Has This Bossier Neighborhood’s HOA Covenant Crossed The Line?

I've been out of the "neighborhood" game for over 25 years, so my knowledge of Homeowners Associations is rusty, but a recent conversation with one of my family members got me to wondering why people would ever agree to some of the covenants laid out by these organizations.

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Her problem with this Bossier Parish neighborhood was totally reasonable as it appeared the neighborhood's HOA covenants totally "over the top",  and I couldn't help but relay what I'd heard.

While there's no need to call out any single organization for my difference of opinion, I do believe these HOA's have occasionally gone completely overboard with their rulings and have totally missed their original purpose for existing.

According to mckeehomesnc.com,

HOAs and POAs are private associations that oversee and manage neighborhood common areas and amenities as well as insuring property owners obey the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs), Articles of Incorporation, By-Laws and any other governing documents.

Essentially, their purpose is to insure the esthetic integrity of the neighborhood and protect the property value for all of its residents.

They strive to make sure all properties are properly maintained and kept from being unsightly with abandoned vehicles on blocks in the front yard or grass that hasn't been mowed in months. The problems with these issues are easily understood.

However, it would seem that the leadership of some of these organizations were always the last ones picked for the kickball teams when they were kids, and now that they are the "captain of the team" they have revenge on the brain.

Some have referred to a few of these as the "worst form of small government ever."  Don't get me wrong though. The majority of these are run extremely well and have few, if any, disagreements from their members.

There are the exceptions though that truly prove the rule.  I was just informed of one subdivision in Bossier that dictates exactly what part of a yard and home can be decorated with Christmas lights and the dates for which they can be displayed.

In another local subdivision, members are told exactly how tall or how low their lawns can be mowed. Some go a step further and only allow specific lawn companies to maintain member yards.

The one that took the cake for me though, came from my own family member, who resides in a Bossier neighborhood, whose HOA tells its members exactly what kind of light bulb they can use in their yard lights.

These yard lights are what were referred to as "gas lights" in former times.  Though most are electric now, they are the approximately 6 feet tall lights located in the front lawns of scores of homes.

Are you kidding me? They are so cookie-cutter they want everyone to use the same brand and wattage of a freaking light bulb?

Someone needs to tell "Karen" that she's no longer needed.