Is Fountain Installation a Violation of HOA CC&Rs?

The case involved a dispute between a homeowner (“Owner”) and his homeowners association (“Association”) over Owner’s right to install a fountain in the front yard of his property without Association’s approval. Association considered the fountain a “structure” that was not permitted to be installed without Association’s prior approval. Owner contended that the provision of the CC&Rs relied upon by Association did not apply to the fountain and that the fountain was installed for a limited period of time as a tribute to his mother-in-law who had passed away. In addition, Owner contended that Association’s enforcement action against Owner was unfair and discriminatory, and that Association denied Owner due process by refusing to conduct an internal hearing on whether the fountain violated the CC&Rs.

Regarding his due process argument, Owner contended that after being notified by Association that the fountain was in violation of the CC&Rs, he requested an internal hearing with Association’s board of directors, but Association did not respond to his request and no hearing was conducted. Owner further contended that Association’s failure to provide a hearing regarding the alleged violation deprived the trial court of subject-matter jurisdiction over the lawsuit.

The trial court found: