TAMPA — Who knew a tiny pool could cause such a major headache?
Leo and Maidolys Aguado saved for years to build a pool for their six and twelve-year-old daughters. However, they made a big mistake by hiring the contractor before asking the Whispering Oaks Home Owners Association for permission for the project last August.
Under construction behind their home, the 12x24 feet pool is tiny. But it's big enough to launch a legal battle between the Aguados and their HOA.
Trouble started when the HOA denied the couple’s first application in October, two months after they hired a contractor to start building. The HOA said the pool violated a county ordinance. But Hillsborough County approved the pool and had issued a permit.
The HOA then issued something of their own: a cease-and-desist order that put a stop to the construction. The order cited a community rule requiring pools to be built at least 13 feet from the property line.
Construction was well underway by the time the order arrived in mid-October.
“I never thought that my pool in any way, shape, or form would violate or put my community in any kind of danger or anything like that," Leo said.
The Aguados said they were never notified of the 13-foot setback, a rule making it impossible for them to add a pool to their small yard.
Determined to win an appeal, the couple hired an attorney and tracked down an engineer familiar with the subdivision. That engineer wrote that "...in (his) professional opinion, there is no technical reason to object to the design and permits that were issued for the pool construction."
The Aguados have spent nearly $10,000 in legal fees, but they say the emotional toll the fight has taken on their family is much higher.
The HOA's attorney, Tiffany Love, explained the HOA added the 13-foot setback in 2007 because of neighborhood flooding issues. And they don't plan to grant an exemption.
Love said the HOA would consider a change in the setback rules for Aguado's part of the neighborhood if they could provide proof that no other properties could be adversely affected.
Attorney Mark Lippman, who specializes in HOA cases but is not related to this one, said boards are often reluctant to grant exemptions even if the rules are unreasonable.
He said what happened is a prime example of what can happen when residents start a home improvement project without approval.
The case is now headed to mediation. The couple has hired an engineer to study their area of the community and write a report. If the two sides don't come to an agreement the family will have to rip out their pool or could face a lawsuit.
