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HOA leaders love invoking safety until their own convenience becomes the first casualty.

One…over-zealous president bypassed the wishes of the entire neighborhood and had half the available street parking cut.

Her favorite defense was that residents could simply use the cul-de-sac whenever spaces became scarce.

See how it went down below.

You can’t park there, I won’t be safe.

“This story is about a power hungry HOA President. We will call her Helen.

So a little background about my neighborhood. It’s basically a long street with a cul de sac at the end. Helen lives in one of the 4 houses that encircle the cul de sac.

So a few years ago, Helen proposed at our monthly HOA meeting that our street is too narrow for emergency vehicles like fire trucks or ambulances to fit through and she’s worried that they won’t be able to reach the cul de sac houses in an emergency. Which is bull ****.

This just wasn’t true…

It’s not a thru road so only residents of this small street ever need to use it.

Sure it can be a little tight at at times but two lane traffic moves comfortably (and it rarely ever needs to because it’s a quiet neighborhood street with not much traffic.) Fire trucks can and have been accessing the cul de sac since the beginning of time.

But Helen was on a power trip and she wanted to have one side of the street curb painted yellow to restrict the parallel parking on the street.

This move was heavily opposed because it would significantly limit street parking in our neighborhood.

Plenty of people raised concerns that there wouldn’t be enough parking and this would affect the value of their homes.

And since the street parking was first come first serve, it would create undue competition between neighbors in securing a parking spot on our street.

But Helen pushed back saying that safety was more important being able to find a parking spot. She said there’s always plenty of room to park on the cul de sac if need be.

It shouldn’t be an issue.

And after much deliberation, we put it to a vote and the motion DID NOT pass. The highly unpopular curb painting would not be happening.

Oh, Helen…

Or so we thought. Helen went to the fire department a few days later and voiced her concerns. She told them the neighborhood residents had her support in painting the curb.

And on a Monday afternoon while everyone was at work, they painted the curb yellow.

We all came back home that evening to find that our available parking options had been cut in half. People were livid. One neighbor is particular was having none of it.

You see he owned a small boat which he typically kept parked on the street.

How do you like them apples?!?!

But now that parking was significantly reduced, he decided he would find a better place for his boat.

He waited for Helen to leave for work the next day and parked it right in front of her house on the cul de sac, per her suggestion.

The look on her face when she came home to find her usual parking space taken over by a boat was almost worth the whole ordeal.

And since he rarely ever took his boat out, it stays parked there in front of her house pretty much year round.

At the next HOA election, she was voted out. The next president got the curb painted back to normal but boat guy still parks his boat in front of Helen’s house. All is good in the world.”

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Now let’s see what folks had to say on Reddit.

This person had a lot to say.

Another individual shared a story.

This reader chimed in.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a neighbor who steps in to stop illegal driveway construction for friends down the road.

Another person spoke up.

After Helen eliminated half the street parking, a neighbor followed her advice and permanently parked his boat outside her house.

Voters removed her at the next HOA election, the curb was restored, and the boat remained as a landlocked monument to her power trip.

She tried steering the neighborhood to her entitled ways, but the plan ran aground at her own curb.

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Author

Chris Allen