Residents told to remove yard statues, or face fines

Article + Video Courtesy WESH 2 News

By Claire Metz

Published April 7, 2013

 Watch VIDEO

 

A 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.

 

A 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 

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

decorative fountain in his front yard and a cat statue near his door.
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