Home » Featured »Politics/Policy »Sunday Poll » Currently Reading:

Poll: Thoughts On Missouri Bill That Would Prevent Homeowner’s Associations From Banning Political Signs

March 4, 2012 Featured, Politics/Policy, Sunday Poll 24 Comments
ABOVE: Subdivision in St. Charles County

Many live in places where a homeowners association may restrict your rights, one Missouri state rep has introduced a bill to curb that:

The measure, by Republican Rep. Kurt Bahr, would prevent homeowners associations from enforcing or adopting bans on political signs.

“Should a private organization allow you to contract away constitutionally protected inherent rights?” Bahr asked. (STLtoday.com)

The bill is  HB 1380 — Restrictive Covenants

This bill prohibits a property owners’ association from enforcing or adopting a restrictive covenant that prevents a property owner from displaying on his or her property one or more signs advertising a political candidate or ballot item for an election on or after the ninetieth day before the date of the election to which the sign relates or before the tenth day after that election date.

A property owners’ association is authorized to:

(1) Enforce or adopt a covenant that requires a sign to be ground-mounted or limits the property owner to displaying only one sign for each candidate or ballot item;

(2) Enforce or adopt a covenant that prohibits a sign that contains a nonstandard decorative component, is attached in any way to plant material, a traffic control device, a light, a trailer, a vehicle, or any other existing structure or object;

(3) Enforce or adopt a covenant that prohibits a sign that contains the painting of architectural surfaces; threatens the public health or safety; is larger than four feet by six feet; violates a law; contains language, graphics, or any display that would be offensive to an ordinary person; or is accompanied by music or other sounds or by streamers or is otherwise distracting to motorists; and

(4) Remove a sign displayed in violation of an authorized restrictive covenant.

This is the subject for the poll this week.  Mobile users need to switch to the desktop layout to see the poll in the right sidebar.

– Steve Patterson

 

Currently there are "24 comments" on this Article:

  1. Anonymous says:

    Mixed feelings.  HOA’s are private associations and should be able to impose their own rules, even if they’re stupid – caveat emptor, buyer beware – but if I don’t like them, I shouldn’t have to follow them?!  But I also have a problem with legislators passing laws that will only benefit their own campaigns.  If this truly is a “free speech” issue, the law should apply to all signs, not just campaign signs.  Finally, bigger picture, I question how effective campaign signs really (still?) are?  Yes, they’re relatively cheap and they help with name recognition (a little?), but mostly they’re just visual clutter.  I vote based on positions, not yard signs – I’d be just as fine if they were all banned!

     
  2. JZ71 says:

    Mixed feelings.  HOA’s are private associations and should be able to impose their own rules, even if they’re stupid – caveat emptor, buyer beware – but if I don’t like them, I shouldn’t have to follow them?!  But I also have a problem with legislators passing laws that will only benefit their own campaigns.  If this truly is a “free speech” issue, the law should apply to all signs, not just campaign signs.  Finally, bigger picture, I question how effective campaign signs really (still?) are?  Yes, they’re relatively cheap and they help with name recognition (a little?), but mostly they’re just visual clutter.  I vote based on positions, not yard signs – I’d be just as fine if they were all banned!

     
    • The article quoted someone that said their HOA just enforces the rules they were given. That means the develers attorney determined the rules. Changing these once in place is nearly impossible, based on the number of votes required to be obtained. Not exactly democratic

       
      • JZ71 says:

        Yes, most developers use boiler-plate HOA rules written by lawywers, and yes, it’s nearly impossible to modify them while the developer remains in charge of the project.  What’s the alternative?  After the project is completed, and the developer moves onto other projects, what’s to prevent a simple, “democratic”, majority of the current owners from modifying any of the rules?

        The real issue isn’t the rules or the rule-making process, the real issue, with certain HOA’s, is either selective, heavy-handed enforfcement of minor infractions, either by over-zealous managers or bored / nosy /retired neighbors OR individual residents who simply believe that no rules should apply to them or their property.

         
        • Getting a majority of owners to change the bylaws after the developer is out of the picture is the challenge I was talking about, easier said than done. Many don’t care and others oppose changes — any changes. So those interested in change must begin a full political campaign, potentially pitting neighbor against neighbor.

           
          • JZ71 says:

            Yes, so?  Rules are rules.  If they don’t impact your life or actually improve your life, they’re “good”.  If they negatively impact your life, they’re “bad”.  No one is forcing anyone to buy into an HOA-controlled community, it’s a choice.  If “Many don’t care and others oppose changes — any changes”, isn’t that democracy at its most fundamental level?  If no one is allowed to put up any signs (or just real estate signs or an arbitrary number of political signs), isn’t everyone being treated equally and fairly?  Communal living requires compromises and, yes, rules.  The alternative is anarchy!

             
          • The implications of the many rules in the bylaws aren’t always apparent at the time of purchase.

             
          • JZ71 says:

            And whose fault is that?  What’s next?  Are we going to require buyers in HOA communities go to rule-reading-and-understanding school before they can close?  There are a bazillion rules out there, some I’m aware of (and many that I actually understand) and some I have yet to discover.  We now have rules to “protect” us from pretty much anything and everything.  Are you implying that we now need rules to “protect” us from our rules?!

