San Antonio HOA Lawyer Trey Wilson wrote:
Randy Wallace of the Fox 26 Station reported that Meagan Schmidt of Katy, TX was told she must remove a sign from her yard that advertises The Journey Church. Schmidt, who said the church changed her life in a positive way, placed the sign in her yard to make others aware of the church and to show her support. She said she loves what the church does for her community. Her HOA, Highland Creek Village Homeowners Association, has threatened to have the court remove the sign.
Her HOA says commercial signs are prohibited in her community. The say the sign violates a bylaw about displaying commercial signs in the community's yards. Schmidt feels her rights to free speech and religious expression have been violated.
Ms. Schmidt told Fox 26 that she attended an HOA meeting to have a discussion about the sign, but the HOA leaders argued and requested she communicate through their attorneys.
She intends to leave the sign in her yard, resisting the HOA and fighting for her right to free speech. Although Ms. Schmidt is a renter in the community, the homeowner supports her right to keep the sign up. It has been reported that the homeowner has even paid fines imposed by the HOA over the sign.
Ms. Schmidt says her daughters have even been affected by the conflict. She said the HOA will not provide pool tags to use the community pool.
The HOA reported to Fox 26 that they have a history of issues with the homeowner renting to Ms. Schmidt, including failure to cut the grass, along with the current signage issue.
HOAs can & sometimes do have complete authority over what kinds of signs, if any, can legally be displayed in homeowner's yards. They can and do ban displays without violating the First Amendment if there are no state and local laws that say differently.
