by James A. Bacon — posted September 25, 2013
Developers hewing to the New Urbanism school of design pay close attention to the arrangement of public spaces, the architectural details of the buildings and the profitability of their projects. Typically, they address the rules for Home Owners Associations (HOAs) as an afterthought. And that can lead to unhappy residents, lawsuits and other complications.
Davis was just one of the New Urbanism illuminati speaking in Richmond Tuesday at a symposium organized by McGuire Woods on the topic of re-imagining HOAs. Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, founders of the Duany-Plater Zyberk architectural and town-planning firm, and several other figures well known in the neo-traditional town planning movement took part in the free-wheeling panel discussion.
“They (HOAs) look like mini-governments but they have very different DNA,” said Doris Goldstein, at attorney who has updated the Seaside covenant and codes. Residents don’t enjoy the same democratic rights they would in a regular city or town. Rules can restrict homeowners, for example, from posting political signs in their yards.