One homeowners association board member was frustrated with a lack of action from the neighboring property owners association, so they brought their concerns to Reddit for help.
"I am a board member of a 121 unit [single-family housing] community that was developed alongside and associated with a hotel/convention center and a retail area," they explained. "Recently the POA has been lax with landscaping and cleaning their parking areas, which directly affects the neighborhood because they are on our border, and we have to deal with their blowing trash and overgrown grass."
POAs and the more common HOAs have often been on the wrong side of environmental conflicts, standing in the way of homeowners who want to make money-saving and eco-friendly upgrades to their properties. But in this case, the HOA has got it right: litter from the retail area, especially plastic trash, impacts both the appearance of the neighborhood and the health of the environment.
Unfortunately, the POA didn't seem interested in hashing out the issue. "The HOA exclusively deals with the residential side, but we pay dues to the POA that governs the retail area," explained the original poster. "We have asked to meet with a POA representative and to be invited to POA meetings as a dues-paying member. The POA has not responded to any requests. We have never been notified of any meeting, let alone invited."
The original poster asked for advice, and Reddit provided it, although the outlook wasn't good.
"As long as the POA is still under Declarant control, good luck getting accountability," said one user. "He doesn't have to explain himself, unfortunately."
Another user in a similar situation was more hopeful.
"Our developer still controls the POA, so there are no meetings with other property owners," they said. "We started getting quarterly meetings by low key threatening to withhold the CAM fee. Just 'hey, we are questioning the landscaping fee and we have other questions too. We want a meeting to get to know you and better understand the relationship between the HOA and XYZ. Can we schedule a time for next week so we can get this CAM check out to you before the end of the month?'"
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