SARASOTA, Fla. -- A homeowners association told a family to remove a 3-foot-tall statue of the Virgin Mary from their front yard because it violates the association's deed restrictions.

Agnes Bambu, 80, placed the statue last year when she and her son, Anthony, and daughter-in-law, Dianne, moved into the home in the upscale Mote Ranch subdivision in unincorporated Manatee County. She had the statue in her yard for 19 years at her previous home in Pennsylvania.

"I don't think it's harming anyone," Bambu said. "She seems to protect everyone, look after everyone." 

The Mote Ranch covenant doesn't mention statues. But it does make two association committees "the ultimate deciding" bodies in what a person can do to his home and property.

The covenant is "quite clear," association president Roger Hoffman said.

Last month, the Bambu family requested permission to keep the statue, but it was denied. The family was told to either move the statue out of view or face fines.

The Bambus are refusing to move the statue.

"This is an abuse of power," Dianne Bambu said. "The bylaws of a deed-restricted community supersede your right as an American citizen."

Hoffman said the committee has asked several homeowners to remove lawn ornaments.

In one case, the committee asked a resident to move a large windmill out of view, and the homeowner complied. In another case, a homeowner was required to remove two three-foot-tall cement lions from the front of the house.

Anthony Bambu said he intends to lobby the state to regulate homeowners associations. Meanwhile, his mother spends much of her time in her room, which has a dozen religious statues in it.

"She's the mother of God, that's how I feel," she said of the lawn statue on the lawn. "I'd feel a loss if she wasn't there."