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A Las Vegas military veteran is taking a stand against the homeowners association (HOA) after he was reportedly cited for displaying vintage fire hydrants related to his military service and decades-long firefighting career.
Brent Saba – a fire inspector and firefighter – said his HOA recently ordered him to remove three non-operational fire hydrants placed in front of his home. The association claimed that the items violated neighborhood rules for creating front and side gardens, according to a local newspaper KSNV News 3 Las Vegas.
Saba said the fire hydrants, including one he brought back from Iraq during a deployment, have been on display since he moved to the neighborhood more than a year ago without any prior issues.
“This fire hydrant here, I brought this fire hydrant from Iraq,” Saba said. “I served in Iraq for about a year, a year and a half or so. So that one there was a special piece.”
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Brent Saba – a fire inspector and firefighter – said his HOA recently ordered him to remove three non-operational fire hydrants placed in front of his home. (Brent Saba)
He added that many of his neighbors support the display, according to KSNV News 3.
“How are they going to tell the guy with over 30 years in the fire service to throw away your hydrants? I mean, it’s not like it’s a mess,” Saba said. “It’s not like it’s damaging anything. In fact, my neighbors are all fine with it.”
After receiving the summons, Saba said the HOA instructed him to file an application to keep the fire hydrants.
Despite written support from neighbors, Saba’s request was rejected. He said he later received additional communications suggesting further approval from the homeowner might be necessary, KSNV News 3 reported.
“I’m a fire inspector and if I write down a violation on a building, imagine if I wrote something that didn’t even apply to what it wrote down,” he said. “I’d look like a fool.”
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This undated photo shows one of three vintage fire hydrants on display outside the Las Vegas home of military veteran and firefighter Brent Saba.
“I mean this HOA in this neighborhood has gotten out of hand,” Saba said. “…The HOA thought they could bully and manipulate me.”
The dispute has prompted Saba to reconsider its future in the area, according to KSNV News 3.
“It was just the last straw for me,” he said. “And I thought, ‘I’m not going down without a fight.’ I hope that the situation in this neighborhood will actually improve.”
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There is a document on a desk with the text ‘Association of Owners’. (iStock / iStock)
Attorney Chad Cummings of Cummings & Cummings Law told Realtor.com that these types of disputes are not uncommon.
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“HOA boards misapply their own governing documents all the time, and this case is a textbook example,” Cummings said. “The board cited a rule about ‘storage items’ to regulate what constitutes decorative exhibits. That distinction is important.”
