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Article Courtesy of Channel
8 News
By Niko Clemmons
Published December 14, 2020
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PASCO COUNTY — One local homeowner’s association recently said not so fast to
Christmas flags being hung on people’s homes.
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A couple of homeowners
in a Wesley Chapel neighborhood received a letter that said
they were in violation of their community’s standards.
The homeowners put up Christmas flags on their home in the
Larkenheath subdivision, but the HOA said they would have to
pay a fine if they didn’t remove the flag because it was not
authorized by the HOA.
Christie Como has lived in the Larkenheath community for 15
years. She put a “Merry Christmas” flag on her home and
received a letter from the homeowners association on
Thursday telling her the flag was unauthorized, and she
needed to remove it. |
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“I thought it was a joke, are you kidding me, now you’re trying to prohibit
us from displaying things for the holidays,” Como said. “It’s never been an
issue.”
The letter says according to Larkenheath standards: U.S. flags, military
flags and flags that are a certain size are the only flags you can have on
your property.
The letter goes on to read that homeowners could face a $100 fine per
incident.
Como who is also on the HOA board said she was unaware of the rule. Needless
to say, she told 8 On Your Side she was frustrated.
“Due to this violation and my feelings about the situation I brought the
flag out front because I think this rule is ridiculous,” Como said. “This
doesn’t decrease my homes value, it doesn’t cause an issue with my
neighbors.”
Sylvia Gentle is part of the Larkenheath Architectural Committee and lives
next door to Como. She agreed with the letter the HOA sent out.
“No one is saying we don’t want any lights but we need to follow by the
rules,” Gentle said. “They’re made for all of us, not just some.”
Larkenheath HOA President Marilyn Manning sent 8 On Your Side an email
Friday afternoon that said all issues had been resolved, violations were
closed and there were no fines issued anymore.
Manning said after getting complaints about the flags and violation letters
sent, they found that Larkenheath documents were in conflict. The HOA closed
the violation letters, won’t fine any homeowners and will allow large
decorative flags.
The HOA will also update its documents in January to reflect this change.
Full statement below:
In regards to this issue, it has all been resolved, the two violation
letters sent have been closed as of last evening and large decorative flags
are allowed in Larkenheath year-round. Upon complaints about the flags and
violation letters sent, the documents were reviewed and it was found that
Larkenheath and MPIII documents were in conflict. Residents were informed
the flags are acceptable and the documents for Larkenheath will be updated
in January 2021 to reflect this.
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