Florida couple in dispute with Avalon Park HOA over decorative stones in yard

AVALON PARK, Fla. - The Avalon Park Property Owners's Association says the white rocks around Demeris and Jose Heinsen's home violate the neighborhood by-laws. The couple got a letter saying they have two weeks to remove the stones, which the couple said was part of more than $10,000 worth of landscaping work.

"To my amazement, we get a letter in the mail saying that we can't have the white rocks," Jose said.

Like most HOAs, the Heinsen’s requires property owners to get approval before making certain changes to the exterior of their home, including landscaping. The Heinsens admitted that they didn’t follow those rules.

Their neighborhood bans white landscaping rocks. The HOA’s management company said in a statement that "Avalon Park was developed with traditional design principles that take into consideration the regional context." The Heinsens said they always worked to keep their property in good shape.

"We take the initiative to give the house some curb appeal," Jose said, "we just had the house painted and everything without a letter from them, mind you. We were probably one of the last ones in the neighborhood to paint the house and never got a letter about the house looking bad because we were always on top of it with pressure washing."

The HOA told us other rock colors were acceptable, and they could work with homeowners on their landscaping designs. If nothing is done, the battle over the rocks may end up in court. The couple is going before the HOA board at their meeting next month to discuss how they can fix the situation.

"I could understand if the rocks were lime green, and we had glow-in-the-dark lights, and it looked obnoxious, like a Halloween decoration you know?" Jose asked, "I could understand that, you know? But come on."