There are times when we may be told to do something but it triggers our sense of justice. When that happens, we have a choice. We can either put up with the demand or we can fight back.
This sometimes is a frustrating problem for individuals who live in a neighborhood with a homeowners association. That HOA can be quite a problem, as they make up rules and they can enforce them in very strong ways.
If you step outside the lines with an HOA, you are likely to run into problems at some point or another. Those problems could include fines or there may be other points in the paperwork that allow them to do something stronger.
Etienne Constable lives in the seaside community and he ran up against an HOA with a rather unique issue. In July 2023, he was told that he could no longer keep his boat in the driveway because his neighbors complained.
They told him that he had to cover the boat to hide it from his neighbor’s sight and if he didn’t do it, he would have a $100 fine levied against him.
The municipality was clear in their code, it states: “boats and large pickup campers, motor homes, recreational vehicles, utility trailers, and vacation trailers” can only be parked on driveways if “screened on the side and front by a six-foot-high fence.”
Constable thought that it was best if he complied with their demands but he did so in a way that made a statement that people are still laughing about. Quite simply, he put the boat behind a fence and then painted a mural on the fence of the boat.
He said that he uses his boat for fishing and it had been parked in his driveway for four years before the complaint came in. He first thought that it was ridiculous and wanted to leave a nasty message at the City Hall. Ethan thought better about it and decided to get a little revenge.
“I’m a big proponent of public art in spaces,” Panni said. “It engages people in ways that reaching out and having conversations doesn’t sometimes.”
Since this went viral, he has had many neighbors ask him to paint similar murals on their property. He knows that the municipality is aware of the issue, but he hasn’t heard anything yet.