Homeowners association harasses woman over swing for autistic son

Yet another homeowners association has decided to anoint itself as the world's final authority.

In North Ridgeville, Ohio, a woman who uses a wheelchair faces penalties by her homeowners association because she refuses to remove a swing set for her autistic son. The association is threatening to fine her $100 - per month.

The association that previously ran the neighborhood allowed her to get the swing set 2 years ago. But now that the community has been taken over by a different association, the new regime is ordering the swing set removed.

The swing set is in the middle of the back yard and out of sight of the street. It has prompted no complaints - except from the homeowners association, of course.

Allow me to be perfectly unambiguous about this: The homeowners association has no case. End of story. Ohio law specifically bars associations from making rules like this.

Even if state law was silent, the ASSociation still has no case. How in holy high hell is it supposed to collect a fine? It's not a government, but a corporate entity. It has no powers to make arrests of people who don't pay fines. So put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Also sneak a peek at the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Fair Housing Act says associations must waive rules in order to accommodate people with disabilities. The ADA covers general protections for the disabled.

The long and short of it is, if I was a parent who was threatened with a fine for not taking down a swing set for an autistic son, I'd sit back and let the homeowners association do its worst to try to enforce its rule on me. I'd simply not pay the fine.

Things don't get much lower than harassing a disabled parent over a swing set for an autistic child. There's a special place in hell looming for this homeowners association for doing such a thing.

So I don't want to hear any "rules are rules" bullshit. If rules are rules, laws are laws, and the law clearly says the association is in the wrong.

(Source: http://www.chroniclet.com/2008/06/05/homeowners-group-playground-must-go)