Man parks Sherman tank in swank neighborhood, and HOA declares war
This grizzled combat veteran came ashore at Normandy and fought across Europe, helping defeat Nazi Germany. But in retirement, it's facing the worst kind of homefront warfare — nastygrams from a homeowners association.
Houston attorney Tony Buzbee bought this beautifully restored, fully functional M4 Sherman tank overseas last year. (Such a museum piece costs $600,000 in case you're in the market.) Now he's parking it on the street outside his expensive house in the ritzy River Oaks neighborhood.
"Took a year to get here, but now it's on River Oaks Boulevard," Buzbee told KHOU-TV. "This particular tank landed at Normandy. It liberated Paris and ultimately went all the way to Berlin. There's a lot of history here."
"It's great for America," agrees one of his neighbors, Ken Douglas.
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But the River Oaks Property Owners association is considerably less enthusiastic. It sent Buzbee a letter saying the tank impedes traffic, is a safety issue, and has neighbors concerned.
KHOU couldn't find any concerned neighbors, just a lot of admirers, not to mention kids who were climbing aboard.
Of course, what we have here is an attorney vs. a homeowners association, and that, citizens, is the American way. The attorney points out that "there is no action they can take. They can ticket it or they can try to tow it, but the truth is unless I decide to move it, it's not going anywhere."
He kids about the towing. It weighs a minimum of 33 tons.
The truth is, Buzbee says he's moving it to his ranch soon. Meanwhile, he probably could've parked it in his driveway rather than on the street, though perhaps he was concerned about crushing some pavers. But maybe he just wanted to show it off, a desire anybody but a homeowners association could understand.
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