With my old house that was also under a HOA, yes technically you were only allowed to paint your exterior with one of the color schemes in the community. And if you wanted to change your color scheme (like I wanted to), yes, you did need to submit the color scheme you wanted to the hoa board along with a letter with all your neighbors signing saying they know about your change (they don’t have to agree to it, but at least they would know about the plan and could file grievances)…

That said, my HOA was really loose, and they never really enforced it. I know a bunch of houses that just ended up painting whatever the hell they wanted and no one in the neigbhorhood cared (or if they did, they didnt try to pull a Karen and give anyone a hard time)

Sounds to me you have an anal retentive neighbor that happens to also be on the hoa board. I’m sorry. What is the name of your HOA if you don’t mind me asking?