NO GENERATORS AND/OR FUEL TANKS IN HOAs? |
An Opinion By Jan Bergemann President CCFJ, Inc. Published January 9, 2024
We all know that a hurricane will be hitting Florida. The big question is just: WHEN and WHERE?
That means that we all need to be prepared when a hurricane is hitting our home. One of the first things that's being destroyed is our electricity supply. We have that happened over and over again and it's often not just for days, but sometimes even for weeks. Not only will the food in our refrigerator/freezer be spoiled, but our homes will be hot and humid since hurricanes hit during hot summers and with no electricity there is no air-condition.
Florida is a huge retirement community and especially the elderly will suffer from extreme heat and humidity without air-condition.
You will say: "WHY -- there are generators available to supply the necessary electricity if the regular electricity service fails?"
Good argument, but you obviously forget that there are many homeowners' associations who don't allow generators in the community, even if their CC&Rs are silent in regards to generators and fuel tanks. From noise to dangerous these board members come up with all kinds of excuses to disallow the installation of generators, even in cases where folks with medical problems are in desperate need for uninterrupted electrical service.
This has to change! Our seniors deserve to live in their homes even if the regular electrical service fails. The health of homeowners is definitely more important than the petty concerns of some board members making rules without the backing of the original governing documents.
A simple bill can quickly change that and we hope that our legislators recognize the necessity to enact this bill. We urge our legislators to please add this proposal to one of the existing HOA bills so homeowners can protect their health and their welfare before the next hurricane hits Florida.
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