What is the name of your state? Florida
We just moved into our community (new construction) and I am on the HOA board (director), and my Husband is on the ARC. We have a family that decided to put up a vinyl picket fence without submitting to the ARC for approval or getting a city permit for that matter, She is planning on getting a permit. However most everyone on the Board and ARC want her fence taken down it looks so out of place in our neighborhood (all other fences are privacy fencing) She says she can keep her fence because the HOA rules read 'Only white vinyl or painted wooden shadowbox fencing 6 feet and under will be allowed with ARC approval." She has read this to mean all vinyl fencing is allowed and if it is painted wood it has to be shadowbox. I think she’s crazy, she claims two contract writers have told her that’s what they think it means as well. Point is when ARC turned her fence down last night she ranted for hours and said she is going to sue us. Does she have a leg to stand on here, it says with ARC approval which she did not bother to ask ARC prior to putting up her fence, and unless I am loosing it she is not reading the rule correctly to begin with. It is also stated that ARC is the final word and they can decide to approve or disapprove anything for any reason the they want. She can have us notice a meeting and she can state her reasons for wanting to keep her fence to the HOA but even if most residents agree with her ARC still makes that decision. She claims she did not know she was going to have to go through all this over a fence, I told her if she would have just read everything she would have known that ARC has the power to do this. What should we (arc and the board) do? We are all new at this game.
We just moved into our community (new construction) and I am on the HOA board (director), and my Husband is on the ARC. We have a family that decided to put up a vinyl picket fence without submitting to the ARC for approval or getting a city permit for that matter, She is planning on getting a permit. However most everyone on the Board and ARC want her fence taken down it looks so out of place in our neighborhood (all other fences are privacy fencing) She says she can keep her fence because the HOA rules read 'Only white vinyl or painted wooden shadowbox fencing 6 feet and under will be allowed with ARC approval." She has read this to mean all vinyl fencing is allowed and if it is painted wood it has to be shadowbox. I think she’s crazy, she claims two contract writers have told her that’s what they think it means as well. Point is when ARC turned her fence down last night she ranted for hours and said she is going to sue us. Does she have a leg to stand on here, it says with ARC approval which she did not bother to ask ARC prior to putting up her fence, and unless I am loosing it she is not reading the rule correctly to begin with. It is also stated that ARC is the final word and they can decide to approve or disapprove anything for any reason the they want. She can have us notice a meeting and she can state her reasons for wanting to keep her fence to the HOA but even if most residents agree with her ARC still makes that decision. She claims she did not know she was going to have to go through all this over a fence, I told her if she would have just read everything she would have known that ARC has the power to do this. What should we (arc and the board) do? We are all new at this game.