Treading where angels fear to go, a columnist for the Press-Enterprise in Inland Southern California wades into the swamp of HOA racism. He ponders whether a Sun City HOA there is racist, because it wouldn’t allow the NAACP to use its meeting house.
Certainly, racism is an oft-documented problem in American HOAs. There are too many such cases to even count. And subtle racism is even harder to measure. But many HOAs across the country have either no minorities at all, or percentages as small as one or two percent. While that’s no way to measure racial divides, it can make one pause and reflect.
In any event, this column by reporter Peter Surowski, is well worth reading.
“Each homeowners association has covenants, conditions and restrictions or also known as CCR. They are normally related to deed restrictions or restrictive covenants. All things pointed out in the agreement will firmly be imposed to homeowners in order to maintain the property as well as the value of the community. It restricts the building materials to be utilized in constructing homes and the kind of home upgrades allowed. Moreover, they set the allowable number of occupants per house, the kind of pets that are permitted and the race of persons who can stay in the community.”
– Flynna Jones
“HOA Rules – Why is it Necessary in Home Buying”
International Business Times
March 03, 2010
http://www.ibtimes.com/hoa-rules-why-it-necessary-home-buying-189538
Flynna, you forgot to mention the sexual preference of people in a home (a real case in Florida that’s mentioned in my new book). And you are absolutely dead-on about your other points.