BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP -- About 145 home owners in Bloomfield Township's Vernon Estates subdivision have agreed to pay up to $43,500 for a lawyer to force Sharon Kreindler to change the color of her purple house.
The dispute, which has turned into a battle between a woman with a favorite color and a home owners association's right to police a community's appearance, began last fall when Kreindler and her husband, Alfred, had their house painted </B>deep </B></B></B></B></I></I>purple.
Sharon Kreindler was surprised when neighbors complained. "We're not trying to antagonize anybody," she said.
But neighbors definitely are miffed. They say they'll sue the Kreindlers if that's what it takes to make them change the house color.
The home owners association is collecting $300 per family, said association president Michael Fishman. Only a few have refused to go along, he said.
The Kreindlers were having their house renovated last fall and decided on purple paint to finish it off. Alfred Kreindler's Birmingham doctor's office is decorated in purple. Sharon drives a purple Lincoln Town Car.
Klein said she's not opposed to purple, per se. But the </B>shade </B></B></B></B></I></I>Sharon Kreindler chose for her house is what grinds neighbor Catherine Klein.
"It's embarrassing," Klein said.
But Sharon Kreindler says her purple is historically correct. It dates to the 1890s, when purple in various shades was used on many Victorian houses.
Fishman said the subdivision has deed restrictions which allow it to determine exterior colors. But the Kreindlers' lawyer, Don Cutler, said the association has no color rule.
Bloomfield Township officials notified the Kreindlers last fall that they had violated the blight ordinance because their purple house could depress property values, but the trustees are still mulling what, if any, role they should play in the case, said Township Attorney Mark Roberts.
Fishman said he offered to have the association pay for repainting the house.
The Kreindlers have declined, saying that the association shouldn't pick the color of their home
http://web.archive.org/web/19991007020142/www.freep.com/news/locoak/npurple7.htm
The dispute, which has turned into a battle between a woman with a favorite color and a home owners association's right to police a community's appearance, began last fall when Kreindler and her husband, Alfred, had their house painted </B>deep </B></B></B></B></I></I>purple.
Sharon Kreindler was surprised when neighbors complained. "We're not trying to antagonize anybody," she said.
But neighbors definitely are miffed. They say they'll sue the Kreindlers if that's what it takes to make them change the house color.
The home owners association is collecting $300 per family, said association president Michael Fishman. Only a few have refused to go along, he said.
The Kreindlers were having their house renovated last fall and decided on purple paint to finish it off. Alfred Kreindler's Birmingham doctor's office is decorated in purple. Sharon drives a purple Lincoln Town Car.
Klein said she's not opposed to purple, per se. But the </B>shade </B></B></B></B></I></I>Sharon Kreindler chose for her house is what grinds neighbor Catherine Klein.
"It's embarrassing," Klein said.
But Sharon Kreindler says her purple is historically correct. It dates to the 1890s, when purple in various shades was used on many Victorian houses.
Fishman said the subdivision has deed restrictions which allow it to determine exterior colors. But the Kreindlers' lawyer, Don Cutler, said the association has no color rule.
Bloomfield Township officials notified the Kreindlers last fall that they had violated the blight ordinance because their purple house could depress property values, but the trustees are still mulling what, if any, role they should play in the case, said Township Attorney Mark Roberts.
Fishman said he offered to have the association pay for repainting the house.
The Kreindlers have declined, saying that the association shouldn't pick the color of their home
http://web.archive.org/web/19991007020142/www.freep.com/news/locoak/npurple7.htm