Marine Vs. HOA over a flagpole

jp58 · #1 01-07-2011, 05:51 PM

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...y/7369837.html

Quote:

A Marine Corps veteran is being sued by his Cypress-area homeowners association because the flagpole on which he flies the United States and Marine Corps flags does not meet his subdivision's design guidelines.

Mike Merola and his lawyer, Lee Thweatt, say this is a classic case of overreach by a nitpicking homeowners association. Lakeland Village Community Association says it is seeking to enforce its rules evenly on all residents.

Standing in his backyard in a black T-shirt bearing an eagle and the American flag, the 60-year-old Merola called that argument "a lame excuse." After his application to erect a 20-foot flagpole in his backyard was denied, he protested in a series of letters and, ultimately, erected the pole anyway.

"They just don't understand, unless they've been in the military, to feel the pride that I feel in flying that flag high and proud," said Merola, who served in the Marines from 1969 to 1977. "The excuses and things that they came up with for me not being able to fly that flagpole, I just didn't buy. That's why I bucked the system and put it up."

The association's lawyer, Nina Tran, said her clients encourage residents who wish to fly the flag to do so — as long as that flag is attached to a 6-foot pole mounted on a resident's home, as the bylaws stipulate.

Such an approach is "in keeping with the residential nature of the community," the board wrote in a statement. The suit alleges the pole is "a detriment to Lakeland Village and … (causes) imminent harm and irreparable injury to (the association)." The suit seeks a $10 fine for every day the pole stays standing, a court order to remove it and payment of attorneys' fees.

"The problem with a flagpole of that height and that significance is that it flaps in the wind and causes noise to other homeowners," Tran said. "If we allow the mounting of a 20-foot freestanding flagpole in the backyard, who's to say that the next person isn't going to mount it to the top of their roof? We have to have standards."

But Merola, who moved into the neighborhood in March 2009, bringing the flagpole from his former residence, said he's received only compliments from neighbors about the pole, whether from kids skateboarding by on the walking path behind his back fence or from neighbors who've stopped to investigate the source of all the gossip.
Neighbors don't mind

"I don't understand why the homeowners association overreacted like this," said Thweatt, Merola's lawyer, and a Marine himself. "I understand they have to protect the property values of the people in that subdivision, but they've had no complaints. It's not like the guy painted his house neon orange."

Merola's next-door neighbors, Satish and Ann Kalra, said the pole does not bother them.

"The homeowners association should look at the rules again," Satish Kalra said. "If the rules need to be modified, they should be modified. … That would be the logical thing to do."

Tran said even if Merola has not received complaints, another neighbor with a similar flagpole might.

Thweatt, who took the case pro bono, said he believes the suit violates the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, which says, in part, that a homeowners association "may not adopt or enforce any policy … that would restrict or prevent a member of the association from displaying the flag."

No court date has been scheduled in the case.

tplyons · #2 01-07-2011, 06:05 PM

I say fly the flag. Sure, put a height restriction on the flag pole (say the height of the houses or something) and call it a day. As long as the flag is displayed within the limits of the Flag Code, I believe it should be flown.

Then again, I grew up on an Air Force Base, so take it as you will.

LiquidMidnight · #3 01-07-2011, 06:07 PM

I don't know if it's the same guy, but I remember we had a similar discussion about a similar incident here on Talkbass about a year or so ago.

root fifth · #4 01-07-2011, 06:16 PM

Fly the flag and let anyone who wants it down stand up and serve there country now! For they do not understand the things this man and men and women like him have done to have such basic freedoms as flying a flag!

hbarcat · #5 01-07-2011, 06:19 PM

I think the guy is being unreasonable. They said he could display the flag as long as it's on a standard flagpole according to the rules of the HOA - the same rules he agreed to follow when he moved in.

He needs to go to the local hardware store and buy a flagpole that fits the code and then go home and put that up. Problem solved.

basstotheface · #6 01-07-2011, 06:27 PM

I don't know how anyone could take this guys side. I'm as patriotic as they come but I also believe in rules. He can fly the flag, as long as it's at the appropriate height. He's being very unreasonable.

tplyons · #7 01-07-2011, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by basstotheface

I don't know how anyone could take this guys side. I'm as patriotic as they come but I also believe in rules. He can fly the flag, as long as it's at the appropriate height. He's being very unreasonable.

The article doesn't say what the maximum height of a flagpole is. IMO 20' is a perfectly reasonable height. No higher than a two story house.

