The Brunswick Beacon:  Woman blames HOA treatment for decision not to build

By Laura Lewis — March 4, 2014

SUPPLY — It was going to be Ali and Terry Blake’s dream retirement home — a freshly built house on a pristine street with all the amenities in the upscale Oyster Harbour community. But after already spending an estimated $20,000 in out-of-pocket cash toward building and going through hoops over their house plans, Ali Blake said last week she has decided not to build there.The Texas resident blames the way she has been treated by the community’s architectural review board. Blake’s decision came after she presented plans to the Oyster Harbour Homeowners Association Architectural Review Board on Feb. 20.  Blake said the couple’s proposed plans purchased from Southern Living House Plans were deemed “not Lowcountry” by architectural review board member Ed Ross, in keeping with the community’s home style. When she cited her Southern background, she said she was told Arkansas is a place for “all those rednecks.” “We were building a true Lowcountry (style),” Blake said, leafing through plans for the three-story home she had hoped to build at 1999 Redfish Run Road.  Read more: http://www.brunswickbeacon.com/content/woman-blames-hoa-treatment-decision-not-build