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I am in a good vs. evil battle of epic proportions and am asking this unbiased group to provide feedback or validation.
Situation: My HOA Board has nothing better to do - shocker. After living in the neighborhood for 10+ years, the current Board decided this past fall that we needed greater uniformity with our mailboxes. To start, everyone has the same cookie-cutter black mailbox. The variation at the time was the mailbox flag color. The split? Roughly 50% red and 50% yellow. What did the HOA decide? Red was the "preferred" color.
My Response: First, my legitimate interpretation was that "preferred" does not equal "required". So what did I do? I painted my mailbox like a loyal rule-abiding homeowner and found the brightest yellow I could find for my mailbox flag.
The Fallout: I've been told for the last 7 months that while there is no actual rule re: the mailbox flag color, the Board has the right to enforce this. The lemmings across the neighborhood have left me with an 86 red/3 yellow split. If I do not submit to this atrocity, we will be fined $25/month. My wife considers my actions petty (Maniac). I'm petty? No, the Board is petty. I feel like I am doing God's work (Martyr). It has been important that I let the Board know my true feelings about this and document such in writing to the property management group, which has been deemed "embarrassing" and "I don't want to hear about it, ever, again" by the other half.
Am I a martyr or a maniac? What next steps do you recommend? This has life-changing decision written all over it, and I'm not sure what to do.
Situation: My HOA Board has nothing better to do - shocker. After living in the neighborhood for 10+ years, the current Board decided this past fall that we needed greater uniformity with our mailboxes. To start, everyone has the same cookie-cutter black mailbox. The variation at the time was the mailbox flag color. The split? Roughly 50% red and 50% yellow. What did the HOA decide? Red was the "preferred" color.
My Response: First, my legitimate interpretation was that "preferred" does not equal "required". So what did I do? I painted my mailbox like a loyal rule-abiding homeowner and found the brightest yellow I could find for my mailbox flag.
The Fallout: I've been told for the last 7 months that while there is no actual rule re: the mailbox flag color, the Board has the right to enforce this. The lemmings across the neighborhood have left me with an 86 red/3 yellow split. If I do not submit to this atrocity, we will be fined $25/month. My wife considers my actions petty (Maniac). I'm petty? No, the Board is petty. I feel like I am doing God's work (Martyr). It has been important that I let the Board know my true feelings about this and document such in writing to the property management group, which has been deemed "embarrassing" and "I don't want to hear about it, ever, again" by the other half.
Am I a martyr or a maniac? What next steps do you recommend? This has life-changing decision written all over it, and I'm not sure what to do.
