A local woman in Euless has learned that she is not allowed to fly the American flag at her home because of the rules of the homeowners association. 

The American flag cannot fly on Patriot Street, Colonial Lane or anywhere else in the Heritage Place subdivision.

It’s a rule homeowner Linda Martin would like to see waived.

A few weeks after Martin moved into her new villa-style home in June on Republic Drive, she received a letter from the Heritage Place Homeowners Association requesting that she remove her U.S. flag. The letter said the flag violated efforts “to preserve and maintain the property values” in the subdivision.

Martin had been flying a 4-by-6-foot flag on a pole attached to her fence for the Fourth of July and to show respect for the troops and for her son in the Navy.

“I would have never guessed in a million years that a homeowners association would restrict a United States flag on a holiday,” she said.

Martin dusted off the manual of covenants she had set aside after she moved in and discovered that she had, in fact, violated the rules.

At least she admits that she hadn’t fully read the rules and was violating them.  However, I think this sort of thing just further illustrates why I’ll never buy a house where there’s a homeowners association.  These associations always seem to be populated by petty little martinets who get a rush from the power they hold over the homeowners. 

So why don’t they want people to fly flags? 

Flags are restricted for aesthetic reasons because people often neglect them, Weber said. The deed restrictions are standard, and use of flags was not an issue until 9-11, she said.

After Martin received the letter dated July 6, she said, she approached board members at a meeting.

They told her that if she wanted to fly an American flag, they would have to allow her neighbors to fly any flags, even Nazi or Ku Klux Klan ones, she said.

This one pegs my bullshit detector.  First, since they have a plethora of rules about the maintenance and appearance of homes, it would be a simple thing to make a rule that requires the flag to be well tended and in good condition.  Second, the association can create just about any rule it wants (it’s a private organization and isn’t covered by the First Amendment), so the idea that they would have to allow any other kind of flag just doesn’t seem to fly.  Being a private organization, with voluntary membership, they could surely write a rule that only allowed the American (and possibly Texas) flags to be flown.

Martin is not amused that an association created to protect the value of her home would go so far in restricting her freedom.

“People die in wars so that we can own homes and have a homeowners association,” she said.

Martin is working with a lawyer to request permission to fly a flag three days before and after a national holiday. Even though she loves her home, Martin said that if her request is denied, she will probably move out in a few years.

“And I will never live in a community with a homeowners association again,” she said.

It sounds like she’s learned an expensive lesson about avoiding these petty little martinets in the future.