Living by the rules
So here we go again. A homeowner wants to have his way with things and the homeowner association is having none of it.

Latest case: A homeowner on Westlake Lake commissioned an artist to carve an animal sculpture out of a large tree that was on his private property. The homeowner says the tree was dead, the HOA says it was alive. The homeowner says he created a piece of art that all the neighbors could enjoy, others think a perfectly good tree was killed. Who's right and who's wrong in this case is hard to know.

Point is, the liberty that one person takes with his private property can often result in unintended consequences. Most neighborhoods in our area are simply too congested for the actions of an independent-minded resident not to have at least some effect on others.

Planned communities are governed by HOAs and, like it or not, these associations have rules and regulations that are designed to make life livable. The HOA rules at one Oak Park condominium complex came under fire recently for being too restrictive, even to the point of prohibiting children from playing in common areas. Residents expressed their displeasure, but the rules remained in place.

Rules are rules.

HOA proponents say home buyers should be aware of all the regulations before moving into a development.

HOA opponents say rules regarding personal behavior and changes to private property are too restrictive, even if they were put into place for a good reason.

The fact is, we all need order in our lives. The homeowner who paints his garage door purple, leaves a recreational vehicle in his driveway or puts an obnoxious statue in his front yard is just not being considerate of his neighbors.

There's no accounting for taste, that's why homeowner laws exist. Read them before you ruffle someone's feathers.