‘Be governed accordingly’: HOA lawyer threatens homeowner with thousands in fines after she adds mulch to her flower beds

Atlanta News First investigative reporter Anastassia Olmos introduced her latest HOA story with a line that sounds almost silly until you hear what happened next: “Much ado about mulch.”

 In her report, a first-time homeowner in Marietta says she swapped pine straw for mulch in her flower beds and ended up facing thousands of dollars in fines, a lien on her home, and a sharply worded warning letter from the HOA’s lawyer that reads like it belongs in a courtroom drama.

The homeowner is Danielle Reyes, who told Olmos she moved from California to Georgia in July 2024 and worked hard to buy her first home. She said she never imagined mulch could trigger what she called “a complete nightmare.”

Olmos didn’t present it as a simple complaint about picky neighbors. She framed it as an example of how complicated HOA power can get when you combine vague rules, multiple middlemen, and a board that residents say applies standards unevenly.

And once lawyers get involved, the tone shifts fast.

“I Just Want It To Stop”

Olmos visited Reyes in the Glen Meadows community of Marietta, and the first thing viewers see is the homeowner’s exhaustion. Reyes told Olmos, “I just want it to stop,” describing the situation as a nightmare that won’t end.

In the report, Reyes said it’s “unbelievable” she’s being fined over mulch. But the money part is only one layer of it. She also described the feeling of being watched and targeted, like the HOA has become a constant presence hovering over her house.

Olmos used strong imagery from the neighborhood itself  -Reyes’ Halloween decorations, for example. Reyes joked to Olmos that she hoped the spooky display would scare off the HOA from taking action against her home. 

That detail works because it shows what people do when they feel cornered: they try humor, they try symbols, anything to feel like they still have control.

But then Olmos laid out what Reyes says is the real timeline of how “just mulch” turned into a financial and legal problem.

The Mulch That Started The Fire

Olmos reported that Reyes replaced pine straw with mulch in April. Soon after, Olmos said Ring camera video showed Reyes’ neighbor outside, appearing upset, while the HOA vice president instructed Reyes and the contractors on how to place the mulch.

Olmos also described cell phone video Reyes recorded, showing the neighbor, who Reyes says is the HOA board treasurer, sweeping away remnants of mulch from her side of a brick boundary.

That right there is where this stops feeling like a normal HOA notice and starts feeling personal. When you have board members physically involved at the edge of your yard, it no longer feels like “community standards.” It feels like a neighbor dispute with enforcement power attached to it.

Reyes told Olmos she believes this started after an argument over tree limbs. Reyes said she cut limbs from a neighbor’s tree that were leaning over her roof, and she believes the violations that followed were retaliation. In Olmos’ words, Reyes suspected “something else may be going on behind the scenes.”

And then the paperwork began.

Covenant Rules, ACC Forms, And A $25-Per-Day Hammer

Olmos reported that within weeks, Reyes received an HOA violation letter referencing community covenant rules. The key language, as Olmos explained it, is the clause saying no exterior construction, addition, or alteration shall be made without written approval from the architectural committee – often called the ACC.

The letter also claimed Reyes had already been notified twice and warned that she would be charged $25 a day. Reyes told Olmos that made no sense because she said she’d never received those earlier warnings.

This is where Olmos dug into the documents. She reported that ACC standards in the community state that a landscaping plan is not required to plant existing flower beds with pine straw, bark, or mulch, while other materials require ACC approval.

That detail matters because it gets to the heart of Reyes’ argument: she wasn’t building a deck or adding a shed. She was covering soil.

Olmos also reported that Reyes reached out to the HOA’s management company, Tolley Community Management, and the HOA board, and she recorded a phone call with the HOA vice president in June. In that call, Olmos said, the vice president suggested the treasurer acted without consulting the full board. The vice president described things being done improperly and said he believed the fines needed to be thrown out.

According to Olmos, those initial fines were thrown out. But Reyes was told a corrected violation would be coming anyway.

So even after admitting something was handled wrong, the machine kept moving.

And in HOA disputes, once the machine moves, it doesn’t stop easily.

Property Lines, Police, And A Dispute That Wouldn’t Stay Small

Olmos reported that Reyes hired a surveyor to stake her property lines, and her neighbor complained it was trespassing and called police. In Reyes’ video, Olmos said, the neighbor told her, “This is on my side of the property; you didn’t get permission for that.”

Olmos reported that officers told the neighbor the surveyor was within his legal duties and asked the neighbor to go back inside.

From the outside, that sounds like a basic property-line disagreement. But inside an HOA conflict, it becomes a power struggle: who controls what, who gets believed, and who gets punished.

Olmos also described going to homes in the community where liens had been filed in the past, trying to understand whether this was an isolated event or part of a bigger pattern. 

She reported that court documents showed liens exist in the community, and Reyes told her the prior homeowner of her house allegedly had HOA trouble too, to the point it delayed closing because debts had to be paid before the sale.

That’s the part that makes people sweat. A lien doesn’t just sting – it traps you. It can turn your house into something you can’t easily sell or refinance.

