Homeowner associations

[URob]

Originally Posted by ColoTroutlHntr

Never thought I'd see the day.... HOA's and Vt in the same sentence. This seems like an almost unimaginably, UN-Vermont topic. What happened to the free and independent place Vt. was. It used to be there was no such thing in Vt. and people moved to Vt. to get away from this stuff. But you look around at what has happened to the state and maybe its inescapable that the place, its soul and spirit, along with its landscape has been eroded and degraded and this is one, less obvious, symptom.

In some of the ski towns, as well as the heavily growing core of Chittenden County, this is true. Vermont is still part of America and subject to the same general trends of things becoming simultaneously more homogenized (A Starbucks and McMansion on every 1/16 of an acre) combined with less transparent politics being dominated by outside $. But get away from the immediate Burlington area and there are still plenty of places with the spirit & soul of the free & independent VT you are thinking of. Near Burlington, people fought it in Williston and South Burlington for years also but eventually got steamrolled by the big law firms and deep pockets and "reforms" of Act 250 put in place to dilute citizen empowerment. Oh well, no place in America is perfect!

[in_newengland]

There is actually a Pro clothesline law? I love it!

I would never live in an HOA anyway but the most ridiculous thing I can think of is for them to tell people they can't even hang their own clothes out to dry. I would never stand for that. I even put a drying rack out on the deck. I guess that would be a no no.

[MRVphotog]

Originally Posted by ColoTroutlHntr

Never thought I'd see the day.... HOA's and Vt in the same sentence. This seems like an almost unimaginably, UN-Vermont topic. What happened to the free and independent place Vt. was. It used to be there was no such thing in Vt. and people moved to Vt. to get away from this stuff. But you look around at what has happened to the state and maybe its inescapable that the place, its soul and spirit, along with its landscape has been eroded and degraded and this is one, less obvious, symptom.

Actually that day was over 50 years ago in Vermont, where have you been. They came with the ski industry in towns like Dover, Ludlow, Burke, Stowe, Waitsfield, Menden plus many more in the 50's in the form of condo complexes. Nowadays condo complexes and their HOA's are a regular part of many communities in Vermont and the nation. Vermont's soul and spirit is alive and well.

I am sure compared to many states people living in Vermont in housing with HOA's is a small minority even tho they have been here for decades. To equate that to Vermont losing it's soul and spirit is total sillytown.