There must have been more than one complaint filed by a neighbor with the city to draw attention to it. It seems to me there is not enough suitable live green plant material.
What she should worry about is rain that will slide all her dried bark and top soil off the front yard and onto the city owned sidwalks - yuck what a mess that will be. What a time consuming clean-up. Is she prepared to do that immediately?? The kids will all come and play in her mud. The other moms will just love that! The grass is the preferred material because it does absorb the rain and hold the soil in place. Lawns have been used for hundreds of years for just this reason.
It sounds like she ignored the warning and the ticket so she had to know the city would try to GET HER ATTENTION with a court case. Hmmm, maybe that's what this is all about - she wants attention. And she certainly sounds like she has a case of passive aggressiveness. Its not about growing organically, otherwise she would have a garden in the backyard too.
I am so taking a picture of our raised bed gardens tomorrow in our SIDE yard that, yes, you CAN in fact see from the road. *gasp* I think it's absolutely beautiful... Corn, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, broccoli, cabbage, green beans, radishes, carrots, potatoes, lettuce, and a border of marigolds (eggplants and kale go in later this season).
If someone else doesn't like it, well, I'm sure I can find something in their yard I don't like. The fact remains though, MY yard, THEIR yard. Our society has turned into the BIGGEST bunch of whiners.
I didn't read the whole article but was there a reason she couldn't do it in her backyard? I wouldn't want to go out my front and see that, seriously...it just looks messy to me.
And as far as HOA's go I love them, sort of. The point of them is to keep the neighborhood/subdivision but looking like a s*ithole. I for one wuld not want to live next to someone who has trash all over their yard or junky vehicles up on blocks in the driveway etc. At the same time, I don'tneed anyone telling me what color I can paint my house or asking if I can build a patio/deck. A friend lived in one that stated they can't park their cars in the driveway...have to be parked in the garage and other stupid stuff. You just have to get the rules before you buy a house in a subdivison that has HOA's.
So, on the one hand you're totally ok with someone telling others what they can/can't do as long as it's something you agree with - but on the other you don't like being told what YOU can't do?
As far as I was aware, when you buy a house, you buy the house and (usually) the property it is on. Obviously, you couldn't turn the property into a farm if it wasn't zoned for livestock, but you can erect most any fence you want, paint your house whatever you colour you want, etc because it is YOUR PROPERTY.
You should be able to do what you want on YOUR property, and that includes having a veggie garden in your front yard, if you so desire. Perhaps that's where the best sunlight is from? Or perhaps that's where the only hose outlet is? Who knows why she did it, she did and it's stupid she's being harassed about it.
Her house.
Her property.
Her choice.
The excuse from the city official is weak and asinine. Are they going to start making guidelines for how high your hedges have to be? How many feet wide the drive ways have to be? How many cobble stones on your front path? Stupid. For the sake of what?
Conformity. That's all it is - CONFORM. Be like the other mindless sheeple. It's ok. Just follow one another and do what you're told. No individual thinking for you!
What she should worry about is rain that will slide all her dried bark and top soil off the front yard and onto the city owned sidwalks - yuck what a mess that will be. What a time consuming clean-up. Is she prepared to do that immediately?? The kids will all come and play in her mud. The other moms will just love that! The grass is the preferred material because it does absorb the rain and hold the soil in place. Lawns have been used for hundreds of years for just this reason.
To clarify, her gardens are in raised beds, so this won't be an issue at all.
Anyways, personally I think veggie gardens are beautiful and don't quite understand how it isn't suitable green material. They're still plants, and in nice planters! Seems silly to me, but I live in an area where this would never be an issue...
Rainbowgirl, lol...calm down beforeyou blow a gasket, seriously. Actually, I don't believe you should be able to do what you want if you buy a house, your house. What a sight that would be if everyone decided to do whatever they wanted...junky cars in the driveway, trash in the yard, swimming pool in the front etc...HOAS are there for a reason and whether I agree with everything or not I abide by the rules because that is the price you pay for having a nice house in a nice neighborhood that is the whole point.
