Association requires grass and daughters are allergic to grass

By PATRICK FRASER, DAIANA ROCHA

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    PARKLAND, Florida (WSVN) — His daughters are allergic to grass. He wants to remove it and put down artificial turf. Sounds simple enough. But the association said not so fast so he turned to Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.

Heron Bay is a big community in Parkland. A nice place where Carlos wanted to raise his girls.

Carlos Arias: “Making sure that I can build a dream home for my, my kids.”

Lots of water in Heron Bay, lots of shrubbery and, unfortunately for Carlos’ two daughters, lots of grass.

Carlos Arias: “So she was playing and then all of a sudden she, she felt you know, you know, breathing issues and stuff like that.”

Doctors concluded Carlos’ daughters were highly allergic to all types of grass. Getting near it leaves marks on them.

But Carlos thought he had a solution.

Carlos Arias: “So basically, what I’ve been trying to do is put turf to eliminate, to eliminate the grass that is hurting my daughters.”

To protect the girls, Carlos tore out the grass and asked the board for permission to put in the artificial turf.

Patrick Fraser?: “They’ll let you do half.”

Carlos Arias: “That is correct.”

Patrick Fraser: “Why half? That’s not solving your problem.”

Carlos Arias: “I don’t know. I’m trying to figure it out.”

The board approved artificial turf here in what is considered the backyard.

But on what the board calls the side yard, Carlos was told he had replace the sod within 30 days.

Carlos Arias: “And the doctor actually said none of those grass can be done. You have to eliminate. So the only solution I had is synthetic grass.”

But Carlos has to have grass, meaning his girls can’t go on that side of the yard.

Carlos Arias: “She loves the pool. She loves to play with the dog outside. But she can’t. She can only go to this side of the pool.”

They say you can’t fight city hall.

Carlos is finding out you can’t fight your homeowners association either, even if your child’s health depends on it.

Carlos Arias: “What can I do? What options do I have? And they basically said the HOA has the power.”

Well Howard, what’s more important? A child’s health or a homeowner association’s rules?

Howard Finkelstein, 7News legal expert: “Generally, a child’s health and under the Fair Housing Act, a major allergy is a disability, meaning the girls do not have to live with the grass in the side yard. They have a right to a reasonable accommodating but the children can’t choose which accommodation, the board does.”

We contacted Nova Southeastern’s disability law clinic, where they told us, they would be willing to file a complaint in federal court on behalf of Carlos’ girls.

But it didn’t get that far.

I spoke to the attorney for Heron Bay.

Matthew Zifrony said they sympathize with the allergies Carlos’ children have but the uniform rules apply to everyone and the turf on the side of the house is a violation.

However, Matthew talked to the board and they agreed to amend their rules. As an accommodation,they will now allow Carlos to have rocks on the side instead of requiring grass.

Carlos Arias: “Thanks to you and your contacts, we were able to fight back.”

It all looks nice now. Turf blending into rocks and pavers, and of course, no grass anywhere.

Carlos Arias: “Everyone else was telling us, ‘You’re going to lose.’ That’s even lawyers. Thanks to you, I was able to install it legally.

Well, you can fight city hall and you can fight your board. Hopefully, they will be flexible like Heron Bay to avoid a lawsuit.

And what does the Fair Housing Act cover for people with disabilities? A lot.

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