An Arizona man is fighting more than $600 in fines from his homeowners association for leaving a cooler with a “free cold water” sign in his driveway. The man, David Martin, who lives near Phoenix, told USA Today that he first began offering a cool drink to passersby in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Along with the cooler, Martin set out a bowl of water for dogs and a sign reminding those passing his residence to stay hydrated – good advice in an Arizona desert town where Friday’s high temperature was expected to reach 104 degrees.
When the trouble began
His neighborhood’s homeowners group, the Canyon Trailer Unit 4 West Community Association, first cited Martin about two years after he began sharing water bottles from the driveway cooler. The May 2022 warning, according to a document reviewed by USA Today, describes his violation as “other – store items out of view.”
Since that day, Martin has been involved in a battle with the HOA and a management company identified as FirstService Residential.
His fines have added up to $650 – so far.
An impractical request
Martin said the HOA wants him to place the cooler closer to his porch. That’s impractical, he argues.
“If you have something on your porch, are you going to walk off the sidewalk, up a driveway, around a porch toward a front door, wondering if that cooler is for you?” he said. “Nobody’s going to do that.”
The dispute was elevated in November 2024 when the city of Goodyear issued Martin a notice for a “cooler stacked on crate stored in [the] front driveway.” The city asked Martin to remove all items from public view.
The city’s response
The city says it received a report on Martin’s water cooler through an online system that allows locals to report concerns and potential code violations.
“It’s the city’s obligation to follow up on reports, and during the inspection a cooler without a sign was in the driveway,” a city spokesperson told USA Today. “As part of our standard procedure, an educational notice regarding outdoor storage … was issued to inform the resident. No fines were involved. Once the city was made aware of the cooler’s purpose, the case was closed.”
Property management company responds
The HOA has not commented publicly on the dispute.
However, a spokesperson for FirstPerson Residential told USA Today that it doesn’t establish community rules.
“We carry out policies and directives of the elected board of directors in accordance with the governing documents,” the spokesperson stated. “We understand there are passionate views about this matter and are committed to supporting a resolution that aligns with both the association’s rules and the values of residents.”
Three demands
After receiving the first citation from the HOA in 2022, Martin requested a letter of apology, a public apology and a pallet of water, according to USA Today.
The HOA told him the citation was sent by mistake and his file had been amended. The issue seemed settled until 2024, when the HOA sent Martin another warning requesting that he move the cooler. When he brought up the apology he received in 2022, the HOA told him that it was issued by mistake.
The fines began again in April 2024, Martin said. The fines started at $25 and grew by the month. His friends got in touch with local media and made the headlines, which got the fines to stop in August 2024, he told USA Today.
“We did something funny with that cooler,” Martin said. “They specifically listed a blue, gray, IGLOO-style cooler. We painted it matte black, put it in the middle of our graveyard cemetery for Halloween, and we had smoke coming out of it.”
Martin took down the “free water” sign afterwards, but has left the cooler out.
Earlier this year, he got another message from an HOA representative, who told him he should consider “an architectural request for (a) more aesthetically pleasing storage option.”
Martin has asked that the prior fines be rescinded, but the HOA refused. He also received a citation that noted signage as the problem, which had changed from earlier warnings that stated violations for failing to store items out of view.
Support of the neighborhood
Since his back-and-forth with the HOA began, Martin estimates that he has received at least 200 cases of water from people hoping to support his hydration campaign.
Some of his neighbors have joined the cause, putting out coolers of their own and even bringing up the issue in community meetings, according to Martin.
Fighting back
Martin came up with another way to fight back. He launched a petition drive that collected more than 100 signatures, calling for the removal of three HOA board members involved in the matter.
The HOA put the matter to a vote of community residents on Wednesday, July 9. Of the 209 votes, 190 favored removing the board members.
It wasn’t enough.
“We need a total of 211,” Martin said, “but because of the back-and-forth that the HOA and property management company were doing, they said that the emailed ballots were not valid.”
Lawyers have told him he’d have a good case if he took the HOA to court, Martin said. But in a dispute over $650 in fees, he decided to spend no additional money on lawyers’ fees.
