Tamarac Buffoons Ban Signs For Girl Scout Cookies

BY BUDDY NEVINS

A seven-year old Girl Scout got a lesson in nastiness South Florida style.

According to Sharon Aron Baron writing in a residents website for the Woodlands community, a community leader called sheriff’s deputies to stop her daughter from displaying hand written signs for Girl Scout cookies.

She is alleged to have violated the rules of the Woodlands by putting up signs without the community board’s permission.

My God, what’s next?  Will they be locking you up in the Woodlands for having the wrong color car parked in your driveway or for flying an American flag?

I hate these communities that demand uniformity and have a group of self important folks enforcing the rules.  The story reminds me of another place where you have problems putting up signs without permission — Cuba. Or North Korea.

If the story is true, I can’t believe what a bunch of insensitive prigs run the Woodlands.  Who would want to live among such people?

Here is the story.   You judge for yourself.



23 Responses to “Tamarac Buffoons Ban Signs For Girl Scout Cookies”

  1. Cosmo says:

    Too many dictators who think they are God run these condos. That is why I would never live there.

  2. Floridan says:

    “I hate these communities that demand uniformity and have a group of self important folks enforcing the rules.”

    Seems to me that if you choose to live in a community with rules, you should obey them. Or seek to have them changed.

  3. out on a tree limb says:

    Seems to me the answer is easy. Don’t want to follow the rules, don’t move into a community that has them.

    FROM BUDDY: The question is, are the rules applied arbitrarily or are they the same for everybody?

    Is there anybody who reads the entire condo/HOA declaration containing the rules when they close on a home?

  4. out on a tree limb says:

    Yup Buddy, I did. If you don’t, it’s your problem , not the associations.

  5. out on a tree limb says:

    make that association’s.

  6. ontheequator says:

    Being a nebbish is part of the activities of daily living.

  7. Kevin says:

    This event and the comments just goes to show: there’s a little bit of fascist in everybody.

  8. Git R Done says:

    You’re right on this one Buddy, good work and I’m glad you brought this up.
    These people who run condo assoc. and homeowners assoc. have no clue, they just want to be self serving and don’t give a damn about anyone else. Thanks for sharing this story, THE PEOPLE need to know!!!

  9. watcher says:

    since when does a sheriff’s deputy have authority to enforce a condo rule???

  10. Sharon Aron Baron says:

    Thanks for sharing my post with your fans, Buddy.

    I want to let you know that I love my community and many of these wonderful neighbors here. The Woodlands is a special neighborhood where people still pass in cars and wave and talk on the streets.

    I try to be a good neighbor as well, keep my lawn looking pristine, picking up after my dog as well as volunteer around the community.

    In my prior HOA communities in Pembroke Pines and Davie, something like this would have resulted in a “friendly reminder” letter from the HOA’s property management company. Not a call to BSO. That is the point I want to make.

    My daughter and I didn’t expect a visit from the police because of girl scout cookie signs that were up for 1 hour. I feel the resident went overboard with her authority.

    Sharon

  11. out on a tree limb says:

    C’mon. You can’t pick and chose which rules you want to follow in an association. And how many of you brillant contributors have ever volunteered in your community or sat on the Board? Naw, it’s easier to let someone else do it, and then complain.

    FROM BUDDY:
    Technically, this reader is right.
    But police officers make decisions every day on whether to give a ticket or a warning, make an arrest or let somebody go. These decisions are based on experience and good common sense. To arbitrarily enforce every rule and law without any compassion and flexibility sounds a lot like a dictatorship.

  12. out on a tree limb says:

    Actually, the HOA President did nothing wrong. Ms. Baron knows she should have cleared it with her ARC comittee first; afterall she went to the city for her previous sign. She had already demonstated that she knew the rules and procedure. No, I am sorry, this smacks of the “entitlement” and “the rules were not meant for me” mentality. Great lesson to teach your daughter , Ms. Barton.
    “If you don’t like the rule, honey, you can just break it.” And then whine.

  13. Sharon Aron Baron says:

    Out on a limb: You have it wrong. The city approved our last sign as long as it was temporary and we picked it up. That is why we put out this sign. If you read the post, this was confirmed that it was OK with the city (which oversees or code enforcement). I was informed LATER from the Architectural Committee that I would need a permission slip for the sign. Again. The issue was that the BSO was called instead of sending us a letter – Your taxpayer dollars hard at work.
    Get your facts straight.

  14. KCK says:

    I hate these communities that demand uniformity and have a group of self important folks enforcing the rules.
    I hate these people that move to these neighborhoods and bitch cause they don’t like the rules they agreed to.

    …..and yes, I’d rather put up with a purple house as a neighbor than these b.s. rules.

    Just my guess, but it sounds like maybe they were enforcing a city rule though. I know our city has rules about garage sale signs etc. Why else would the sheriff come out?

