Homeowners in the South Seas Condominium on Marco Island, Florida, may soon have to pay a hefty special assessment because of a particularly boneheaded decision by their HOA.
The Feds have consistently said that service dogs are covered under the ADA. An HOA doesn’t get to claim they are pets, if the dog is actually performing services for a disabled person. But this particular HOA obviously doesn’t ‘get it.’ They will.
When the American Disabilities Act was approved in the 1990’s, it was designed to help disabled people have access to the same amenities as non-handicapped people.
But the big laugh, at the time, had nothing to do with the disabled. It was that the new law was a full-employment plan for lawyers.
Now comes the Jeffrey and Judi Weiss family of Palm Beach. Several years ago their son was paralyzed. His only moments of joy were when his family took him to the beach. So his family bought a condo right on Palm Beach just a few steps away from the ocean.
HOA managers just don’t seem to get it. Handicapped people have a special privilege under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). It’s federal law. It can’t be monkeyed with.
Marcus Cook lived in the Jewell Lake Condominium Association west of Denver. He’s a disabled war veteran who needed a handicap parking spot so he could get his equipment out of his van.
Turns out management didn’t see it the same way and painted over his special parking area obliterating the part that contained the wider parking space. Management mocked him. Forrest Scruggs, of the property management company, Realty One, Inc, said “this crazy guy is asking for a parking space in the new fire lane.”