Still wouldn't want to live next door to that in the neighbors yard. Besides, SHE is the one not following the rules/ordinace/law. And that is the problem now days...too many people just do what they want regardless of laws etc.
Rainbowgirl, lol...calm down beforeyou blow a gasket, seriously. Actually, I don't believe you should be able to do what you want if you buy a house, your house. What a sight that would be if everyone decided to do whatever they wanted...junky cars in the driveway, trash in the yard, swimming pool in the front etc...HOAS are there for a reason and whether I agree with everything or not I abide by the rules because that is the price you pay for having a nice house in a nice neighborhood that is the whole point.
Still wouldn't want to live next door to that in the neighbors yard. Besides, SHE is the one not following the rules/ordinance/law. And that is the problem now days...too many people just do what they want regardless of laws etc.
FROUFROU as you previously mentioned...you did not read all the article or see the video...
I see no mention on an HOA in her neighborhood...as you can see by the houses by her she obviously doesn't have one...
as far as the city ordinace, as you can see in the video, there is nothing that says you cannot have a vegetable garden in her front yard...none...the wording is strictly up to interpertation.
She lives in America
Land of the free
The way I see it if someone doesn't like what their neighbor puts in their own yard ...as long as it is "legal" according to city/state codes....then move.
If you want all house similar then do as some do and buy in an HOA...good for them
My experience here in southern California is that most want out of theirs!
I'm not a fan of junky homes and yards but who am I to tell another how to "decorate" their home.....
I DIDN'T say she lives in a neighborhood that has a HOA...OMG! Why do you guys keep reading something into nothing...someone else mentioned HOAS and I was commenting on them, geez louise!
And...I too lived in CA...for almost 20 years so what. And apparently it WASN'T legal for the lady to have a garden in the front which is the issue and the topic. A garden is NOT decoration...totally different.
And America is not land of the free...convo over on my part.
What a sad, sad comment. You have just pinpointed the reason for the start of the current revolution going on. People are sick of it!
You know what? IF YOU DON'T LIKE TO LOOK AT IT, DON'T. A vegetable garden might not be decoration to you, but it's a VERY functional decoration to others. This is such a slippery slope, telling people what to do, and honestly, it's terrifying.
There is no HOA in this woman's case, nor is there a SPECIFIC ordinance stating this is not ok.
I don't know that all rules are about conformity. Some, yes, but some are about making sure that people who have properties can take care of them properly. For example... have you ever seen an episode of Hoarders? There comes a time when the way one person's yard and house are kept (or not kept) effect an entire neighborhood negatively. And yes, that is an extreme example.
At what point do we have the right to step in and say the way another person keeps their home needs to be changed? Is it when something is an eyesore? Or is it when it's dangerous or hazardous? It might affect someone daily if they wake up see a bright pink house every morning with a neon sign out front. Again, an extreme example. (Though I did once live near a pink house. Very seriously.)
Separately from this entire case (because she doesn't live an HOA area that I've seen), I don't think HOA's are necessarily bad. It just means that if you choose to purchase a property in an area that has an HOA you have to be respectful of those rules. And they nicely have that "line" drawn out for the whole community. Yes, it's about conformity. But, it's about conformity for a common neighborly purpose. To make sure that everyone in that one community lives at least respectfully next to each other. They're not right or wrong, they're only right or wrong for the individual (kind of like diets!). Gotta pick the right house and community for you. If those types of rules are not the kind we wish to live with, there are plenty of other non-HOA communities to choose from!
That all being said, this particular case doesn't even revolve around an HOA. She simply planted a veggie patch, and someone complained enough that the city must've stepped in to take a look. They determined she did something wrong, but I can't quite figure out what it is that she's done that's so awful as to involve the city. It's just a garden, as far as I can see. But, we all have different lines when it comes to what is an eyesore.
