I plan on putting a sign in my yard in Support of the McCain/Palin Presidentual ticket. But there a problem with our Covenants with this? State law prohibits HOA's from enforcing a ban on political signs. Would like some clarification from the HOA board members. Thanks
Here is and article on the State law.
Coppell resident locks horns with homeowners association over Obama yard signs
09:55 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 17, 2008
By BRANDON FORMBY / The Dallas Morning News
bformby@dallasnews.com
David Graupner thought the Aug. 13 postcard was an error.
JIM MAHONEY/DMN Coppell resident David Graupner has received a letter from his HOA threatening fines for having political signs in his front yard. View larger More photos Photo store
Surely, he figured, his Coppell homeowners association couldn't force him to pull up his small yard signs supporting Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
He didn't know it at the time, but a 3-year-old state law prohibits associations from enforcing outright bans on reasonably sized political signs.
Still, less than a month later, Mr. Graupner was told that his signs violated a homeowners association rule. He got a letter threatening at least $200 in fines if the two signs in his flower bed didn't come up.
"It's not like I have a giant 80-foot Obama banner," he said.
Alison DeCarlucci, who manages the Lakes of Coppell association for RTI/Community Management Associates, did not return several telephone calls seeking comment.
Instead of complying, Mr. Graupner sent the association a tersely worded letter questioning the rule -- even though he wasn't aware of the law.
"It just makes me mad," Mr. Graupner said. "We should, as a community, be encouraging people to vote. We should be encouraging people to take part in the political process. That's what a community is."
The 2005 law says that at the very least, residents in homeowners associations are allowed to display in their yards one political sign per candidate or ballot measure within 90 days of a related election.
Associations can limit the number of signs and prohibit any that are larger than 4 feet by 6 feet but can't ban them altogether.
State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, who sponsored the bill, said legislators wanted to strike a balance between residents' rights to political expression and associations' attempts to prevent eyesores.
"There had been a number of cases where HOAs had adopted restrictive covenants preventing campaign signs, and there was a lot of concern of that by residents," Mr. Lucio said.
It was unclear this week what the Lakes of Coppell association's specific rules are or whether it was aware of the law prohibiting bans on political signs.
After The Dallas Morning News pointed out the law to Mr. Graupner on Monday, he said he wondered how many other residents received similar letters and complied with them, rather than keeping their signs up. Mr. Graupner then told Ms. DeCarlucci about the law.
On Tuesday, she told him he could keep the signs.
Now he hopes more neighbors start to put up their own signs - even if they support Republican nominee John McCain.
"I didn't push them on the topic, but I hope they do something to inform the other members of the HOA that they can do this," he said.
