Narrow minded associations demand green grass during extreme drought

Area Home owner associations have crossed way over the line on demanding owner's have green grass and live trees during times of severe drought. The HOA for Margot's Pond subdivision in Wake Forest demand owners make the neighborhood "look good" no matter what and the hired enforcer, Talis Management is harassing them to make sure they follow the demands.

Have these associations gone too far? Do they have the right to demand watering during severe drought when there isn't even enough water to insure everyone will have clean water for drinking and bathing? This is a sign that some groups don't have the brains of a rock and should not be allowed to set rules that violate measures to prevent draining reservours and water supplies that supply the whole region.

Contact your representatives or the Governor's office to ask that these associations and organizations follow the same rules as everyone else so all will have a fair share of limited resources. Email the Governor's office (Click here) or call the Governor's Office at:
1-800-662-7952 (valid in North Carolina only), (919)733-4240, or (919)733-5811.

Read more about how this problem affects you...

News & Observer
September 7, 2007
Sam Lagrone and David Bracken, Staff Writers

Grass must be green, HOA decrees
Community board cuts homeowners no slack during drought

WAKE FOREST - Amid record drought and heat that have pushed Raleigh into severe water conservation measures, residents of the Margot's Pond community off Ligon Mill Road have been told by their homeowners association to keep the grass green.

"While the Board is aware of the inconvenience presented by the heat and water restrictions, we believe that having neatly landscaped lawns of grass is of the utmost importance to our community," said a letter sent to the homeowners in August.

Local homeowners associations are loosening restrictive covenants requiring green grass and manicured lawns. But the Margot's Pond association is not giving residents a break -- and it's causing dissension among some members.

In a letter Aug. 16, Talis Management Group, which carries out the policies of the Margot's Pond HOA, required the homeowners to have:

* Healthy grass free of brown patches and weeds.

* Living trees with mulch.

* Planter beds with living shrubs and flowers.

The letter gave an October deadline to meet the HOA standards. Violators would be subject to fines or "self-help" -- a landscape company would fix the violations; the homeowner would get the bill.

Vann Holland, a member of the Margot's Pond landscaping committee, thought the requirements were too stringent. In an interview with WTVD last week, she asked the HOA to "give the homeowners a break." Read more...