HOA Nut House

WYFF News 4

Retiree Deems Decision By Homeowners Association Unfair

ANDERSON, S.C. -- A neighborhood battle over a garden box may end up in an upstate South Carolina courtroom.

Willie Williams is on full disability after a kidney transplant, heart attack and two strokes. His neighbors in the Crooked Creek subdivision in Chesnee have said they deem a planter Williams had a landscaper build an eyesore.

WYFF News 4's Mandy Gaither reported Williams faces a $100 fine for every month he doesn't take the planter down.

"I've always wanted a garden," said Williams, who is retired.

Williams said he wanted to plant vegetables but that the homeowners association had a different idea.

"They rejected it. They said it didn't meet community standards," Williams said.

According to the community's rules, anyone building any structure in the neighborhood has to first seek approval. Williams didn't do that, saying he didn't realize a planter applied to that rule, Gaither reported.

"I'm not going to let someone tell me what I can do with a piece of property I bought and I own," Williams said.

WYFF News 4 tried to talk to neighbors who complained, but no one wanted to comment on camera. A representative from the homeowners association told WYFF News 4 by phone that it is willing to work with Williams if he put the planter closer to his home or incorporate it into his landscaping.

Williams said it's not fair and compared his yard to his neighbors.

"This one's got the rusty gazebo, this one has Fisher Price in his back yard," Williams said, referencing neighbors' properties. "They'll see me in this box before I back down."

The battle over the box may have to be fought in a courtroom as both sides have hired attorneys.

The homeowners association representative also told WYFF News 4 that Williams can get the association's decision overturned if two-thirds of his neighbors back him.

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