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I moved to a home that's part of a small (47 homes) HOA.

Here, the visitor restrictions are aimed at commercial visitors. You're not supposed to run a business like a massage parlor or barbershop out of your home.

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Hah, "small" -- my HOA consists of two condo buildings, seven units total. We basically have to beg three people to fill out the required three board positions every year, because no one (myself included) wants to do it.

A friend of mine is a member of a little HOA that consists only of himself and his downstairs neighbor.

So much pointless overhead...

This is what you have to do to fix a roof or replace a hot water heater. Gen-X has observed what happens when an HOA is dominated by, for example, descendants of the original landowner. It takes someone with organizational skills to help the public good by joining a toxic HOA with the intent of shining sunlight on it.

Cities restrict where businesses are allowed to operate all the time; this doesn’t seem to be a counter-example.

Cities also have to adhere to cottage laws - it's perfectly legal and protected to run a small business out of your home. Unless the HOA says no. This isn't a power the city has.

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