An HOA for the Union County Holly Park neighborhood has demanded a long term property owner, Nick Crowley, remove the LGBTQ+ Pride flag that’s been flown on his Council Fire Circle home for the last 20 years.
Although the neighborhood’s homeowner policy states that only the American flag is allowed to be displayed, other neighbors told multiple media outlets they’ve flown various flags and have never been approached by the Holly Park Home Owners Association.
“I just want the same rights,’ Crowley told reporter Nikki Hauser, in an interview with the news department of Charlotte television station WBTV.
He also indicated he believes he’s being singled out after he received a violation notice dated September 22, from the Holly Park Home Owners Association, which offered this explanation for the citation: “Flag on property. Specifically a pride flag. Your home can have a small flag in the front bushes but not on the house itself.”
In coverage carried by local Charlotte station WCNC, attorney Gary Mauney said the HOA is within its rights to enforce removal of the flag, but it would have to require that all residents remove all flags other than the allowed American flag.
“I was very hurt,” Crowley said, explaining how the notice made him feel after more than 20 years in the house he had built with his partner. Nevertheless, Crowley has remained defiant even though he may face fines for failure to remove the flag. “I guess you have to pay to be gay,” he told WCNC’s Austin Walker.
Crowley’s neighbor Geral Sangandi indicated he had no problem with the flag and that there were multiple flags throughout the neighborhood, celebrating sports teams, cultural identities, U.S. organizations and more, which were seemingly being displayed without incident.
While Crowley confirms he was approached by the HOA 10 years ago over the same matter, he says he consulted an attorney at the time and believed the incident had been settled.
“I completely respect HOAs and I understand they are there to preserve the value and beauty of a community,” Crowley continued. At the same time, he stressed the importance of feeling at ease in the area he grew up, and in the Holly Park neighborhood, where he has lived since 2002.
Union County has been the scene of continued controversy over LGBTQ+ culture since area residents organized Union County Pride in 2022, as previously reported in Qnotes. Arguments surrounding book bans have swelled a-plenty and local libraries have been forbidden to take part in any Pride related events.
Cristal Robinson, one of the organizers of Union County Pride, points to one particular individual who seems to have taken aim at Union county’s LGBTQ+ community: Mark Watson, the current city manager for the neighboring Union County Town of Monroe and the former manager for Union County.
As county manager, Watson successfully forced Union County libraries to remove any displays related to LGBTQ+ Pride month and put in place policies that allow county authorities to prevent LGBTQ+ interest groups from using any library facilities for any types of meetings or gatherings. Watson reportedly attempted to use his influence to prevent Union County Pride 2023 from taking place in Belk Tonawanda Park, but was unsuccessful. Organizers expect Watson to continue with his efforts against future LGBTQ+ Pride and related events in Union County.
While Robinson previously pointed out that the sizable county of Union was politically divided, with Monroe being in the more conservative area and Indian Trail in a more progressive region, it would appear anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment is spreading into unexpected parts of the county.
For his part, Crowley seems shocked that this kind of intolerance could be found in Indian Trail’s Holly Park neighborhood. “I was hurt,” he said during the interview with Hauser. “Everybody else has the privilege of hanging their flag. I want the same.”
