- February 21, 2025
Dear Editor:
The mayor's comment that Palm Coast is not an HOA has offended some of our long-term homeowners who would prefer that Palm Coast be an HOA. But the mayor spoke the obvious truth.
An HOA is a contractual association in which the residents give up some of their property rights in return for the supposed comfort of various rules as to house colors, vehicle restrictions, how to breathe, etc. OK, I slipped in that last one, but some HOA boards really are stifling.
A city is a government entity which, in this free country of ours, must accept the right of citizens to move where they wish, live as they choose, so long as they do not threaten the physical safety or property of others and control their own (not their neighbor's) property.
A city has no legitimate right to impose property restrictions for merely esthetic reasons, whether prescribed by neighbors or the city council. Yes, I know that some cities abuse zoning powers to impose esthetic restrictions, but the inevitable lawsuits are coming.
When Palm Coast, developed as an HOA or collection of HOAs, later incorporated as a city, it failed to understand that profoundly changed its nature. The rules as to paint colors on houses, commercial vehicle restrictions, etc., were apparently lifted direct from the HOA restrictions and inserted into city zoning restrictions oblivious of its new status and in violation of its new duty to protect its citizens' rights.
Those long-term residents who imagined that their lovely, picturesque Palm Coast was going to remain a gigantic golf course forever, to be perfectly maintained by newcomers whose proper role was to be servants and who were to disappear at night (along with their tawdry commercial vehicles) were never actually living in Palm Coast, but in Fantasyland. It was not only predictable, but inevitable that as the city grew into a larger, more complete community their mirage of social exclusivity would fade. Get over it!
Those who love HOAs, and the promise of living under the reassuring restrictions of rules, are free to join an actual HOA. There are plenty of them here (often with lovely fences, gates, guards, etc.), and plenty of busybodies to run them. But as one whose pride in this country stems not from its rules, but precisely from the lack thereof, I can recommend only one rule without reservation. It is the Golden Rule.
And as to those "property values" endlessly cited by realtors/developers, and homeowners under their spell, I recognize their importance (though the effect on property values of restrictions is grossly exaggerated). However, it is profoundly unwise to exalt wealth above freedom. In fact, the greatest benefit of wealth is to enable and secure freedom, without which wealth can hardly be enjoyed. Now, let us all go to bed and dream of purple houses. And you will not have a nervous breakdown.
Anthony B. Teague
Palm Coast
