Yeah, f**k HOAs.
Homeowner's associations aren't just in the suburbs. Redeveloped or historic urban areas use them, too.
It would be fun watching BRTD go through the traps to obtain a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Commission in Hudson, which demands architectural elevations, and has an architect on it with knowledge of historic architecture, and so forth. About half of Hudson is in historic districts. However, the one thing they don't monitor is color choices. So if BRTD wants to go psychedelic purple, he can! 
I realize that saying this out loud probably brands me as an awful neoliberal or something... but I don't much like what "historic preservation" has turned into in our urban areas, either. That is: a series of NIMBY tripwires by which privileged homeowners can mess with their neighbors and use artificial scarcity to keep their home values high and undesirables away. I mean, I'm more than fine with landmarking individual important buildings, but neighborhood designations are kinda bullish*t.
