He was told he couldn’t fly the SC flag. Could a new law bring on HOA regulations?
As Bob Keller put it, he “was one of those damn Yankees” who loved the Grand Strand.
He was born and raised in eastern Connecticut and would travel down to Horry County weekly for a round of golf.
Finally, four years ago, he and his wife made the move.
They left Connecticut for Little River, ultimately settling in a newly-built home in a new subdivision overseen by a homeowners association.
Keller, now 66, took a job in sales at a local radio station.
“In hindsight, I should have done it 10 to 15 years earlier,” Keller said. “It’s been a great experience. We love our lifestyle down here. We love the people.”
There was one problem, though.
Keller wanted to fly the South Carolina state flag — that dark-blue banner featuring a palmetto tree and a gorget, a piece of armor dating to the Middle Ages that protected a soldier’s neck. (No, it’s not a crescent moon.)
But his HOA said ”no.”
In fact, his HOA fined him for flying the flag, saying it violated neighborhood rules.
Emails shared with The Sun News showed the HOA issuing a warning in November and a $50 fine in December.
“I said to them, ‘Look, I’m not flying anything crazy. It’s not ‘Let’s go Brandon’ or something crazy like that,’” Keller said. “They said, ‘Nope, it’s not allowed and your neighbors agree.’”
A call to Waccamaw Management, which oversees Keller’s HOA, went unanswered late Friday.
So, Keller called attorney Reese Boyd who later called state state Rep. William Bailey (R-North Myrtle Beach).
That resulted in new legislation that recently won approval in the State House, and is now winding its way through the Senate.
If Gov. Henry McMaster signs the bill, it would become explicitly legal to fly the South Carolina state flag on your property — even if your HOA says you can’t.
Though the legislation itself may be narrow, its passage would be a feat.
Lawmakers have struggled for years to legislate HOAs, and lobbyists for developers and HOA management companies have a strong presence in Columbia.
“HOAs, I imagine in every state, (are) such a modgepoge, Bailey said. “Really, they’re left on their own to make up their own rules. There’s no consistency.”
Some hope the passage of the flag bill could open the door to more HOA legislation.
“We’ve got to do a lot in the future to get some training and address issues with these HOAs,” Bailey said.
Flag legislation and prospects for future rules
The legislation, as passed by House lawmakers, allows all residents — whether they rent or own a home — to fly the state flag at their house.
It’s headed for debate in the Senate, and Bailey said he’s hopeful it will pass.
But that doesn’t mean the legislation didn’t face obstacles.
Namely, lobbyists.
“(Boyd) was telling me there were lobbyists involved with the HOAs,” Keller said. “I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? People are lobbying over the right to fly the South Carolina flag? Really? You can’t get your head around it.”
Bailey confirmed that lobbyists had gotten involved in the flag legislation.
He said those same lobbyists make it difficult for lawmakers to pass legislation related to HOAs.
He said it’s “a rarity” that the flag legislation moved as swiftly as it did.
“You have several lobbyists who are strictly working with the HOAs and you seldom find two HOAs that are on the same page,” Bailey said, explaining why such regulation is so difficult.
“It’s a beast that nobody wants to try to attack because they don’t know how.”
Several years ago, lawmakers managed to pass moderate oversights of HOAs.
That legislation created a system within with Department of Consumer Affairs where residents could log their complaints with the state.
Consumer Affairs, though, isn’t empowered to do very much about those complaints.
In some cases, agency employees can mediate between a homeowner and HOA, but in other cases they can’t.
“That doesn’t really solve the problem,” Bailey said. “That just gives you somewhere to voice your complaints.”
Consumer Affairs releases HOA complaint data annually and Horry County ranks No. 1 for complaints every year.
That could mean its up to Horry County lawmakers to spearhead any future reforms.
Bailey agreed that there’s still “a lot of work to be done.”
In the meantime, Keller could soon be allowed to fly the banner of his adopted home state.
He said he’s on board with the idea of more oversight of HOAs.
“My takeaway on the whole process is that a lot of people moving down here don’t understand what HOAs are and what you sign away when you move in,” he said.
But the proposed legislation, he added, “resorted my faith in government to a degree.”
Boyd fells the same way.
“It’s been kind of a funny thing,” he said. “ It reminds me of that ‘School House Rock’ thing we all watched as kids - ‘I’m just a bill.’”
“It’s refreshing.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2022 at 3:49 PM.
