November 06, 2006

By Stephen Dean (View author info)
Copyright Click2Houston.com

A family is out thousands of dollars as they fight to save their home in court. "I feel it's wrong," homeowner Mark Spiva said. "Any time you have to take a helicopter to look in somebody's back yard, I think it's wrong."

That's right. The helicopter was working for his HOA (Clear Creek Forest Property Owners Association) Now, his HOA is suing him over an outside shed and the horses, using the helicopter to gather its evidence. "I've tried to play by the rules, tried to do exactly what they wanted me to do, and they keep coming back on this stuff," Spiva said.

He said it's payback for his winning a battle years ago, embarrassing board members in front of all his neighbors. His HOA, the Clear Creek Forest Property Owners Association, sent him this violation notice with pictures of his back yard from above. He said the chopper was flying just above the treetops, blowing shingles up on his roof and terrifying his wife and daughter. Now, the HOA is suing him, saying neighbors' property values are being affected by those horses, as well as the metal roof on his shed, and a gate on his driveway.

So, KPRC Local 2 Investigates put Newschopper2 in the air to investigate the HOA behind these high-flying tactics, but we stayed at a safe altitude. The HOA president's house has all sorts of issues that could yield violation notices for anyone else -- boarded-up windows, a tractor parked so long that weeds are growing around it, a pickup that doesn't look it's going anywhere, and a metal-roof shed hidden behind a bigger shed. The same sort of thing the Spivas are now being sued for. ...If you have a news tip for KPRC NBC TV Local 2 Investigates, drop them an e-mail or call their tipline at (713) 223-TIPS (8477).

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