Article
+ Video Courtesy WESH 2 News
By Claire
Metz
Published
April 7, 2013
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Port Orange woman says it's a sin that her homeowner's association is
ordering her to remove a statue of an angel from her front yard.
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grieving widow
has a statue of an angel in her front yard, a token
of the happy years she spent with her husband before she lost him. But
her neighborhood homeowners association says the statue violates
community covenants, and if she doesn't remove it, she'll pay a fine.
Norma
Freiji was one of the first residents of the 13-year-old Ashton Lakes
subdivision, and she said that she has always had yard art displayed.
But now the HOA is asking all residents to remove statues in front and
side yards. That means that
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cute figurines dotting many yards in the subdivision -- pelicans,
egrets, gnomes and even a basketball hoop affixed to a garage -- must
go. Homeowners received a letter recently from the HOA outlining the
demands.
"I have her lit up at night with a solar light. She looks so
beautiful," Freiji told WESH of her angel statue. She began to weep as
she explained its significance to her and her deceased husband. "I just
have it because I lost my husband, and it's just sentimental, that's
all."
Jim
Clapprood is the resident who was asked to remove a basketball hoop
from his garage or pay a $100-a-month fine. He said that he understands
HOAs must have rules to protect home values, but this is going a little
too far. "A basketball hoop for children to play at the end of a
cul-de-sac -- I don't see how that affects values," Clapprood said.
The HOA has declined to comment on the requested
statue removal in the neighborhood. The HOA president didn't comment
either, but WESH
went to his house. The station discovered a
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