Can an Association Restrict Newspaper Delivery Options?
Question: A unit owner who wants the newspaper delivered apparently gave the newspaper company permission to place a very ugly blue PVC box on an already rusted metal post at the entrance to our community. The owner did not seek the board’s approval and if he had, we would have rejected the request. Our mailboxes do not accommodate delivery of newspapers and there isn't an easily installed or reasonably priced combination mail/newspaper system that we could provide for all units. Can we require this owner to remove his box, even though this will prohibit delivery of his newspaper?
Answer: Yes. That’s according to Dan Polvere, a partner in the Massachusetts law firm McCullough, Stievater and Polvere, who notes: The box is installed in a common area, the board controls the use of common areas, the owner did not obtain permission to install the box and the board can direct the owner to remove it. While the owner has a first amendment right to read the newspaper, Polvere notes, there is no Constitutional right to have it delivered.
That said, while saying no is almost always easier for a board, saying yes is often preferable. In this case, you might want to survey community residents to see if there are others who would also like to have their papers delivered.
You said the board hasn’t found any “reasonably priced” alternatives to the ugly box the offending owner has stuck on a post. How do you know? Is that conclusion based on research or on the assumption that owners will object to any “non-essential” expenditure of association funds? You might find that a majority of owners want home delivery and would favor the installation of the mail/newspaper boxes the board has deemed too costly, even if that means a slight increase in their monthly dues. Perhaps there are other mailbox solutions you haven’t discovered, or other locations in the community where the “ugly box” that concerns you would be less visible and less offensive than it is at the main entrance.
Here’s another thought. Has it occurred to you that had the “rusted metal post” you mentioned not been sitting at the entrance, the owner couldn’t have put a box on top of it? Whatever the board decides to do about mailboxes, it should probably get rid of that post.
It is certainly possible the board’s inquiries will end where you began with the discussion – with a decision to remove the owner’s box. But it’s worth spending a little more time asking questions and exploring alternatives if there’s a chance the board will find a way to say yes, possibly to several owners, instead of no to this one.
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