spring texas – Brandi Watts is Spring’s only certified early childhood resource instructor. She said teaching young children how to protect themselves from drowning is her passion.
She started her business in March 2023 out of a backyard pool in the Imperial Oaks neighborhood. She said the property owners association officially approved her business in July 2023.
In September 2023, she was notified by the POA that a neighbor had filed a noise complaint regarding screaming children. The next month, Watts said she received a cease and desist letter.
“I don’t understand it,” Watts said. “I work on the leading causes of death in children.”
The neighbor did not want to appear on camera, but sent KPRC 2 audio recordings of the children coming from outside and inside the home. She said the noise is affecting her family’s quality of life.
“As you can see, I actually wanted to put this board up because I couldn’t be in my backyard and I felt like I was going to get videotaped,” Watts said.
Watts said she conducts 10-minute sessions with one student at a time. On average, there are about 6 students per hour.
“My working hours in 2023 were 9-10 a.m. and 3-6 p.m., and I always worked during normal business hours,” she said.
Watts said the POA sent her a list of demands, including the need for a glass enclosure to muffle the noise. It could cost her six figures.
She added that the POA told her that the board would vote to decide whether to file a lawsuit against her. Ms. Watts has started her own lawyer, and she said she plans to fight her case if faced with it.
“I’m not going to stop saving lives,” she said.
A neighbor sent KPRC 2 the following statement.
As neighbors, it is not our intention to shut down anyone’s business. However, our his POA bylaws clearly state that he is not allowed to operate any type of business in his backyard, especially since this particular business is always noisy in nature. It’s unfair to expect your neighbors to constantly hear loud cries from dawn to dusk every day of the year so they can choose to run a commercial enterprise in their gardens. You can hear it not only from the garden but also from the living room and bedroom inside the house. I don’t expect them to shut down the company. Rather, it hopes to find a more suitable commercial location, as many other ISR companies have done.
We didn’t know anything about POA suing them and frankly it doesn’t concern us. If they choose to ignore the bylaws, the POA is well within their rights to do so, but that is not our preference. We just want to be able to live in our house and use our backyard without hearing constant screaming all day long.
KPRC 2 reached out to POA, who said the board did not want to comment on the matter.
KPRC Click2Houston Copyright 2024 – All Rights Reserved.
