Working in property management, I'll never live in one. Most people don't research the associations bylaws, or Ohio condo law before buying, but upon buying they sign this contract essentially agreeing to obey any rules decided by their elected board.
Happens all the time, if an agreement can't be reached, it will be a waste of resources to fight them in court, and since your only contract is with the owner, your recourse would be against him. Doesn't sound like he's a bad guy, or that you want anything from him.
My advice would be to have him request a hearing with the board, and hope that the rest of the board doesn't share the presidents opinion or is more reasonable.