Georgia HOA Blocks Construction of Paralyzed War Veteran’s Home

A local homeowners association has blocked the construction of a paralyzed war veteran’s home over concerns that it would reduce neighborhood property values.

According to the Augusta Chronicle and Raw Story, Homes for Our Troops, an organization that has built over 100 free homes for disabled vets, was going to build a 2,700 square foot house for Sean Gittens and his family in the Knob Hill subdivision of Evans, a suburb of Augusta. Gittens, a sergeant first class in the Army who served three tours of duty in Iraq, was paralyzed as a result of a brain aneurism and stroke suffered due to a battle-related traumatic brain injury.

But all that did not matter to the Knob Hill Property Owners Association. Association board member Tom Rogers told Raw Story that the 2,700 square foot home “just doesn’t fit” on a street with “5,000-square-foot homes all the way up and down the street.” But Raw Story conducted a little research and found that there are at least four other homes in the subdivision that are less than 3,000 square feet.

Despite months of negotiations with the Gittens family, the association rejected construction because it believed that building the home would lower neighboring property values.

Sharon Gittens, Sean’s wife, announced that the family would be leaving Knob Hill (they currently rent a home there) because they did not feel welcome there. She thanked neighbors who had shown support during their ordeal with the HOA, which, by the way, did not send a representative to her press conference.

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