Sunday, February 10, 2008
Valley Ranch homeowners’ association elections prompt yard sign faceoffs and other petty one-upsmanship
Email
|
Print
|
Tell us your story
|
Comments (3)
|
VALLEY RANCH — Awesome goings-on out in Valley Ranch, HQ of the Dallas Cowboys, where the elections for the homeowners' association have deteriorated into deliciously petty human behavior, from mud-slinging to yard-sign contests. Three seats are open on the Valley Ranch Association residential board, one that oversees more than 30,000 residents in an area more Plano than Plano itself, with identical zero-lot "mansions" propped along dull cul de sacs and insane rules about how your place can look right down to the kind of front door you use, all in the religious pursuit of property values. I'm sure there are nice people who live in Valley Ranch but the only two I knew who lived there were/are total dicks, although it seems like every homeowners' association is plagued by hilarious politics that instantly arise whenever you get two or more human beings in a room together.
Posted by T.G.
Related stories
See more stories in:
Find...
Today
GWAR / Kingdom of Sorrow / Toxic Holocaust Only lead singer Oderus Urungus (aka Dave Brockie) has stuck around since GWAR's start 23 years ago, but the huge costumes, raunchy and obscene lyrics, and fluids spraying into the audience are sure to be on full display as the metal band makes its return to Dallas. More info
Blogs
- Favoriting contest: “The Magic of Christmas”
Square Pegs - Comment on comments
Square Pegs - UPDATE: Be alert, Duran Duran fans — Show canceled
Square Pegs
Latest comments
- askuiper on Theater Review: Fiorello!: I’ve loved the show “Fiorello” since I saw it in 1960. I’ve always wondered why it was never made in...
- ch0 on Arlington nixes street sign toppers, apparently hates Cesar Chavez, too: Widely varied. Covers everything from ghetto-ish apartment blight to quarter-mill McDevelopment spra...
- Tracy Yost on Comment on comments: yeh, what cho said....
- WhitneyTM on Tio's Tortas: I liked it too but it was totally empty each time I went, maybe 3 times total. Like scary empty....
Latest reviews
- carlamarieweir on Oak Cliff Pizza: I haven’t had delivery so I cannot comment to that, but I really really loved the pizza here. The on...
- Joel Woiton on Thai Soon Restaurant: This place has good food but it also has one of the smallest dining areas of any restaurant in town....
- DC on Himalayan Aroma: In the meantime, we’re still craving Tibetan butter tea. Following our minor success using the pegge...
Comments
Mike Orren Staff
Minnie is/was working on a bigger story on this. Here's the email we got over the transom last week:
If you want a mini-version of the Presidential Campaign in your back yard, here it is. What boggles my mind is: WHY ISN'T THE MEDIA COVERING THIS?
The Media is missing a firestorm in Valley Ranch between the Residents and the HOA. There are over 30,000 residents in Valley Ranch – can be a small city anywhere in America - and the HOA has been run by a Rick Stopfer for 18 years, though he has never been elected by the Residents. He is also an Irving City Council Member and a member of the right-wing Republican crowd running the City of Irving – Home of Dallas Cowboys.
There have been several allegations against the HOA and an uprising began in August to fight against the existing HOA board. The group, called VRVoice, is led by Tom Page (tompaige@yahoo.com) and has received tremendous support from the residents.
When 3 members from VRVoice filed papers to contest the HOA Board Elections, the existing Board, in a secretive meeting, decided to amend the HOA charter to neuter the residents by assigning all power to a Commercial Board. The amendment has been included in the HOA ballots and is so deceptively worded only a lawyer can decipher its true meaning.
Valley Ranch is a residential community with tiny Commercial properties. They are now going to run this place.
Elections are underway and it will be interesting to watch who will win…residents or the entrenched…
Is the existing Right-Wing Crowd running the HOA being protected by the Dallas Establishment and the media? Is the Media only focused on the Southern Sector?
9 months, 4 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
chretienne Anonymous
Wow. I only wish my homeowners' association had board elections. I merely volunteered to help with one particular project, only to then be notified that I was on the board and informed I had to attend monthly board meetings!
9 months, 4 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
DantheMan Anonymous
What most people who don't live in an HOA don't understand is the immense power and usage of intimidation that the associations sometimes use against those it is supposed to be serving. Why would they do this? It makes no sense. Not unless there is a bigger reward from an entity more powerful, like the CAI, or Community Association Institute, the powerful lobbying group.
I live in Valley Ranch, but it is hardly a mansion. Its a 1600 sq ft 2 bedroom modest home that is 25 years old and cost far less than the average Dallas condo. Our HOA is an equal opportunity abuser. It doesn't discriminate according to race, income, or status. Their greatest ally is apathy and ignorance. They have the power that no mortgage company on the face of the earth has and that is the power to foreclose on a homestead over unpaid fines due to "code violations". They are not subject to any open records laws. State Senator John Carona is a former lobbyist for CAI and current CEO of the largest property management firm in the country. He was against foreclosure reform in the last legislative session and made sure there are plenty of loopholes available for HOA's to use the threat of home foreclosure as a means of intimidation so that they may extract exorbitant fees from those they claim to serve. By the way, Sen Carona will be speaking to CAI at a luncheon Feb 13 at the Brookhaven Country Club on the subject: Use Nuisance Violations to Aid Your Community. Pardon the expression, but this is all one big circle jerk involving developers, lawyers, realtors, politicians and lobbying groups at the expense of individual homeowners who don't have the resources in most cases to fight them.
So I'm suggesting you check out this link to see what this "racket" is all about. This article was written by someone who wouldn't be run over by the big boys.
http://www.ahrc.com/new/index.php/src...
9 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Post a comment
(Requires free PegasusNews.com account.)