ominous deadline came and went and, so far, nothing's happened – at least not what you might have expected.
Frank Larison's car hasn't been towed, thank goodness.
Nor has the 58-year-old Vietnam veteran peeled off the military decals that landed him in hot water with his homeowners association.
And, incredibly, no one from the Woodlands II on the Creek homeowners association has bothered to contact Larison – or me, for that matter – since I inked a column last Wednesday about Larison's rift with his Lake Highlands HOA.
"Haven't heard a thing," Larison said Monday. "Not a word from anybody."
But make no mistake, a lot has changed since then.
Both Larison and I have been inundated with phone calls and letters from across the nation from folks outraged at the HOA for taking such a hard-line stance against a guy displaying U.S. Marine Corps emblems on his car's rear window, bumper and taillights.
Larison, who spent a combined 14 years in the Marines and U.S. Coast Guard, also has been bombarded with radio and TV interviews for six days. Several lawyers offered to stand up for him for free.
"I saw it on the news Thursday morning and I thought it was really crazy," said Michael Burns, a Dallas attorney now representing Larison. "I told him we'd get this straightened out for him."
On Friday, the law firm of Anderson, Burns & Vela sent a warning letter of its own, vowing to take "whatever legal action may be necessary" if "any attempt is made to tow" Larison's car.
As you may recall, the HOA's letter informed Larison his car would be towed at his expense if he failed to remove or cover up the decals.
The letter also warned that if Larison keeps "visible decal advertising" on his car on or after May 31 – Sunday – he could face a $50 fine each time he parks in his own little assigned space.
What roiled me was the fact that, according to Larison, no one ever bothered to ask him about his stickers before sending him the threatening letter.
That doesn't strike me as the neighborly thing to do, especially when the HOA board president lives a few yards away.
Indeed, a brief conversation may have smoothed things over. Instead, Larison was officially put on notice and the HOA president apparently went on vacation, which has allowed the issue to fester.
One HOA board member, Art Bradford, told a TV reporter that he wasn't even aware of the dispute.
"I didn't know anything about this. I haven't seen this," Bradford said. "I will be looking into it."
Bradford didn't call me back. Guess he's still looking.
Let's be clear here. I do not think that all HOAs are inherently evil, as some readers suggested. If that were the case, I don't think we'd have 20,000 of them in Texas alone.
"HOAs always seem to be cast as the villains in news stories," wrote one indignant Garland HOA board member. "The real villains are people who agree to abide by rules and then demand that the rules do not apply to them."
However, she said, in Larison's case, "I suspect that the covenants prohibit business advertising. If so, my personal opinion is that the HOA has overstepped its bounds."
Exactly. If the HOA doesn't want any decals, period, that's one thing. (Of course, someone will have to explain why other condo owners with stickers on their cars weren't targeted.)
And if the HOA doesn't allow "advertising" of any kind, so be it. The homeowners can fight to change that if they're unhappy, or move out.
But what Larison can't figure out is why his Marine decals were deemed "advertising" in the first place.
"I'm not advertising anything," Larison reassured. "I'm just proud to have had the chance to serve my country. Other than that, I really want to be left alone."
Now that's one helluva bumper-sticker idea.
Ellie