Benefit of the Doubt
 

Not to excuse a violation of deed restrictions, but I believe that all too often the actual restrictions go unread. People have a tendency to go by anecdotal interpretations.

As an example: if you had not read the actual deed restrictions, would you have thought that a non-descript 2-foot tall religious statue would be considered a lawn ornament? I would not have. However, the deed restrictions, at least in my CDD clearly include religious figures under the category of prohibited lawn ornaments.

I suspect that the original notification could have been handled better. Then a line in the sand was drawn. Embarrassment experienced. Push-back. Then publicity.

The news reporter performed zero due diligence evidenced by the fact that he kept referring to a HOA rule, which in this instance did not exist. If the reporter had spent ten more minutes, he would have read the deed restriction and fully understood that there was no "religious" aspect to this incident. That little fact could have been part of the interview.

Consequently, two wrongs were involved. First, the homeowner obviously did not read the deed restrictions. Second, the reporter, who could have reported the dispute by representing "both" sides of the story,

However, I did learn something new out of all of this. There actually are small, limited purpose HOAs within the CDDs.

yawn. not at you indy, just the whole mess of us people.

America, America, God shed his grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.

America, America, God shed his grace on thee
and crown thy good
with brotherhood,
rife with sibling rivalry
from sea to shining sea
:icon_twisted:

Bravo! Maybe the guy, in the Village of Santo Domingo, will salute you with the canon he has in his front yard.

Indy - go here :
Village Community Development Districts
and then click on Spanish Springs Villas [pts 1 and 2], Vista Lago and Vista Sonoma and you can read all about the reasons for same to your hearts content - goes waaaayyy beyond your question!