Association Says House Is Longer Than It Should Be

It's been more than a year since Joe Woodard lost his wife, Janise, and her infant son, Josiah, when a Cessna 310 owned by NASCAR crashed into their home in Sanford, FL while attempting an emergency landing.

Shortly after the disaster on July 10, 2007, Woodard's attorney said the home would be rebuilt... but mainly to help the neighborhood heal, and that Woodard would likely not return to live in it.

Sometime since then, Woodard apparently had a change of plans. He's having the house rebuilt, but with a few changes, so it won't remind him so much of his loved ones who'll never walk through the door again.

Woodard told Orlando TV station WESH-2, "This is a new step in a new direction. This is going to give me a new start."

Now, Woodard has been put on notice that he faces litigation over the changes from his homeowners association. The HOA says Woodard's new home extends a few feet farther out in back than is allowed under neighborhood guidelines, and has the wrong shingles on its roof.

WESH reports calls to the association from both Woodard and the station's news department have not been answered or returned.

Woodard, who last year chose to settle with NASCAR out-of-court rather than sue, says he's willing to make some changes to address the concerns of the homeowners association... but he doesn't want his new home to resemble his old one, which seems to be the HOA's intent.

"If I build it exactly the same, that means that every time I walk in... I'll be reliving and going through a lot of the same things that I already went through when my wife was here," he said. "Life is testing my faith. Everything I go through day to day is testing my faith."

One of Woodard's neighbors, Jerry Martin, says the issues cited by the HOA don't bother him at all... and puts the whole affair in perspective.

"I've seen far worse things than a house sticking out in the back farther than it should be," Martin told WKMG-6.

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