Fireworks - HOA banned but happening anyway (sale, renting)

[skydesertrose]

Our HOA is so wimpy- they take property away from disabled and senior people who can't pay their dues, but they won't do anything when people set off fireworks all night long when it is against the rules. We voted it down this year, but this redneck neighborhood is either too stupid to read the signs posted, or they think they can defy the law and the rules. We have people shooting high powered rifles all night long even when it isn't the 4th of July, New Years Eve, or someone from Al Quaeda's been executed. We've got neighbors cooking meth in the middle of the day, with smoke billowing out of their windows and vents, and thuggist looking scabby faced people hanging out at the park and leaving trash on the trails. Apparently they took the toilet paper from the bathrooms so now the HOA won't stock it anymore. The timber is dry and its windy, a perfect recipe for another wildfire, which they had a few years ago that destroyed a bunch of homes. Who started this idiotic tradition?

[j_k_k]

Are you in Tri-cities?

[cully]

Reminds me of the one bad one we lived in. There was an elderly ill woman who made no footprint on the outside of her home, because she was not able to. She had a son caregiver on weekends that she wanted to give to what little she could...one being the ability to walk unescorted on hoa property. Had to have a meeting about whether to let that happen and concerned neighbors had to call an advocate to speak at the meeting who had to threaten to call the media about their behavior. The board "relented" instead of calling it "doing the right thing".

But....the same board. Poachers. A group of guys shining lights in people's bedroom windows at night. Nada. Zilch. Yep, sissies.

[CrazyDonkey]

If the "barbarians" are inside the gate, what use the gate? Simply having an HOA doesn't guarantee anything. The problem could be a significant proportion of absentee owners renting their properties out to residents not "invested" in the community.

[Hemlock140]

Fireworks have been banned in our city for years, but about 2 miles down the hill is a large stand in a small, unincorporated area. As it gets dark there will be a lot of noise from fireworks, and while the police will fine some of them, they can't catch everyone, and will be busy with crowd control at the city fireworks display. It's actually been a tradition since 1776, but there should be some common sense used. Fortunately, it looks like rain soon.

History of fireworks in America: Why do we celebrate Fourth of July with fireworks?

[PS90]

I haven't looked into the actual state laws, so I can't vouch for the validity of this, but I heard talk the other day that supposedly Idaho has banned all firework use in the state, but still allows their sale - if you sign an affidavit saying that you will take them somewhere else to shoot them off.

Considering laws like that, and the fact that fireworks are banned in many cities in WA, but still sold a half-mile down the road in many instances, it makes you wonder what the real motivations are around here...

[pikabike]

Picking on the easiest targets and ignoring the violent ones isn't limited to HOAs. It can be just neighbors who are afraid of being revenged upon.

Start shooting video with sound, date and time stamped. Having proof in the face of He Said She Said would be useful in case you can take it beyond HOA domain. Fireworks and guns? Sounds like a danger to people and property...not "just boys will be boys."

BTW, after a massive illegal fireworks session (must have been hundreds of rounds) in an unbuilt lot right behind a neighbor's house (the neighbor was away), I mentioned it to another neighbor, who knew it was a bunch of visiting highschool footballers. When I said I would report it if they ever tried again, she told me that she would never call cops on kids. Ditto for calling on neighbors. In fact, some people assumed the fireworks had been set off by another neighbor, who sometimes lit a few, but nothing like THAT episode. I actually called him when the kids were doing it and told him, "Enough is enough!", to which he replied that it was not him. I know he was telling the truth, because I heard him pretending to sic his dog on them. Yep, they left in a BIG HURRY then, sounds of many frantically running footsteps and then a car spraying dirt as it fled.

Next year, I told the cops what the don't-call-cops neighbor had said, because the same high school visits every year. I asked that the team's coach be warned to supervise the kids more closely. Did not have a problem after that. And now that several more houses have been built and moved into nearby, more eyes and ears will be around.