In the July/August 2010 edition of Common Ground magazine, vehicles that don’t fit in garages were discussed. Numerous communities here in Colorado, mostly those formed in the early 80’s, prohibit pickup trucks and many other declarations require all vehicles to be parked in the garage.
A Florida association faced this all too common scenario. Mr. Vizzi drives a Ford F350 which won’t fit in his garage. The association fined him and eventually sued in 2006. The association lost with the court ruling that the associations rule was “utterly unreasonable.” An appeals court upheld the decision and the association was ordered to pay approximately $200,000 in attorney fees.
The courts were not persuaded by the fact that the association had attempted to repeal the ban on pickups, nor that the board had a duty to enforce the restrictions. While this could be a rogue decision by a rogue court, it is certainly reflective of the continued scrutiny of community association boards and their reasonableness.