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Woman Fined $200 by HOA for Brown Grass During Drought

By Andrew Lu | Last updated on

When the Green Valley Ranch Home Owner's Association calls itself "Green," they really mean it.

Lori Worthman was fined $200 by the HOA of the Denver subdivision for not keeping her grass green enough. Worthman reportedly had unsightly brown spots on her lawn.

The Colorado woman did have a valid excuse for the brown grass as the region grapples with one of its worst droughts of the year. But that was no excuse for Green Valley Ranch.

Worthman says she is dealing with the issue. She hired someone to fix her sprinkler, started watering more, and put new seed down. However, her efforts were to no avail given the Stage 1 drought and watering restrictions in the city, reports ABC.

For their part, the HOA says that this is not the first time they've talked to Worthman. Instead, they say they brought up the brown grass last year and gave her nine months to fix it. In fact, a spokesperson for the HOA said they would much rather have the woman fix her lawn than collect the $200.

After all, the effect of an unsightly lawn has a much greater impact on the neighboring properties than the fine, the spokesperson said. The HOA added that if Worthman gets her grass green, the fine will be waived, reports ABC.

Regardless of the effect on home values, you may think that the HOA is behaving ridiculously here. And you're probably right given the fact that they fined someone for brown grass during middle of a drought. However, no one forced Lori Worthman to move into a home covered by the HOA. And when she choose that particular subdivision, she agreed to abide by all the HOA rules and regulations, no matter how ridiculous.

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