Frisco Homeowners Association Can't Kick Out Homeless Teens, Judge Rules

By Amy Silverstein Fri., Oct. 31 2014 at 3:13 PM

Courtesy of City House

You want to live in Frisco's Plantation Resort 2 neighborhood, you better keep your property looking good and fancy. Because Plantation Resort 2 isn't going to put up with your shit. Here are Plantation Resort 2's hardcore summer lawn-watering instructions:

Although we are currently under water restrictions we cannot allow our turf and landscape to die off or become bare dirt. There are many alternatives and it is your responsibility as an owner to be sure that you maintain your property at all times. A solution to a bare lawn may be to add a landscape bed or a mulch bed under the trees when the grass will not fill in. But please remember bare dirt is not acceptable and does not help maintain property values.

Strict rules apply to any homeowners not using their houses for family-related purposes, as a Collin County nonprofit learned this year when they started sheltering homeless teens in Plantation Resort 2.

City House been providing shelter for homeless teens and kids in two houses in Plano without any push back from neighbors, the group says. So earlier this year, City House expanded its program into Frisco, purchasing a home in Plantation Resort 2 with a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Through the program, two 18-year-old women and one of their babies are living at the house. And they'll get to stay there after the homeowners association unsuccessfully tried to kick the women and baby out through the courts this morning.

Darlene Horan, a real estate agent and board member of the Plantation Resort 2 Homeowners Association, testified at the Collin County hearing this morning that the City House program hurts the "marketability" of other homes in the neighborhood. Reached on her cell phone afterword, she had nothing to add, saying she needed to get back to work. "I really don't have time to talk," she said.

To be fair, the two women and baby were allowed to move into the house under a compromise that the homeowners association and City House agreed to. That agreement came after the HOA filed a lawsuit against City House in August alleging that providing shelter to homeless teens violates its covenants. "No activity, whether for profit or not, shall be conducted which is not related to single-family residential purposes," the HOA's attorneys argued at time.

About a month ago, the two sides worked out a temporary deal, says City House spokesman Rob Scichili. PR2 allowed the two 18-year-old women and the baby to move in while the parties tried to work things out with a court mediator. But the temporary compromise expired today, and PR2 went to District Judge Jill Willis to ask for immediate relief while their civil suit against City House is pending. "If the judge rules in the case of the HOA, we would have to get out right away," Scichili said before today's hearing. (Had that happened, the women and child could have stayed at one of the Plano houses).

Judge Willis ruled in favor of City House this morning, allowing the two women to stay there for the time being. It's not clear what the HOA is planning next; their attorney hasn't returned a voicemail seeking comment.

With the courts on their side, City House is going to keep the two women and the baby in Frisco and likely accept a third woman soon. To live at the Frisco house, residents must be women between the ages of 16 to 21 and either go to school or have a job, Scichili says. "We're going to move forward with the program, but we're still focused on being great neighbors."

Send your story tips to the author, Amy Silverstein.

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mcclellandrachael

This whole HOA fight has been a shame. The two teens currently living in this home are trying to finish school, work, & make it...One is an honor student. These are just teens...and ones barely older...They will be supervised carefully. This is not a rehab or halfway house. As ridiculous as this HOA lawn rules are, no worries...all CityHouse properties are manicured beautifully. Difference is, there will be beautiful inhabitants on the inside of this house to match it's outside. Harsh, I know, but from the comments on other threads re: this situation residing in this neighborhood...I'm afraid it's true. I'm praying the civil suit will be dropped so no more money will have to go towards legal fees.

mcclellandrachael

This whole HOA fight has been a shame. As ridiculous as this HOA lawn rules are, no worries...all CityHouse properties are manicured beautifully. Difference is, there will be beautiful inhabitants on the inside of this house to match its outside. Harsh, I know, but from the comments on other threads re: this situation from some current residents in this neighborhood...I'm afraid it's true. I'm praying the civil suit will be dropped so no more money will have to go towards legal fees.

mcclellandrachael

SSDD

City House looked at some non-HOA neighborhoods in Frisco. Wonder why they decided instead to go into one of the oldest-established HOA areas in the city? Is it because the project's chief proponent is also married to the Mayor's campaign treasurer? (neither of whom live in PR2, btw)

devildog943

One 'custom' that never dies; NIMBY. Oh my, those poor people, I do support efforts to ease their plight, as long as those efforts are across town...

Montemalone topcommenter

They oughtta paint the house pink with purple trim, and get some of that awful red mulch and spread it curb to foundation.

Then they should find some dark skinned girls to live there.

That'll sure make for some fun hoa meetings.

I wonder if this is one of John Carona's hoas?

ChangingF8

What this proves is that there is at least one Judge out there that doesn't have big money in their pockets telling them how to rule...at least for now...lets see if they get re-elected.

effuimanaardvark

Just out of curiosity...those would be some quite affluent houses for such a purpose. I don't expect that they should live in squalor, but why not something more modest and NOT in an HOA unless the sponsors are going to handle all the home upkeep including the lawn service. If someone really expected 18 yo women to take care of a yard that isn't exactly their's, they are stupid.

hevyw8

That HOA should go find some ghetto to gentrify as revenge!

mavdog topcommenter

The fact of the matter is the use of the dwelling is consistent with what "single family" is defined as. A single residential unit. The term "single family" does not mean the residents need to be a "family" or be related in any way.

City House is not renting out units, nor are they using the house for nightly boarding. They have not altered the single family dwelling into a multi-family unit either.

The HOA Appears to object to the activities of City House because it will bring the "wrong people" into the neighborhood.

Tom434

Given the reputation with Texas HOAs for generally being jerks, I have to wonder why City House bought the property knowing they were also buying a lawsuit.

dingo

The judge expanded single-family to single with family 'for the time being'.

I wish he would have also expanded xeriscaping to include bare dirt under trees.

bmarvel topcommenter

Sometimes, as if by accident, justice gets done.

riconnel8

@mavdog My understanding of "single family unit" is that it doesn't have shared walls...that it's a stand alone unit. It's unfortunate when HOA CC&Rs don't explicitly spell out what they mean leaving others to scratch their head or hire an attorney when one feels a rule is being violated. We have 3,500 sq ft homes in my HOA that are lived in by several families and every member of the family owns a car. So that means it's not unusual for one home to have at least 5 cars to park and no one wants to use the garage.

With this story I feel they may be on to something with "providing shelter to homeless teens violates its covenants. 'No activity, whether for profit or not, shall be conducted which is not related to single-family residential purposes,"

I don't know when it became a sin for people to want to live in a nice neighborhood where they didn't have to worry about activities that devalued their homes. It's always been the American way to move up...to WORK a job, move up the ladder to a better life, a better situation. The same thing happened with public housing. The units were meant for single mothers and all of a sudden the little gangbanging boyfriends were there. Speaking of which? Why aren't these young women in public housing?

No one likes HOAs. My beef is that they don't enforce the rules that I thought would protect me when I bought in. Other people don't like that there are rules. Why they choose to buy in is beyond me. Anyway, I'll probably never buy in an HOA neighborhood again. The city has the same ordinances that they (don't) enforce and I don't have to pay extra to get nothing.