Religious freedom signs spur spat in Ridgefield

Photo by Zachary Kaufman

Lisa Schmidt stands Wednesday evening amid the yard signs in the front yard of her Ridgefield home. Schmidts homeowners association has asked her to remove the signs from her yard that say stand up for religious freedom because the signs dont fit in with the associations rules that allow residents to post political signs during an election season.

Ridgefield resident Lisa Schmidt is passionate about her Catholic faith -- so passionate in fact that she staked signs in her yard encouraging others to "stand up for religious freedom."

And stand up is exactly what Schmidt did when she received a notice from her homeowners association asking her to remove the religious freedom signs, which had been set up alongside several yard signs expressing support for political candidates.

It all started with a neighbor's complaint about all the signs in Schmidt's yard.

The Mt. Vista Home Owners Association's handbook allows homeowners in the 430-home subdivision to place candidate signs in their yards within the 45 days leading up to an election, but the religious freedom signs did not fit the description of what's allowed, according to the association's notice that was sent to Schmidt.

Schmidt, a marketing professional, said she typically advises people that "emotion has no place in rational thinking," but said she's had trouble following her own advice in this particular situation.

"(The homeowners association is) overzealous to say the least," she said. "It's gone too far."

Getting put on notice by her homeowners

association prompted Schmidt to get a lawyer from the Liberty Council in Arlington, Va. The council is "dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family," according to its website. In a strongly worded letter sent to the Mt. Vista association, the Liberty Council asserts that Schmidt's signs are protected speech under a 2005 state law.

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Religious freedom signs spur spat in Ridgefield