Georgia Family Grew Vegetables to Feed Their Kids, Then Their HOA Began Fining Them $25 a Day
Since Sept. 28, a family in Acworth, Georgia, has been charged $25 every day for the same thing: a handful of steel troughs growing peppers, tomatoes and herbs in their front yard. Atlanta News First reported the bill was nearing $750 within a month. Alexandrea Duarte and Shawn Richardson say the vegetables help feed their kids. Their homeowners association calls the garden unsightly. The dispute traces back to a notice that arrived in June, only one sentence long.
A June Notice Asked the Couple to Remove Their Garden, Though the HOA Rulebook Never Mentions Gardens
The notice came from the association’s community manager and said the couple was violating the community’s governing documents. Duarte says some troughs had stood for nearly two years, so she guessed the problem was the cucumber trellises she added this year, which she took down after summer. The rulebook never mentions gardens. It gives the board discretion over anything it finds “obnoxious or unsightly to the eye.” Duarte decided to ask the board directly what she could change.
Duarte Offered to Paint Her Trellises Any Color the Board Chose, but the Garden Still Had to Go
“I asked what I could do,” Duarte said. She offered to paint the trellises any color the board chose and to add a brick or rock border. At an appeal meeting she recorded, the HOA president said the board had received four complaints from separate people. “The board has a discretion to decide that something is unkept and unsightly under our documents,” the president said. Duarte asked the board to spell out what was unsightly. The property manager answered.
Asked to Name the Problem, the HOA’s Hired Manager Replied: “All of It”
The manager works for Community Management Associates, which sided with the board and called the garden not “esthetically pleasing.” When Duarte pressed for specifics, the manager replied: “All of it.” The rules also require approval for exterior additions, yet Duarte says she has never seen anyone else ask for approval for lawn changes. The daily penalties began in late September, and the paperwork behind them left reporters with an unanswered question.
Fines Began Sept. 28 at $25 a Day, but Reporters Found No Published Schedule Setting That Amount
The HOA’s governing documents allow fines, but Atlanta News First Investigates could not find a published schedule setting a $25 daily amount. Charges started Sept. 28, 2026, and the balance was approaching $750 one week before Halloween. “I can’t afford to keep racking up fines, but I also don’t want to lose one of the ways I feed my family,” Duarte said. Moving the beds to the backyard sounds like an easy fix, and the family says it does not work.
Family Says the Backyard Gets Too Little Sun, and Some of the Kids Have Special Dietary Needs
Duarte says the backyard does not get enough sunlight for a garden. “We don’t have a lot of money,” she said, adding that the economy is really tight. Some of the couple’s kids have special dietary needs, and she says the garden teaches them to grow their own food. The family also turns the harvest into Christmas presents such as pepper jams and basil salts. Duarte held one more role tied to this neighborhood, and she no longer has it.
Board Removed Duarte as HOA Secretary After the Violation, Then Asked Her to Skip Meetings
Before the violation, Duarte served as the HOA’s secretary. The board removed her afterward and asked her to step away from community meetings until the garden issue is settled. The HOA president said no exception could be made because no other lawn in the neighborhood was as “unsightly” or “unkempt.” The bylaws let the board suspend voting rights after notice and a hearing, but do not say a board member can be barred from meetings over a violation.
Management Company Says Daily Fines Will Continue Until Every Steel Garden Bed Is Removed
On Oct. 2, the management company emailed Duarte that all galvanized steel garden beds had to be removed and that fines would continue. Duarte offered to remove the newer beds and paint or surround the older ones. The company said the daily charges would last until every bed was gone. The HOA and the company referred reporters to their attorney at Lazega & Johanson, who did not respond to questions. Richardson looked for another way to be heard.
A Halloween Banner Reading “Here Lies a Garden” Became the Family’s Public Protest
“You can’t have a sign in your yard, which is why the Halloween decoration to me made the most sense,” Richardson said. The banner outside the Acworth home reads like an epitaph, opening with the line “Here lies a garden gone for good.” Richardson also took the fight to Instagram, where, The Cool Down reported, he wrote that the garden had not been an issue in previous years. A new Georgia law was passed this year, but its timing matters.
Georgia’s New HOA Law Could Offer the Couple a Path Forward, but Not Until 2027
Georgia’s Property Owners’ Bill of Rights Act, signed May 12, lets homeowners challenge HOA actions through the Secretary of State, though most of it starts in January 2027. Duarte and Richardson have already filed a complaint, hoping for a review once it applies. In Florida, a Miami Shores couple facing $50 daily fines won after six years when lawmakers voided local garden bans. In Acworth, the $25 daily fines keep running.