She Was Fined $500 for an Eyesore Fence. Then the Surveyor Read Where the President's Own Fence Sits.
"I'm fining you five hundred dollars for this eyesore," Dale Wright snapped, slapping the paper on the table in front of me. "It's killing property values."
I said nothing. Just sat there as the HOA president talked down to me in front of the whole neighborhood. The room hummed with it — coffee smell, folded arms, everyone on his side.
When he told me to pay up or lose the lot, I finally spoke. The rope wasn't an eyesore. It was the path my old dog walked every morning for years. I buried her there in March.
The room softened for a second. Then Dale doubled down. Called it sentimental nonsense.
So I reached into my purse. He was still laughing when I slid the rolled paper across the table to the county surveyor standing in the doorway.
Ramon unrolled it and held it up so everyone could see the official stamp. Then he read the lot lines out loud. The boundary was resurveyed three feet west after that storm back in '21. Three feet, right where Dale had built his brand-new cedar fence last month. His fence. His drip-line garden. All sitting on my property.
The fine was voided on the spot. And Dale Wright was ordered to move his own fence at his own cost.
The room didn't laugh. It just went quiet. Dale stood there collecting his papers while everyone stared at the floor. My hands were steady the whole time. I folded the map and put it back in my purse.
The board votes on the removal costs next Thursday. I'm curious what other "enforcement" fines get re-examined once his record is on the table.
Read the full story at the link below.
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