  15. out on a tree limb says:

    Ms. Baron,
    The city has the right to respond to the breaking of a law how it sees best fit. Gee, too bad it wasn’t the way YOU wanted….and you KNEW you were wrong, because you were expecting a letter. I am sorry, but it’s best if you learn this now, the world does not revolve around you.

  16. Why I Don't Live In A Condo says:

    When you live in a condo, your lives are controlled by fools like Out On A Tree Limb. The fools are the same type of people who loved living in Nazi Germany, where there was a rule for everything and a penalty for breaking it.

  17. out on a tree limb says:

    Hey Why-
    look nobody is forcing you to live anywhere…but if you move into a HOA be prepared to live by the rules…don’t want to? then don’t live there…it’s not rocket science…

  18. Patti Lynn says:

    The Woodlands is a homeowners’ association. Several years ago, the City of Tamarac enacted what is now called the “Woodlands Overlay.” Supposedly, the Woodlands neglected to renew their state documents empowering them to make rules, fine residents, etc. So, in an effort to “solve” the problem, The City of Tamarac Commission enacted into law, the rules and regulations of the Woodlands Homeowners’ Association. In many Tamarac HOAs, the rules prohibit parking on the grass. BSO will do NOTHING about it, as they do not enforce HOA rules. In the Woodlands, however, that “rule” became a City of Tamarac Municipal ordinance, so, if someone is parked on the grass, the “BSO detail officer”is advised, and he or she writes a citation for a violation of Tamarac law. Many HOAs would like to have the same protection. Alas, it is next to impossible to achieve that status without a LOT of legal money.

    FROM BUDDY:

    Thanks for the explanation.

  19. WoodlandsDweller says:

    Buddy,

    As a resident of the Woodlands I want to clarify Ms. Lynn’s consistantly oversimplified comments. First, Ilene Lieberman was able to work with the City of Tamarac 8 or 9 years ago to create a zoning overlay to provide for a higher level of restrictions in our neighborhood. This overly was designed in a way that it could be enacted in almost any neighborhood in Tamarac who want them enacted. These are residential zoning rules, not deed restrictions and the City enacted these restrictions at our request, just as Tamarac recently created a neighborhood improvement district at our request. Neither Tamarac nor BSO enforce the HOA rules in the Woodlands and the City is quick to remind us of this when we call with a complaint. As a Woodlands resident we pay $250,000 a year for extra BSO details in our neighborhood. We get a higher level of service because we pay for it, voluntarily. BSO does not cite residents for parking on the grass, they leave what is called a courtesey notice, unless the offender is a repeat violater. Many HOA’s prohibit parking on the grass, but the City Code does not. Tamarac doesn’t prohibit this because many homes have but one parking space and three or four cars. Parking on the street is prohibited because many of the streets are to narrow and would, in fact, be blocked if overnight parking was allowed. This isn’t arbitrary, as Ms. Lynn implies, it’s practical to accomodate families. Ms. Lynn always get it close, but she always manages to slant these types of comments against the City, BSO, and in this case the Woodlands. Ms. Lynn should focus on working with the City of Tamarac to improve her own neighborhood the way we have worked to improve the Woodlands. We have put our money where our mouths are and instead of complaining to and about Tamarac we have worked closely with the Mayor, who lives here, and the other Commissioners to deal with issues in our neighborhood which are not City issues. I’ve found the City to be quite responsive and if Ms. Lynn hasn’t maybe she should reconsider her approach. Her habit of not telling the whole story may cut it on the blogs where many people are none the wiser, but it doesn’t work in Tamarac as is evicenced by her many failed runs for the City Commission. Let’s get real, people dislike her enough they elected Patty Atkins Grad over her twice. If she doesn’t like Tamarac maybe she should move. One more thing, as I read the woman’s blog who instigated this whole exchange she says the City told her and the HOA the handmade Girl Scout Cookies For Sale sign was OK. So what this really amounts to is a few condo types who obviously don’t like the Girl Scouts mom and I’m not sure how this ended up on your otherwise very well informed blog?

  20. Kingdom of The Dumb says:

    Many honorable people serve on condo and HOA boards. They also draw a personality type that likes to lord over others the minutiae of the rule book or even rules that they interpret in a manner that was never intended. I can’t imagine temporary signs up less than a few hours and advertising a (charity) Girl Scout cookie sale were the intention of the developers who drew up the condo documents. Just think of the lesson of intolerance these folks taught a little girl.

  21. the Real Truth says:

    Kingdom cuts to the heart of the matter. I say fewer rules and more Girl Scout cookies!
    Thin Mints rock!

  22. e.Weaver says:

    if that is your associations rules; then YOU got a lesson in teaching your child to break the rules. I have no sympathy….

  23. Tom says:

    Sometimes the association leadership does take things to an absurd level. On the other hand, when there are no rules and no standards, a situation such as I now see in Tamarac sunflower/heathgate occurs where you have 5 cars parking on property designed for a maximum of two and people not taking care of their property nor considering their neighbors…eg. window rattling rap music from cars at 2AM!