Getting along with homeowners

Developers of new urban (NU) communities — founders — are often disappointed and rather surprised to find out that they are not universally beloved by homeowners. In fact, founders may have more trouble with homeowners, and homeowners’ associations (HOAs), than conventional developers, for the following reasons:
1. In conventional development, the developer gets in and gets out. NU development takes years or even decades, and even when the residential portion is built out, the founder is likely to retain an ongoing interest in the town center.
2. Most founders are, of necessity, control freaks. They have a vision, they are personally invested in their projects — many are individuals or family members, not big corporations — and they persevere. Otherwise, many of these projects would never survive the uphill battle to get built. But the qualities that make them good founders make them poor HOA participants. Homeowners have their own ideas and want to make their own decisions, some of which will be different from the decisions the founder would make. Unless the founder is willing to step back and let go, this leads to conflict.
3. In communities where homes are custom-built, rather than built by production

...