When Nicole Onorato bought a house in Lakewood Ranch in 2012, she barely noticed one feature.
A thin, black, curvy metal decoration hung in the V-shaped space over the garage door, where it was visible from the street but easy not to see.
Onorato says she didn’t notice when she supposedly got a letter about it in August of 2013, from her homeowner association. The letter said the decoration would have to be removed.
She did see the follow-up letter in December of that year. It included a threat of a fine if she didn’t comply.
Onorato was not at all attached to the ornament. She had to look to see what the heck they were even talking about. She was fine with getting rid of it.
But she had a new baby at the time and was recovering from a C-section, and wasn’t yet married, and didn’t really know who to call for such a small and silly task. So she didn’t jump right on it. She couldn’t climb a ladder just then. Read more: