She turned and walked away before I could respond, her tennis shoes crunching on the heat-baked concrete. I watched her stop at the Henderson house two doors down, gesturing animatedly while Carol Henderson nodded along.
I closed the door and went back inside, shaking my head. In my 15 years as an electrical inspector, I'd seen a lot of dangerous and illegal electrical work, but I'd never had someone demand I create a hazardous situation myself.
An hour later, my doorbell rang again. This time it was Patricia with two other board members: Robert Chen, the treasurer, and Margaret Walsh, the secretary. They formed a semicircle on my porch like some kind of suburban inquisition.
"Daniel," Patricia began, holding up her phone. "Your hour is up, and I don't see any extension cords running to the homes that need assistance."
Robert looked uncomfortable. He was a quiet accountant in his mid-40s who usually just went along with whatever Patricia said. Margaret, on the other hand, was fully committed to the cause, nodding vigorously at everything Patricia said.
"That's correct," I replied. "And there won't be any extension cords, for the reasons I already explained."
"Then we're here to formally notify you of your violation," Margaret said, pulling out a printed form. "$500 per day until you comply. Additionally, we're implementing a special assessment of $1,000 for your failure to cooperate during a community emergency."
I took the form and read it over. The legal language was impressive for something they'd clearly just made up. "This is completely unenforceable. You're citing HOA codes that don't exist."
Patricia's face was turning redder, and not just from the heat. "We are the board. We interpret the bylaws, and we have the authority to create emergency provisions as needed."
"Actually, according to Article 7, Section 3 of our governing documents, any new provisions require a 30-day notice period and a vote by the full membership. You can't just make up rules on the spot."
"He's lawyering us," Margaret hissed to Patricia.
"I'm not lawyering you. I'm just someone who actually read the documents before signing them. Look, the power will probably be back in a few hours. Everyone will survive without air conditioning for one afternoon. People in Phoenix lived here long before air conditioning existed."