For all we know they have an 18' limit on flag poles and the HOA is the party being petty. I understand that he agreed to follow certain rules, but it seems as though the HOA is unwilling to consider rewriting the rules.

C.Linton · #8 01-07-2011, 07:18 PM

Why should they rewrite the rules for one person? I don't care what he did for this country, however laudable, he has to follow the rules like anyone else. he's the one that's being unreasonable, the HOA has rules trhat everybody has to follow, he had to have agreed to them when he moved there, he needs to follow them. He's not being prevented from displaying the flag, just not the way he wants to display it.

root fifth · #9 01-07-2011, 07:24 PM

The association's lawyer, Nina Tran, said her clients encourage residents who wish to fly the flag to do so — as long as that flag is attached to a 6-foot pole mounted on a resident's home, as the bylaws stipulate.

They do have a limit but i dont like it either.Its not like the guy just threw it up he asked they said no and would not give a good reason!

C.Linton · #10 01-07-2011, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by root fifth

Fly the flag and let anyone who wants it down stand up and serve there country now! For they do not understand the things this man and men and women like him have done to have such basic freedoms as flying a flag!

And neither do you. For all you know he spent his entire tour in a recruitment office in Poughkeepsie pushing pencils. If it were my brother, who was in the Marines and did a tour in Viet Nam, I would tell him to suck it up and abide by the rules he agreed to when he moved in.

C.Linton · #11 01-07-2011, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by root fifth

The association's lawyer, Nina Tran, said her clients encourage residents who wish to fly the flag to do so — as long as that flag is attached to a 6-foot pole mounted on a resident's home, as the bylaws stipulate.

They do have a limit but i dont like it either.Its not like the guy just threw it up he asked they said no and would not give a good reason!

They gave avery good reason. It's the rules that everybody lives there has to abide by. It's the rules he would have had to agree to when he moved there. He can't arbitrarily decide that he doesn't want abide by those rules anymore simply because he wants to have a bigger pole than everybody else.

root fifth · #12 01-07-2011, 07:32 PM

c.linton the specifics of his service are minor he served this country and did what they asked him to!That is more than alot of people!And let it be knowen if you read the article he served during Viet Nam!

basstotheface · #13 01-07-2011, 07:33 PM

What's worse is that he knew they disapproved and did it anyways.

root fifth · #14 01-07-2011, 07:35 PM

Yeah some one might mount one on there roof!come on then there was it will make to much noise but his neigbor say they dont mind!So what is wrong with the pole again?

C.Linton · #15 01-07-2011, 07:35 PM

Regardless, he agreed to the rules when he moved there, he needs to follow them. Period.
I don't buy into the idea that just because someone has served in the military they get to break the rules that everybody else has to follow.

C.Linton · #16 01-07-2011, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by root fifth

Yeah some one might mount one on there roof!come on then there was it will make to much noise but his neigbor say they dont mind!So what is wrong with the pole again?

One more time, he agreed to the rules when he moved there. The pole he wants to display is out side those rules. Whatever the reason for the rules, he has to follow them like anyone else that lives there.

root fifth · #17 01-07-2011, 07:39 PM

The way i see it he tried to work with them.When they were unwilling to give good reasoning as to why they didnt want it other than the bs they gave him he asked again they said no.So he put it up in protest what is the problem with that he is taking action on somthing he belives in!He will have to pay the price for the actions not me or you but he may make it to where we all have a choice how high we hang are flags.People who dont take a stance for there views are slaves of the system!

root fifth · #18 01-07-2011, 07:41 PM

He is following the rules he did not say he wouldnt pay the 10 dollars a day!

root fifth · #19 01-07-2011, 07:43 PM

Rules are changed all the time when they are found to be unfit.The court will make the decision and he will have to go by that.

C.Linton · #20 01-07-2011, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by root fifth

The way i see it he tried to work with them.When they were unwilling to give good reasoning as to why they didnt want it other than the bs they gave him he asked again they said no.So he put it up in protest what is the problem with that he is taking action on somthing he belives in!He will have to pay the price for the actions not me or you but he may make it to where we all have a choice how high we hang are flags.People who dont take a stance for there views are slaves of the system!

It's obvious you don't get it, So I'm gonna say this one last time, HE AGREED TO THE RULES WHEN HE MOVED THERE. He didn't work with anybody, he just did whatever the hell he felt like. He was told, go ahead and display your flags, just do it with in the rules and use a 6ft. tall pole like it says in the by-laws he agreed to when he moved there, just like everybody else that lives there. He didn't like that, so he just went ahead and did it anyway. How in the hell is that "working with " anyone?