And then, according to Olmos, the “corrected” violation arrived.

Selective Enforcement, And The Problem With No Referee

Olmos reported that another homeowner told her she placed mulch without approval and never got a violation. Reyes called it “blatant selective enforcement,” and Olmos said several neighbors agreed they believe the HOA enforces rules selectively.

Olmos added an important legal point: she reported that HOA attorneys say selective enforcement is illegal in Georgia, but there’s no agency that holds HOAs accountable.

That’s a huge structural issue, and it explains why homeowners often feel helpless. Courts exist, sure, but lawsuits are expensive and risky, especially when an HOA can push attorney’s fees onto the homeowner if the documents allow it.

Olmos included attorney Matthew Tokajer of Tokajer Law, who told her HOAs have “the power of a little government,” and that there’s no higher authority to complain to unless you take them to court and risk paying their attorney’s fees too.

That is the quiet threat sitting behind almost every HOA dispute: you can fight, but fighting costs money – and sometimes the system is designed so you pay even more for trying.

“Be Governed Accordingly,” And The Letter That Changed The Tone

The most chilling moment in Olmos’ report is the cease-and-desist letter from the HOA attorney, Frank Olson. Olmos said Reyes was charged nearly $700 for that single letter.

Olmos quoted the warning language that told Reyes to cease further contact with board members or the property manager and warned of “immediate and severe financial detriment.”

Then came the line that stuck: “Be governed accordingly!”

That phrase hits like a threat because it’s written to sound official, like the homeowner is being put on notice by a higher power. 

And that’s exactly what people fear with HOAs: the sense that you’re dealing with an authority that can punish you financially, and you don’t have a simple way to appeal.

Olmos also reported that the letter included a harsh line suggesting that if Reyes didn’t like her neighbor being on the board and having a voice over her property, she “perhaps should have considered that before” escalating the dispute.

Whatever someone thinks of Reyes’ approach, it’s hard not to notice the tone. It reads less like conflict resolution and more like domination.

And this is where my opinion comes in: when a neighborhood dispute turns into legal intimidation, it stops being about keeping the place looking nice. It becomes about control. A community association should never sound like it’s trying to scare a resident into silence.

The Management Company’s $100 Email Threat

Olmos also reported something that didn’t even make it into the original story package cleanly, but she discussed it in the segment: the homeowner says the management company president, Mike Tolley of Tolley Community Management, warned that any email from Reyes moving forward would be billed at $100, and that he would ask the association to place it as a specific assessment against her account for harassment.

Olmos said she reviewed the covenants and Tolley’s contract, and she did not find anything stating homeowners can be fined simply for continuing to communicate with management.

Olmos emphasized a practical takeaway: homeowners need to know that if something isn’t in the covenants, it may not be enforceable as a major penalty, and if the board creates “rules,” they still have to fit within what the governing documents allow.

Still, the damage of a threat like that is obvious. Even if it’s not valid, it can make a person afraid to speak up at all.

And if you can’t speak to the board or the manager, your only “conversation” becomes a bill from the HOA lawyer.

Who Is Running This HOA Anyway?

Olmos added another layer that made the story feel even stranger: she reported that the HOA president is currently running for U.S. Congress in Chicago, Illinois, and she showed a campaign video posted around the same time as the police incident and the amended violation.

That doesn’t prove wrongdoing by itself. People run for office all the time.

But in the context of residents alleging selective enforcement and sloppy process, it raises an uncomfortable question: how focused can leadership be, and who is really steering decisions inside the HOA day to day?

Olmos also said Reyes was allegedly voted onto the board as secretary through write-in votes, but she says she was never officially onboarded. Olmos reported that in recorded calls, Reyes was told her neighbor claimed she had forfeited the position.

So Reyes is stuck in this weird position where she may have been elected but is treated like an outsider, while being fined and threatened as a resident.

It’s messy, and Olmos presented it as exactly that: too many hands, too many roles, too little transparency.

The Quiet Fear Behind “Just Move”

Near the end, Olmos raised the obvious question people always ask: if the homeowner feels under siege, why not just move?

Then she answered it. Olmos noted it’s hard to sell a house with a lien on it. Reyes also told her prior liens tied to the property delayed closing before.

That’s why HOA fights spiral. People aren’t just arguing about mulch. They’re arguing about whether they can keep their home, keep their finances stable, and live without constant fear of the next notice.

Olmos reported that as of now, the fight continues between the HOA lawyer and Reyes’ hired lawyer over dropping the fines, and the community is looking toward elections and possibly a new board.

Reyes told Olmos she doesn’t want to give up. She wants the “right thing” to happen.

And honestly, that’s what makes this story so relatable. Most people don’t want war with their neighbors. They want normal life. They want to plant flowers, put down mulch, and sleep at night without wondering if an email will turn into a $100 charge or a lien.

Olmos’ reporting makes one thing clear: when an HOA starts operating like a small government with no real referee, “just follow the rules” stops being simple advice. It becomes a gamble – because the rules can be interpreted, enforced, and weaponized by the people holding the clipboard.