- Read how an overreaching HOA brought a whole neighborhood together.
No homeowner wants the local HOA sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong. In Colorado, one family can thank their neighbors when they came to their support after HOA meddling almost spoiled Christmas.
The Flores family in Severance bought a huge inflatable Santa to celebrate the holiday season. And when we say huge, we mean it — the thing is taller than their house.
The enormous Santa didn’t sit right with the Severance Shores neighborhood’s HOA. The Flores family received a letter stating their inflatable was “excessive” and needed to be taken down.
Quite disappointed but wanting to play by the rules, the family took their Santa down.
Much to their surprise, however, their neighbors were more upset about the Santa being gone than the Flores. They began bombarding the HOA with emails and letters, and due to the outpouring of support, the organization relented.
Now, the huge inflatable Santa is back up next to the Flores house. That’s one holly jolly score for the little guy.
Saving for Santa
Dora Flores and her husband live in Severance, a small city in northern Colorado. They must be fans of Christmas, because they had big plans for this year.
They had seen an oversized inflatable Santa for sale. According to the box, the balloon towered at 28 feet tall — and the Flores knew they had to have it.
Sadly, the inflatable was too expensive for the couple to buy it immediately. They weren’t going to let that stop them, though.
“We saved up money throughout the year to be able to purchase Santa,” explained Mrs. Flores to 9News.
Finally, they had the cash they needed. So, the Santa came home, although it was bigger than their home, rising well above the rooftop.
“We love him, we absolutely love him! He brings a lot of happiness to our house and to the community as well,” Flores told KDVR.
Indeed, the neighborhood loved the Santa as well. Many of Flores’ neighbors were impressed by Santa’s sheer size.
“Literally the first thing out of my mouth was holy Santa, Batman, that thing is huge!” said Kastal May, whose daughter fell in love with the big Santa as well.
‘Please Remove Immediately’
The Santa didn’t get to spread Christmas cheer for long, however. After being up for about a week, Flores received a letter from Fromm & Co., a company supervising HOAs in the area.
That letter bore sad news for Santa.
“We received a letter saying that he had to be brought down because we were not compliant with the standards of the HOA,” said Flores.
According to the letter, the inflatable was “excessive in height and not permitted.” The couple was instructed to “please remove immediately.”
The letter didn’t cite any HOA rules about holiday decorations’ heights, nor did it specify an acceptable height. It did include a long list of possible fines and fees the Flores might get slapped with should they not comply.
Well, paying fines didn’t sit with the Flores’ Christmas plans. So, reluctantly, they emptied the inflatable and stowed it away.
Neighborly Support
If the Flores were disappointed that Santa had to go, so were their neighbors. Many stared asking what had happened, and Flores shared her story both in person and online.
Much to her surprise, her neighbors decided to take action. They had loved the humongous Santa, and they wanted it back.
Some of them started putting up signs on their yard, reading “We Stand with Santa.” Others started posting comments and sending messages to the HOA, questioning their decision.
“The hill that they want to die on is this Santa Claus, really?” one comment read.
And then there was Cody Bowden, the Flores’ neighbor across the street. In defiance of the HOA decision, he put an almost equally huge snowman inflatable.
“Definitely now, I won’t take it down. I don’t see that this is anything offensive or anything wrong,” said Bowden.
Eventually, the HOA got the message that the neighborhood was unhappy with its anti-Santa stance. After about a week, Flores said she received a phone call from Fromm & Co.
“I did receive a call from the upper management of our HOA apologizing and letting us know that we can keep Santa, and letting us know that it was a mistake on their behalf,” explained Flores.
Mistake, right. They must’ve been meaning to send that letter to some other Flores family with a huge Santa living at that address.
In any case, the big Santa is now back to delight the Severance Shores neighborhood. In the end, the issue ended up bringing the neighbors closer together — and that counts as a small Christmas miracle.