COLUMN: Barbara Holland

Q. I started feeding the mourning doves, while chasing away the pigeons. I received a warning letter from the management company stating that I was damaging the common area, which is absolutely false.

Next, they sent me a hearing date letter. I sent a letter in response stating that I was only feeding doves and hummingbirds.

I received another letter stating that the hearing was held and that it had been observed that I had stopped feeding the pigeons. I was warned that if I continued, it would be a health and safety issue.

They refused to give me a copy of the covenants, telling me that I would have to leave my disabled mother and drive to the office to read them, or to pay for making copies. My neighbor loaned me her copy, and there is not one word about health or safety.

I have stopped feeding the doves, but I am incensed that they are trying to get me for feeding my hummingbirds. The president told me that he feeds them also. Is this legal to single me out?

I have contacted a wildlife organization that advised me as to what kind of seed pigeons do not like, but I am afraid to feed the birds for fear that I will incur the board's wrath and a $55 fine. How do I fight this injustice?

A. It is conceivable that your governing documents do not include the words health, welfare or safety, but there is probably a section pertaining to use restrictions or to what constitutes a nuisance.

Health and safety issues are part of NRS 116, which is a state law that governs all associations. There are other local health ordinances. Many governing documents have generic language that mandates that homeowners abide by these laws or be in violation.

As for obtaining a copy of the governing documents, yes, the association may charge you for the cost of copying and mailing them. Your association could offer to mail them to you so you would not have to drive to get them.

It is understandable why the association has taken such a strong stand -- there is an increasing pigeon problem locally. The diseases they carry and the damage they cause to common areas, such as roofs, are quite real and very costly to correct.

You may have found seeds that pigeons do not like but the fact remains that the pigeons will come to the property because they see what looks like food on the ground.

As for the hummingbirds, if the president is feeding them, the association cannot find you in violation for doing the same. The law requires that rules be equally enforced.

Questions for Barbara Holland may be sent to Association Q. & A., P.O. Box 7440, Las Vegas, NV 89125. Her fax number is 385-3759.

Barbara Holland, Certified Property Manager, is president and co-owner of H&L Realty and Management Co. She is a member of the Institute of Real Estate Management and is the author of two books on the subject. Holland is a past president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.

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