             
  3. The article quoted someone that said their HOA just enforces the rules they were given. That means the develers attorney determined the rules. Changing these once in place is nearly impossible, based on the number of votes required to be obtained. Not exactly democratic

     
  4. Alfred Fickensher says:

    I hate HOAs and twice over 39 years have house-shopped specifically outside of areas with HOAs. I am too damned independent to ever submit my “castle” (per the old saw about “a man’s castle is . . . “) to the whims of a democracy of neighbors. And my local knowledge backs up Steve’s comment that the original developer generally establishes the original compact.

    Having said that, I too believe that any organization must be allowed its own rules and if outsiders wish to join (buy property within the existing association) they will be expected to abide by the pre-existing rules. Like it or lump it.

    Accordingly, I voted the Bad buy elsewhere choice.
    alf

     
  5. Alfred Fickensher says:

    I hate HOAs and twice over 39 years have house-shopped specifically outside of areas with HOAs. I am too damned independent to ever submit my “castle” (per the old saw about “a man’s castle is . . . “) to the whims of a democracy of neighbors. And my local knowledge backs up Steve’s comment that the original developer generally establishes the original compact.

    Having said that, I too believe that any organization must be allowed its own rules and if outsiders wish to join (buy property within the existing association) they will be expected to abide by the pre-existing rules. Like it or lump it.

    Accordingly, I voted the Bad buy elsewhere choice.
    alf

     
  6. If you are going through hell, keep going

     
  7. If you are going through hell, keep going

     
  8. Msrdls says:

    I lived in Sana Monica, CA where, believe it or not, there was no HOA in a community 2 blocks from the ocean, just north of Wilshire Blvd. The houses were 3 bedroom frame-built, approx. 1500 SF. The neighborhood was pristine: grass was religiously mowed; houses were handsomely painted. Except for one house: directly across the street from me! It was owned by a rather famous “architect” who was known to “design” obscure buildings shaped like binoculars, inverted pyramids, etc. He loved anything that was odd. So he embellished his home’s exterior with chain-link panels hung at odd angles, and his choice of exterior colors probably didn’t even meet with his own approval! Everything looked like the work of an interior decorator who had gotten in over his/her head. In this case, a friendly knock on the door by a  HOA representative would have been in order. Unfortunately, it was not to be. When I sold my house, the chain-link panels were still there. So….maybe there are times when a HOA can be very useful.

     
  9. Msrdls says:

    I lived in Sana Monica, CA where, believe it or not, there was no HOA in a community 2 blocks from the ocean, just north of Wilshire Blvd. The houses were 3 bedroom frame-built, approx. 1500 SF. The neighborhood was pristine: grass was religiously mowed; houses were handsomely painted. Except for one house: directly across the street from me! It was owned by a rather famous “architect” who was known to “design” obscure buildings shaped like binoculars, inverted pyramids, etc. He loved anything that was odd. So he embellished his home’s exterior with chain-link panels hung at odd angles, and his choice of exterior colors probably didn’t even meet with his own approval! Everything looked like the work of an interior decorator who had gotten in over his/her head. In this case, a friendly knock on the door by a  HOA representative would have been in order. Unfortunately, it was not to be. When I sold my house, the chain-link panels were still there. So….maybe there are times when a HOA can be very useful.

     
  10. Anonymous says:

    Similar challenges in Denver:  http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_20102605

     
  11. Anonymous says:

    Yes, most developers use boiler-plate HOA rules written by lawywers, and yes, it’s nearly impossible to modify them while the developer remains in charge of the project.  What’s the alternative?  After the project is completed, and the developer moves onto other projects, what’s to prevent a simple, “democratic”, majority of the current owners from modifying any of the rules?

    The real issue isn’t the rules or the rule-making process, the real issue, with certain HOA’s, is either selective, heavy-handed enforfcement of minor infractions, either by over-zealous managers or bored / nosy /retired neighbors OR individual residents who simply believe that no rules should apply to them or their property.

     
  12. Getting a majority of owners to change the bylaws after the developer is out of the picture is the challenge I was talking about, easier said than done. Many don’t care and others oppose changes — any changes. So those interested in change must begin a full political campaign, potentially pitting neighbor against neighbor.

     
  13. Anonymous says:

    Yes, so?  Rules are rules.  If they don’t impact your life or actually improve your life, they’re “good”.  If they negatively impact your life, they’re “bad”.  No one is forcing anyone to buy into an HOA-controlled community, it’s a choice.  If “Many don’t care and others oppose changes — any changes”, isn’t that democracy at its most fundamental level?  If no one is allowed to put up any signs (or just real estate signs or an arbitrary number of political signs), isn’t everyone being treated equally and fairly?  Communal living requires compromises and, yes, rules.  The alternative is anarchy!

     
  14. The implications of the many rules in the bylaws aren’t always apparent at the time of purchase.

     
  15. Brjl99 says:

    Since the rules are already in place when you buy the house why do we need someone in the govenrment that does not even live there come in and tell people what to do.

     
  16. Brjl99 says:

    Since the rules are already in place when you buy the house why do we need someone in the govenrment that does not even live there come in and tell people what to do.

     
  17. Anonymous says:

    And whose fault is that?  What’s next?  Are we going to require buyers in HOA communities go to rule-reading-and-understanding school before they can close?  There are a bazillion rules out there, some I’m aware of (and many that I actually understand) and some I have yet to discover.  We now have rules to “protect” us from pretty much anything and everything.  Are you implying that we now need rules to “protect” us from our rules?!

     

Comment on this Article:

Advertisement



[custom-facebook-feed]

Archives

Categories

Advertisement


Subscribe