ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orlando mother says her neighborhood homeowners’ association targeted her 5-year-old son after he swung on a tree near the community bus stop.
Ariel Barner said she recently received a letter from an attorney representing the University Pines Property Owners Association, citing her child for “children swinging from tree branches and throwing rocks.”
“They are hyper in the mornings. It’s a bunch of kids out here. Everyone is happy. They are running. They have their backpacks and their folders,” Barner said. “I just never thought my son’s joy would be seen as a target or a discomfort.”
Barner said the letter labeled her son, Owen, a “public nuisance and annoyance to the neighborhood.” She was also told to pay more than $380 to cover the attorney’s fees associated with drafting the letter.
“She wrote him up as a public nuisance and annoyance to the neighborhood,” Barner said. “The money she wants me to pay, the $382.16, I believe, is the attorney’s fees to draft a letter to me.”
Barner said she received no prior warning from the association before the letter arrived. Upset by the situation, she went door-to-door notifying her neighbors and later shared her story on TikTok, where she has more than 1 million followers. Her post quickly drew tens of thousands of responses from people around the world.
“When I posted about it, I only did that because when I reached out to the numbers available, no one got back to me,” she said. “To list him as a public nuisance and an annoyance to the neighborhood was disheartening as a mother. I never thought someone would try to label my child like that and then say that it was the community’s decision.”
News 6 reached out to the attorney listed on the letter. In a statement, the attorney said, “There has never been any threat of litigation against Ms. Barner concerning her child climbing or swinging from the magnolia tree.”
It goes on to say, “The letter was issued only after attempts by the Association to resolve the matter informally were unsuccessful.”
Barner disputes that claim, saying no one ever spoke with her or gave her a warning. She said she is now consulting with several attorneys to determine her next steps.