Weird ?: Are subdivision parks/playgrounds private?

I’ve done the same thing. I don’t see that as an HOA thing. Maybe they’ve had some vandalism issues?

The police officer following you would make me uncomfortable. I agree he was probably running your plates. Maybe simply because you were parked there where there aren’t normally cars parked when the pool is closed? If the subdivision is that huge, could it be possible that people who live there would also drive to be closer to the walking trails?

I think you are fine to be walking there. It is still a public place, in my opinion.

Im on our neighborhood HOA, and yes the playground is considered private in that we own it and maintain it, not the county.

But we welcome kids to come play there and would never ask someone if they “belonged” there, I think it’s good for kids from the neighboring areas to come play with kids in our area so that they will meet each other before going to public school, and mommies can connect too, would never ever ask someone not to use our playground unless they were destroying it!

Some playgrounds are posted private and that is for liability reasons. The master insurance policy for the neighborhoods require it more than it’s there to be exclusionary, this limits HOA liability in the event of an injury. Ours is on the walking trail between our subdivision and the Safeway nearby and it would be ridiculous to think someone with kids would not use it if they are walking by, there is no fence or gate. The trails are used by a lot of people.

Our lot is also posted private but that is because it allows us to tow if someone dumps their car there and abandons it. Happens. Some neighborhoods patrol parking pretty heavily but our lot is often used for walkers because we are on a small lake (big pond) and we have nice trails. No one pays any mind unless people are disruptive in some way.

In our HOA subdivision, we have to have a daily permit to park at the pool - even in the off-season - and you have to get the permit from the pool house, so there is basically No Parking in the off-season, even though it doesn’t say that on the signs (just that it is permit parking only). I think that is to discourage people from using it as extra parking spaces (we have a lot of townhouses).

So, if you were parked in our pool parking lot, I could see being “checked out” by the police, if you weren’t simply towed (which would definitely happen in swim season). They also might have had break-ins in the subdivision and the police were called to check out an unknown car parked at the closed pool whose occupant was walking the grounds.

Our grounds - which include basketball courts, tennis courts, playgrounds and the pool - are for residents only, even though the pool is the only thing gated. No one enforces the residents only part of the courts and playgrounds though.

I don’t care who uses our grounds, as long there isn’t vandalism, so it wouldn’t bother me to have you walking around.

I do want to add that whether or not a place has a gate or a fence or a sign doesn’t determine whether one is trespassing. You don’t need a sign or a fence or a gate around your property to make it so that someone who comes into your yard or house uninvited is considered to be trespassing. Common areas in subdivisions with HOAs around here are part of the subdivision and paid for by the residents. They aren’t public spaces maintained by the county/city/state. If you don’t live there, and you aren’t there as an invited guest, technically you are trespassing. Now, most places don’t care and wouldn’t enforce it unless there was vandalism, littering, or a noise issue - but, non-residents don’t get to view it simply as Public Space, like the county-owned parks, for their free use.

If there are no signs then it is ok. But, parking at the pool does signal you don't "belong" in the neighborhood.  Parking on a street looks more like you belong either as a home owner, renter or guest of someone living there. 

I’m guessing a neighbor called the police because there was a car parked at a closed pool. It’s more likely they thought suspicious behavior than because you didn’t live in the neighborhood. He didn’t pull you over right?

I think that you should continue to use them, unless told not to by a resident.  As long as you aren’t pushing people off the trails as you pass them (LOL!), or causing damage, littering, etc., I am fairly certain no one really minds. I think the police following you was more of a neighborhood watch type of thing. 

I agree with that unless you can see on your city's website that those are public parks. Our subdivision has several community/HOA paid for parks, pavilions, and play areas and a fenced dog park. We also have a very small public park within our subdivision but it really doesn't have anything that the public would make a special trip here for.

I bet that they have been having problems with door to door solicitors or something like that and they were just watching to make sure that you weren't knocking on doors or stealing packages.

I don’t know about our park, but we do have an HOA, and our pools are for residents only. They are gated, though, and you need a neighborhood code to get in. The parks are not this way.

I'd probably keep using the walking trail until someone told me not to do so. I might try and find someplace less conspicuous to park than the pool parking lot.

You could always call your city's parks and recreation department if you really wanted to confirm the trails are public property.

I can go to the parks and recreation page of my city website and see a list of all city maintained parks and trails.

Do you have something like that you can check?

If it’s maintained by the HOA instead of the city, I don’t think it’s open for just anyone to use.

if i wasn't doing anything wrong, i wouldn't be nervous. 

if it was private and i didn't know/no signs were posted and the police officer said something to me... i would say "thanks for the head's up officer! i had no idea but now i do".  

as i type that, i realize what a privilege it is that i would *not* worry or feel unsafe if police were following me... 

Our neighborhood has HOA owned parks, trails and pools. They are not owned by city or county. If something happens we pay to have it repaired. If someone were to be injured and sue it would be our HOA that is sued and our HOA insurance would have to pay any judgements. If our HOA insurance did not cover the full amount of the judgement each homeowner would be assessed an additional amount to cover what our insurance could not pay. So yes, it could become a problem if outsiders use the neighborhood amenities and become injured somehow or damaged our property. We do have signs posted that homeowners must have their HOA tags with them in order to use the amenities and we have "use at your own risk and responsibility" signs posted EVERYWHERE.

As for outsiders using the sidewalks, parks and trails - I don't have a problem with it as long as visitors keep the areas clean and pick up after themselves or their pets.  We've had lots of issues these past two years where our trails and playgrounds have been vandalized but it is more likely resident kids than outsiders.  We seriously have some entitled residents who don't deserve to live in an HOA neighborhood - its like they went to closing and didn't realize they signed documents understanding they were moving into an HOA managed neighborhood and want to paint their house pink and orange and park their 5th wheel RV in the front yard year-round.

Our city counts our HOA parks and trails as part of their overall greenspace plan. It is irritating because they city will not build any additional parks or trails in our area because of their mindset of "we can use XXX neighborhood's amenities for everyone!" The city does not pay anything to help support our privately owned parks and trails. Our HOA went to a city council meeting late last year and had them remove our neighborhood off their park map since they didn't want to contribute. The city's advertising of our parks has also caused HUGE liability issues with non-residents using our dog park, too.

As for sidewalks - in our city sidewalks are considered public property but the homeowner has to maintain them. So if a sidewalk develops a huge crack the homeowner has to spring for the repair (in the thousands of dollars) and is liable for any potential injuries a walker may experience. However there could be a legal angle here - in Texas sidewalks are considered part of the street (per our state transportation code) and since the city owns and maintains the streets it is possible the courts could hold a city accountable to own and maintain the sidewalks if pursued.

Otherwise - be careful. You never know if someone living in a HOA is going to be a bitty about something and chase you off and away. They could have the legal right to do so.