Gramercy Heights Homeowners Association

Complaint: ***

I am rejecting this response because:

(1) You can't even spell my name right. It's ***, not ***;

(2) In my email to the HOA Representative, in August 2019, I gave a specific address for the barking dog, with the HOA Representative's only action being to direct me to call the Meridian Police directly, which I did and an officer responded. On January 7, 2020, when I again contacted the HOA Representative about an additional homeowner, allowing their dog to bark non-stop, she didn't respond. If she had responded, then I would have given her the exact address, which I subsequently gave to the Idaho Humane Society, who responded and the dog stopped barking. If the HOA Representative isn't going to respond to my concerns and directs me to call the Police, referencing a specific HOA violation, then why am I paying for HOA dues? I'm sure that most residents would prefer notification from the appointed HOA, rather than the Meridian Police. Why wasn't the issue of barking dogs included in the Newsletter? It's because the HOA Representative didn't want to take the effort, but telling me that she would, then she was giving the appearance of doing something. Telling me that the issue will be addressed in some future Newsletter is insufficient, without giving a date, as other new residents have moved in and will move into the neighborhood, with more barking dogs. The excuse of using a "boiler plate" Newsletter is insufficient and doesn't negate why the issue of barking dogs wasn't included and/or addressed by the HOA, especially in the referenced Newsletter. I would like a copy of the violation letter sent to the homeowner, referencing the barking dog of August 2019, which you can't provide, because one was never issued. Your HOA Representative told me to handle it on my own, then blew off my concern, by neither addressing the issue nor notifying the homeowner. If you're using the same Newsletter for multiple neighborhoods, then that doesn't support the $200 annual HOA fee, as it's requiring no additional resources. Citing a "boiler" plate is neither a legal nor valid response, mostly because the Newsletter wasn't identified as a "boiler" plate and gives new residents the impression that everything in the Newsletter is directly connected to their neighborhood, specifically that basketball standards and other violations will be acceptable. Residents will be more likely to read a Newsletter, rather than the HOA bylaws. And, I have a dog, which doesn't bark and I've only made complaints about non-stop barking dogs, whose owners put them in the yard, then forget about them, unconcerned about the dogs and neighbors;

(3) I would like to know the identity, date, and reason why the noted satellite antenna was approved. Was there a specific reason why the antenna couldn't be placed on the rear of the house or was it the homeowner's name? In compliance with HOA rules, I took specific action to have my satellite antenna mounted on the rear of my house. Since you've allowed at least one resident to place the antenna on the front of their house, then will you be allowing all other residents to do the same? You make one exception, then you open the door for more;

(4) Please provide me the dates, documentation, noted violations, and any additional corrective documentation showing the reviews conducted by the HOA Representative, prior to the current complaint (January 2020). If this information isn't available, then it's another example of why the HOA is both inefficient and incompetent; and

(5) You've done more work, responding to this Revdex.com complaint, than you did to my concerns about barking dogs and workers blaring their music, which highlights that neither you nor the HOA was concerned. Ignore the problem and it'll go away? Would you really want non-stop barking dogs and workers blaring music (from 2 blocks away) in your own neighborhood? I completely understand that once you sell the houses that you're done with the neighborhood, but when the HOA blows me off, no corrective measures are taken (not even the minimum, like the promised Newsletter), and you allow exceptions, then the entire neighborhood loses both its intrinsic and resale value. It's not about $200 HOA fees; it's about neighborhood pride.

Sincerely

Complaint: 14072814

I am rejecting this response because:

The HOA response of , "No formal record is kept of subdivision inspections, but it is estimated that during the last 12 months, the neighborhood was personally reviewed by the HOA managers once each month" is inadequate, but certainly indicative of the HOA being unwilling and unable to function as a viable HOA, aimed at maintaining a neighborhood void of CC&R violations. If the HOA isn't keeping records of violations, then there is no "formal record" to show a continuation of violations, which would then support an enforcement of noted violations. I've advised the HOA of barking dogs, I've called Animal Control and Meridian Police, per the HOA, but the dogs at *** continue to bark. It is not only another example of the HOA's ineffectiveness, but also a glaring example of why the payment of HOA dues are pointless, because the HOA is not enforcing the CC&Rs, unless the HOA wants to cite some Federal, State, or Local law allowing the nonstop barking of dogs and, if that's the case, then the totality of the CC&Rs have no standing. The CC&Rs specifically detail about "barking dogs" so, according to the HOA's response to my Revdex.com complaint, then this is an enforceable CC&R. Evidently, the occupants of *** are unresponsive to warnings by Meridian Police, as well as the HOA's lame newsletter or perhaps they're friends of the HOA, negating their requirement to abide by the CC&Rs. I could have bought a house with an HOA, but I was under the impression that HOAs were aimed at maintaining the neighborhood and ensuring that abandoned cars aren't in the front yards, which is why CC&Rs are written, approved, and enforced. If the HOA isn't going to enforce ALL of the CC&Rs, but hides behind selective enforcement, then the HOA has no standing. Negate one CC&R or fail to enforce one CC&R and the HOA negates ALL of the CC&Rs. Enforce the CC&R about barking dogs or refund my HOA dues.

Sincerely