Surprise homeowner battles HOA over backyard Tiki hut

Chuck Harman built a Tiki hut in his back yard to enjoy the relaxing mountain vistas and live a Hakuna Matata kind of life.

But the Surprise resident says his experience with the Greer Ranch South Homeowners Association, which has sued him to remove the hut, have been just the opposite. Harman built the 8-foot-tall hut on a raised platform in January 2006. He concedes he made a mistake in not getting a permit or permission to do so first, but he said he has tried to work with his HOA, only to be threatened and sued.

He said he was sent a letter in April 2006 telling him his structure was not approved and needed to be torn down. Harman refused, hoping to make his case at an appeal hearing. He was willing to accept the $500 in fines the HOA placed on him, but Harman said he never received a hearing, was never fined and was sued by the HOA.

“I spent about $10,000 building this, and I should be allowed due process,” Harman said. “The answer is ‘(You’re) not entitled to anything, if we want you to tear it down, you have to.’ If I don’t take the time to fight this, when does their power stop? The only crime I made was not getting permission.”

For their part, the Greer Ranch South Homeowners Association isn’t saying much, since the case is set for trial soon.

The association released a statement through its attorney, Roger Wood of Tempe-based Carpenter Hazlewood.

“The Association has filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court to seek a court order for injunctive relief requiring the defendant to remove or otherwise alter an unapproved structure,” the statement said. “The Association’s lawsuit seeks an order requiring Mr. Harman to cure this violation of the recorded, contractual deed restrictions. The Association has made attempts to resolve this dispute prior to litigation and continues to do so in good faith.”

Harman said he has taken pictures of other structures in the neighborhood he claims are even more glaringly in violation of the HOA’s Covenants Codes and Restrictions than his hut.

He has planted palm trees around it so its view is obstructed.

As a joke, he sent the HOA pictures of a neighbor’s backyard pagoda it had already approved, only to get a letter back saying they wouldn’t approve it.

“They are being discriminatory,” Harman said. “There are a number of buildings out there that are more visible than mine. I never believed HOAs were this ridiculous until I went through this.”

Surprise Vice Mayor Gary “Doc” Sullivan said he didn’t think it was fair Harman was being singled out when it was clear there were other people in the neighborhood who had similar approved structures in their back yards. He plans to talk with members of the HOA and reason with them.

“What happens is people get elected to a board and they get on a power trip when they should be a good neighbor,” Sullivan said. “You have to look at some of these things with common sense. Don’t think like a property manager or a board member, think like a neighbor.”

Harman has told his neighbors about his struggle with the HOA, and he said not one of them objected to his Tiki hut. Many of them even signed a document stating they had no problems with it.

“It doesn’t bother me at all,” neighbor Erik Lohse said. “You don’t even notice it, especially with the trees up there.”

Next door neighbor Amalia Murga also supports Harman.

“It’s actually quite nice looking,” Murga said. “So many neighborhoods have stuff like this and it’s not a problem. It’s stupid they are making such a big deal out of it.”

Harman expects his case to go to trial in September. The HOA is now asking for $29,500 in legal fees, which he says he will not pay. He expects the trial to cost even more and says he has lost money on the house, which he hasn’t been able to sell because of the legal troubles.

“If the board isn’t going to be viable to the homeowners, they should be personally responsible for the legal fees,” Harman said. “Where do you draw the line between making everybody the same and allowing people individuality? I think when you take that individuality away you lose community.”