[letter to IJ President Chip Mellor]
June 21, 2005
Dear Mr. Mellor,
I read you article in the June 2005 issue of Liberty &Law and found your explanation of what I have observed, that there’s no difference between the goals of liberal and conservatives, quite informative. However, I had hoped that you would have offered your views on which persuasion would most likely do the most to turn this state of affairs around.
On a similar topic, for years I’ve tried to get IJ to come to the rescue of homeowners in homeowners associations who face a taking in a little more round about way, but a taking with government support no less. HOAs are permitted to deprive a homeowner of his liberty and property rights under the much same reasoning of eminent domain: increased property taxes produce increased revenues, and who cares about minority rights. They serve the private interests of developers and the members of the national lobbying group, Community Associations Institute, that finally is dropping the “homeowner association” category, and rightfully so since its a business trade group claiming to have consumer members.
As to the immediate reaction of, “Homeowners voluntarily and with informed consent signed a contact,” or that “by buying they made their economically informed decision without duress”, any Law 101 student can easily drive trucks through the holes in these defenses.
I wait patiently to see the day that IJ undertakes a crusade very analogous to your eminent domain activities, to protect the fundamental rights of homeowners in homeowners associations.
George K. Staropoli
The complete article can be viewed at: Rights
HOA Constitutional Government 