MESA, AZ — Mark and Corrine Ruiz say a backyard sunshade bought to provide relief from the summer heat has left them at odds with their homeowners association and facing city rules they did not expect.
The Park Centre Patio Homes homeowners association fined the Ruizes $50 after the couple installed the shade without filing paperwork the association requires, the Ruizes said.
The association referred the matter to the city of Mesa, which informed the couple the structure did not comply with local regulations and asked that it be reduced, leaving just three feet of shaded space, the Ruizes said.
“We just want a little shade,” Corrine Ruiz said. She added that the couple purchased the $500 sunshade and storage boxes after nearby shade trees were removed and that the shaded area is important for their dog, Pablo.
The Ruizes said the association preferred they use a triple umbrella instead. “We’re being singled out for a sunshade,” Corrine Ruiz said, noting other structures along the same row that appear to violate the same HOA rule.
“When I look down this row here, and there’s 14 structures, and it says clearly in the HOA that you can’t have a patio enclosure with windows, which there is over here on the north side.”
“All I want is a little shade and a little relief during these months,” Mark Ruiz said. “We’re not saying we want to keep it up all year long. We’re just saying we want to see a little bit of shelter.”
ABC15 reached out to Heywood Property Management three times and received no response. Zoning officials with the city of Mesa intend to meet with the Ruiz family to discuss this further.
Earlier this month, ABC15 reported a similar sunshade dispute in Chandler. State Rep. Stacy Travers sponsored legislation that would let homeowners’ decisions about sunshades override homeowners association agreements; Travers told ABC15 the measure is set to become state law Sept. 12. Until then, local rules remain in effect.
Corrine Ruiz said she hopes the new law will resolve the issue but added that if the dispute becomes protracted she will remove the shade rather than continue fighting.
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