A homeowner in Houston, Texas is in hot water with his Home Owner’s Association after parking a fully restored Sherman tank outside his home.
Tony Buzbee made a small fortune as an attorney and spent over $600,000 restoring an authentic WWII Sherman that landed at D-Day. To Buzbee, the tank is a piece of history worth preserving, but his neighbors say it shouldn’t be preserved on the street. “Took a year to get here but now it’s on River Oaks Boulevard,” Buzbee told local news station KHOU 11. “This particular tank landed at Normandy. It liberated Paris and ultimately went all the way to Berlin. There’s a lot of history here.”
Calling the homes along River Oaks Blvd. “wealthy” would be an understatement. While some neighbors think the tank is an eye-sore, there’s no ordnance prohibiting Buzbee from parking his tank in front of his house. “It’s not violating any ordinance, but for some people it makes the homeowners association uncomfortable,” said Buzbee.
The HOA sent Buzbee a complaint saying the tank “impedes traffic”, causes a “safety issue” and is causing “serious concerns for neighbors”.
“If you’re offended just lighten up, my goodness it isn’t hurting anyone,” said Buzbee. It turns out that most of the neighbors actually like the tank. “It’s great for America,” said homeowner Ken Douglas. “I wish it was permanent. I think it’s an asset and I think if you watch the cars come up and slow down, you say to yourself, ‘wow, that’s America.'”
Buzbee says he’s not worried about the complaints. “The problem is there is no action they can take,” said Buzbee. “They can ticket it or they can try to tow it, but the truth is unless I decide to move it, it’s not going anywhere.”
The attorney turned historian is planning to move the tank to his ranch in East Texas. Chances are he’ll probably delay that trip a few more weeks.
What do you think about the tank in the road?