On 30 May 2009 00:04:56 GMT, Jim Yanik wrote:

Kurt Ullman wrote in news:kurtullman-
:

In article ,
" wrote:


My condo assn. tried to make a unit owner park his "commercial vehicle"
elsewhere because commercial trucks can't be parked so they are visible
from the street (ain't this heaven?)...but this particular "commercial
vehicle" was a city owned truck which the guy drove home when he was on
call.

Had the same thing happen once in a nearby area where they got all
bent about a city owned commercial vehicle. It was a marked cop car. I'm
guessing the complaintant was probably the local meth dealer.


I'm the mom of a Marine, but I don't care for military families
believing rules don't apply to them....this guy has eight stickers on
his car, which makes it ok for everyone else to plaster sh-- all over
their cars if the HOA doesn't enforce. If the HOA receives a complaint
from another owner, they are then between a rock and a hard place. I
don't often defend, but I know plenty of jerks who do nothing but
complain and leave ALL of the work to condo boards.

But that isn't a commerical sign which is what the restrictions are.
It isn't that you can only have a certain number of bumperstickers or
license plates. There is nothing in the rules that says they can't
plaster sh** all over their cars. Just not commercial signs.


non-commercial bumper stickers are a free speech thing.

It would be a First Amendment thing if the government were telling
them not to do this. As it is, it's some wacko president, but if it
were the duly elected board (perhaps approving their Speech
Suppression Committee recommendation) it might well be legal. IANAL
but I suspect even if government courts were used to collect the fine
the pres threatens to put on his home, that might not be a sufficient
nexus to make what the board did illegal. It's a good question.

If this were truly government action, this is just the kind of case
the ACLU would take, but and again, I'm not a lawyer, I don't think a
court can stop this except by showing the board didn't follow its own
rules, or reasonable rules if there were no rules. I think the
neighbors should get involved. Surely 90% would sign a petition,
surely they can elect new board members the next time, and then
reimburse the guy for his towing cost and fine.