4 ms·

A lot of people think they have the right to micromanage your home and garden in order to maintain their own property values. That doesn't seem to be the case h

A lot of people think they have the right to micromanage your home and garden in order to maintain their own property values. That doesn't seem to be the case here though. I'd think few would object to living next to this beautiful garden. So what's left besides a hunger for regimentation, uniformity, control? What's the best available argument for stopping people from growing veg in the front yard? It might attract more pests. It might be a pain for the bureaucrats to have to distinguish between gardens and overgrown jungles, so easier to ban the lot. Nefarious activity could be hidden in the foliage. I guess there's always a plausible excuse for central control.

lutorm 7y ago
Some people just enjoy telling other people what to do.
ngngngng 7y ago
I think it's wrong to tell someone what they can do with land they own. If you want to decide what's done on land, buy it. This would also work as a solution to NIMBYism.
- nerdponx 7y ago
  You wouldn't want someone to run a foundry or a slaughterhouse in a residential neighborhood, unless you can work out some kind of tax (aka a fine) that could compensate for the externalities of noise, unsightliness, etc.
  - rags2riches 7y ago
    I've read the zoning in Japan mostly deals with nuisance levels. Stay within them and you are free to redevelop and repurpose to a large degree.
- closeparen 7y ago
  You can think of a municipal government as a group of people who decided to do that. They could used a co-op or LLC or whatever instead; it would change the paperwork but not the reality. If these kinds of rules are enforceable under any legal structure, people like them, and the people who don't like them still buy property encumbered by them, they will persist.
tbyehl 7y ago
Urban/suburban government tends to be... anti-self-sufficiency. Not so long ago a Florida town was making headlines for going after a resident who'd disconnected from the power grid. New wells and septic permits are often disallowed once a city starts offering water and sewer. Etc. I'm on the border of where my area turns more rural. There are a couple of properties with horses just outside my single street subdivision where I have ~1 1/2 acres. I can have chickens but I can't eat them. Can't have any other foul or livestock without at least twice as much land and a bunch of other restrictions, and I wouldn't be allowed to eat them, either. There's actually _no_ land zoned for general agricultural purposes in my county. None at all. In theory we have a zoning classification for a small farm / ranch type property that allows a smaller than 3ac lot and fewer restrictions on setbacks but I can't find any actual properties with that zoning in the county GIS. I am allowed to shoot a gun in my back yard tho. Just not at any of the delicious wild animals that pass thru.
- cortesoft 7y ago
  The wells thing is tricky, though. There is only one water table, and we all need to share it. Is it ok for one person to dig a well on their property, and say, pump millions of gallons out and sell it? It makes sense that we want to regulate how much water each person is allowed to extract.
  - helloindia 7y ago
    "Is it ok for one person to dig a well on their property, and say, pump millions of gallons out and sell it?" --> This is an actual problem in India. The govt made electricity FREE on farm lands. So, now people with farmland dug borewell, pump out water and sell them in tankers in the city, where many apartments don't have municipal water connection. Water is cheaper for apartments where there is low ground water, as cost of electicity consumption for farmers is nil.
- antpls 7y ago
  > I can have chickens but I can't eat them. How could they check that you don't eat your own chicken ? Didn't they mean that you can't sell the meat ?
scotty79 7y ago
That's the weirdest idea... that your property value is anyone's concern. In my country if neighbours don't make your property unlivable by emitting smells or noises or being source of insect ifestation and obey the laws they can do whatever they want and nobody cares how it affects price you could get for your house or land if you decided to sell it.

lutorm 7y ago

Some people just enjoy telling other people what to do.

ngngngng 7y ago

I think it's wrong to tell someone what they can do with land they own. If you want to decide what's done on land, buy it. This would also work as a solution to NIMBYism.

nerdponx 7y ago
You wouldn't want someone to run a foundry or a slaughterhouse in a residential neighborhood, unless you can work out some kind of tax (aka a fine) that could compensate for the externalities of noise, unsightliness, etc.
- rags2riches 7y ago
  I've read the zoning in Japan mostly deals with nuisance levels. Stay within them and you are free to redevelop and repurpose to a large degree.
closeparen 7y ago
You can think of a municipal government as a group of people who decided to do that. They could used a co-op or LLC or whatever instead; it would change the paperwork but not the reality. If these kinds of rules are enforceable under any legal structure, people like them, and the people who don't like them still buy property encumbered by them, they will persist.

tbyehl 7y ago

Urban/suburban government tends to be... anti-self-sufficiency. Not so long ago a Florida town was making headlines for going after a resident who'd disconnected from the power grid. New wells and septic permits are often disallowed once a city starts offering water and sewer. Etc. I'm on the border of where my area turns more rural. There are a couple of properties with horses just outside my single street subdivision where I have ~1 1/2 acres. I can have chickens but I can't eat them. Can't have any other foul or livestock without at least twice as much land and a bunch of other restrictions, and I wouldn't be allowed to eat them, either. There's actually _no_ land zoned for general agricultural purposes in my county. None at all. In theory we have a zoning classification for a small farm / ranch type property that allows a smaller than 3ac lot and fewer restrictions on setbacks but I can't find any actual properties with that zoning in the county GIS. I am allowed to shoot a gun in my back yard tho. Just not at any of the delicious wild animals that pass thru.

cortesoft 7y ago
The wells thing is tricky, though. There is only one water table, and we all need to share it. Is it ok for one person to dig a well on their property, and say, pump millions of gallons out and sell it? It makes sense that we want to regulate how much water each person is allowed to extract.
- helloindia 7y ago
  "Is it ok for one person to dig a well on their property, and say, pump millions of gallons out and sell it?" --> This is an actual problem in India. The govt made electricity FREE on farm lands. So, now people with farmland dug borewell, pump out water and sell them in tankers in the city, where many apartments don't have municipal water connection. Water is cheaper for apartments where there is low ground water, as cost of electicity consumption for farmers is nil.
antpls 7y ago
> I can have chickens but I can't eat them. How could they check that you don't eat your own chicken ? Didn't they mean that you can't sell the meat ?

scotty79 7y ago

That's the weirdest idea... that your property value is anyone's concern. In my country if neighbours don't make your property unlivable by emitting smells or noises or being source of insect ifestation and obey the laws they can do whatever they want and nobody cares how it affects price you could get for your house or land if you decided to sell it.