Our house is directly abutting the non-HOA portion, so literally beginning next door and all the way for the next three blocks up the street, and the next block over across the street, are uncovered by the HOA. On my street, I think there are 8 houses covered, probably 40 not covered.

Of the remaining “problem houses” on our street, all are in the non-HOA portion.

When we did have problems in our section, however, the HOA played no significant role in solving them – it was repeated calls to the police and then finally foreclosure that got changes made.

I think the fact its jurisdiction is limited has sort of scaled back the HOA’s scope and influence. I suppose if more aggressive people were involved it would help the portion of the neighborhood that’s covered, but it would not do anything for my street so for the moment I am not willing to put in the time.

Exactly. My neighborhood is very diverse, and we mostly get along, despite the many cultural differences. The few problems we do have could probably be resolved with but a little education and common sense. (And that works both ways – a little respect for people from other countries doesn’t cost us anything.) I’d like to think that legal immigrants are taught social customs and mores before they’re allowed to come here, but I suspect that’s not the case. And in any event, does little for the illegal.

I *do* have a *host* of pet peeves regarding the different values some of our immigrant friends may have, including:

– dropping litter anywhere, everywhere when you’re done with it is not appreciated – I have to pick up trash every day around my house, and it’s usually not hard to guess who’s doing it (Coconut soda cans, discarded phone cards, etc).
– leering at women and young girls, while muttering to themselves under their breath, and blowing your horn, slowing down, and shouting at girls on the street is *not* considered a compliment in our society
– Americans value their pets – casually running a dog or cat down is considered highly offensive to most of us. So is throwing rocks and sticks at them.
- The reason trash containers are used is to prevent attracting wild animals/vermin. Plastic trash bags with food and other similar waste must be placed in secured bins.
- and yes, I’ve witnessed acts of poaching and other illegal taking of fish and game.

Anyway, yeah, if someone wants to reach out and explain our social rules and mores, so much the better. What’s to lose?

I would hope that this goes beyond simply nominating one group as the only one that matters – I tend to be suspicious of anyone that treats “Hispanic immigrants” as a single entity – like a Guatamalan is the same as a Mexico City Mexican.

There are lots of Spanish cultures, quite different from one another. And lumping them together while ignoring the existence of Koreans, Chinese, English, Germans, Russians, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Saudi Arabians, Romanians, Pakistanis, Indians, Afghanis, Congolese, Somali, etc, all of whom number among my neighbors, smacks of political bean-counting.

None of which is meant to discourage Joe in any way; we’ll never get anywhere without some effort like this.

In any case, nothing that anyone I know of has tried here has accomplished a single step toward the goal of ameliorating the problem cases. Everyone who wants to keep banging their heads against the wall, please be my guest. I want to try to get something tangible accomplished.

What Joe is addressing is those that want to comply with community standards that don’t know what the community standards are. It may be a small group, but just preventing a couple houses from going from bad to worse can keep a neighborhood from going from bad to worse. It is worth a try.

I agree with everything you say. I have experienced similar during the fall, when on numerous occasions I have returned to my vehicle after the close of legal hunting hours only to encounter some Hispanics suiting up for a night in the woods.

I myself am not convinced it is ignorance of the rules alone, and from my experiences serving my HOA I have seen more callous disregard than ignorance by these noncompliant homeowners.

“those organizations outside of government must step up and provide the required education and information or this goes nowhere.”

I have little faith in those that have made a livelihood of teaching illegal aliens how to game our system. As a Missouri native would say “show me”.

Though I still need the pellet gun, I already have the pith helmet and hunting khakis, machete, frog gig, mag light, 100% DEET repellent, boots, Glock sidearm and MREs. So I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.

hey, didn’t anyone get my Caddy Shack refence above???

G, There is no part of this program entailing lapse in law enforcement, period. One of the main points is that increased community awareness in general would increase community interest in how the county is managing its various charges (including law enforcement and zoning enforcement). We reduce the number of zoning and police complaints by communicating community standards more effectively, thereby freeing our county personnel to concentrate more on the more serious abrogations taking place.

Communication is one thing, some education is a must and those organizations outside of government must step up and provide the required education and information or this goes nowhere.

These groups can certainly bring in experts or those in the know on specific issues, but it is incumbent on them to make this happen. Remember we are not talking negotiations here. This is about informing those ignorant of the rules , the rules. Laws, ordinances and community standards will not change in order to accommodate or oblige any group. The effect on our communities is varied and wide felt. I applaud providing information that effects positive change.

Let me give you an example. As many of you know I love to fish and have been fishing Goose Creek for about 20 years. I have a pretty good historical perspective on this little river. Twenty even ten years ago the fishing was great, this river was full of fish. Then on or about the time Goose Creek ( as well as the Shendoah and Potomac Rivers ) became popular with those recently arriving from South America the fishing began to suffer. Goose Creek as one Game Warden put it, became a fish market. I have witnessed as late as last Sunday Spanish Speaking migrants fishing the banks of Goose and keeping ALL fish ignoring VDGIF creel limits. In the summer months, I have seen and reported to VDGIF these folks running gill nets across the entire length of the river. This is illegal by state law. However, it is done all the time by members of this community. The Game Wardens call this practice to vacuum the river.
This is what they did where they came from so Therefore they will do it here, at least until the resource no longer exists and the move on. Again, it is not our responsibility to surrender the resource or changes the laws. The responsibility lies with those wishing to make the case that the transgressors can improve and cooperate through education and information. communication comes in many forms. I myself did my best to inform ( as I always do ) those in possession of illegal fish that they were breaking the law and the fish must be returned. I am also doing them a favor in that they should not be consuming these fish due to the posted PCB health advisory. Another reason why everyone should be able to speak and read English.