Shannon Glover, 51, was driven to move to the United States from England nearly 30 years ago after falling in love with an integral part of its pop culture.
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The Top Gun superfan adored Tom Cruise and his character so much that she made her way across the pond and set up a life in America, reported the Del Mar Times.
Although she set up shop in Carmel Valley, California, Glover never fully denounced her British origins; her loyalty has landed the homeowner in hot water with her homeowner’s association.
Glover is a naturalized US citizen but holds a dual-type citizenship with England as well.
In a show of homecountry pride, Glover decided to fly the British national flag outside of her home after 12 years of living in her community.
She put it up after seeing her neighbors proudly fly the American Flag.
But recently, she received notice that it was not allowed and she would have to remove the banner.
“Only the American flag is permitted,” the Notice of Violation states clearly.
The notice came in two months after she first put up the banner.
“Trilogy Homeowners Association was established for the purpose of maintaining the common areas of the development as well as enforcing the governing documents to preserve property values and community morale,” the August 19 letter from the board of directors said.
“On a recent walk thru it was noted that you have a British flag that needs to be removed.”
She refused to comply with the HOA’s orders and now wants to further demonstrate her pride.
“The flag is absolutely not coming down,” she said.
The homeowner was shocked that such a restriction would be imposed in a nation that values freedom.
“Are you kidding me? I thought this was America. I thought we had a First Amendment,” she said.
She does not intend to back down from the HOA, stating that she plans to show more pride.
“I want a bigger one.”
Local attorney, Kelly Richardson, who specializes in HOA-related law said that Glover has the law on her side.
“I think Civil Code Section 4710 is pretty clear,” he said.
“You can’t have a rule that says you can only fly the American flag.”
The Davis-Stirling Act, which posts regulations for HOAs, states that the bodies cannot ban “non-commercial” signs, flags or banners; only allowing for prohibition if they pose a threat to public health or safety, or unless the display violates some local, state or federal law.
Glover’s neighbors have all kind words about the homeowner, supporting her wish to fly the British Flag.
“She’s an American citizen, and she’s being patriotic to her heritage,” said Tom Polito, who lives next door.
“I think that’s great.”
He believes the HOA’s citation to be “crazy, idiotic.”
Now people think everything has to be American. It’s ‘Go home if you’re not American.’”
Shannon Glover
Attorney Richardson further explained Glover’s position.
“I just put on a webinar last week about enforcing rules and talked about this,” she said.
“You can’t enforce rules that aren’t written out.”
Glover’s association bylaws do not clearly outline standards for flags, not that the law allows them to.
But the issue is that many homeowners and HOA community members are ill-informed.
“The two sides often don’t have the same information about rights and responsibilities,” he said, hinting that HOA hold the information.
If people took the time to read and understand the Davis-Stirling Act, he said, “these things would plummet by 90 percent.”
Glover personally fears that her HOA’s nitpicking might be a result of “anti-immigrant” sentiments, as she has received several violation notices over menial issues.
One citation alleges that she leaves her garage door open for too long when it should only be open long enough for a car to park.
Another citation was issued after a neighbor allegedly complained about the volume of her air conditioner, a unit that came with the house when she purchased it.
“I don’t know for sure, but I have to think it’s a reflection of the current anti-immigrant sentiments,” Glover explained.
“As an immigrant myself, I’ve never felt that before. But now people think everything has to be American. It’s ‘Go home if you’re not American.’”
Glover’s HOA has yet to respond request for comment by the U.S. Sun.