4 ms·

Yeah, no. Absolutely not. Some jerk in my historic district reported my home to the City of Phoenix because among battling various other renovation challenges a

Yeah, no. Absolutely not. Some jerk in my historic district reported my home to the City of Phoenix because among battling various other renovation challenges and taking care of family, our grass had grown past city ordinance height. You know what the punitive fine was? $1,000/day. I don't even live in an HOA, thank heavens.

crazygringo 4y ago
If you choose to live in a historic district, you know very well you're going to have to follow a lot of rules about appearance, including grass height. You knew that going into it, or should have. I don't know why you're calling someone a jerk for reporting it. The whole point of historic districts is to maintain an incredibly strict appearance. If you don't want to follow the rules, don't live there.
- andrewmcwatters 4y ago
  City ordinances apply to the whole city, not just historic districts. You're thinking of HOAs. What you're describing doesn't actually apply to historic districts. They're historic for their architectural significance and variety compared to modern construction and design practices, not an attempt to keep up on street-side appearances. I think it would have been nice to offer to help with lawn issues, because they happen to everyone. Our lawn mower was stolen at the time. Threatening someone with a $1,000/day punitive fine isn't being a good neighbor. Thinking it's OK to do that is morally deprived.
  - kortilla 4y ago
    The city ordinances can have different rules for historic preservation districts. Many restrict fences just to ensure people don’t block off the view. Given your statement confusing that with HOAs, I would recommend reading up on the Phoenix rules for historic preservation districts to make sure there aren’t any other lurking differences you assumed weren’t there.
    - andrewmcwatters 4y ago
      Guidelines for the districts are specifically oriented towards architecture and preservation of the design of the structures. Nothing to do with grass. It's just mean. That's all there is to it. It's uncivil.
1letterunixname 4y ago
How do you get overgrown lawn in sun-scorched Phoenix without using absurd quantities of water in a desert that's running out of water?
- kadoban 4y ago
  Depends on the time of year. For maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of the year, most of winter and anywhere near monsoon season, your grass will grow regardless of if you water it or not.
  - 1letterunixname 4y ago
    Phoenix gets 1.50" or 38 mm of rain per year. Kuwait City gets double that. It's Phoenix: it's hot as hell and the insolation is crazy such that it's optimal for solar deployments. If you don't water your grass daily when it's over 90 F / 32 C, then it will die. That's a shit ton of water for a decoration. https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/104331~2460~8004~2228~1705/Comparison-of-the-Average-Weather-in-Kuwait-City-Phoenix-Austin-Las-Vegas-and-Los-Angeles https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/104331~2460~8004~2228~170...
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - kadoban 4y ago
      > If you don't water your grass daily when it's over 90 F / 32 C, then it will die. This is just completely untrue. Many places water ~biweekly in the summer and the grass is green as hell. Also, in monsoon season it rains enough on its own that you don't have to bother. I also made sure to specify that it's mostly the winter and monsoon season where it'll grow on its own. Winter it does _not_ get over 90.
- kortilla 4y ago
  If op is in Phoenix proper (which is implied by the historic district), the water comes from the salt river, which now has all 3 reservoirs full upstream of the city. Additionally, the Sonoran desert is a monsoonal one, so it receives a deluge of water during particular times of the year. There is a massive amount of water waste in Arizona, but it’s in agriculture, not lawns.

crazygringo 4y ago

If you choose to live in a historic district, you know very well you're going to have to follow a lot of rules about appearance, including grass height. You knew that going into it, or should have. I don't know why you're calling someone a jerk for reporting it. The whole point of historic districts is to maintain an incredibly strict appearance. If you don't want to follow the rules, don't live there.

andrewmcwatters 4y ago
City ordinances apply to the whole city, not just historic districts. You're thinking of HOAs. What you're describing doesn't actually apply to historic districts. They're historic for their architectural significance and variety compared to modern construction and design practices, not an attempt to keep up on street-side appearances. I think it would have been nice to offer to help with lawn issues, because they happen to everyone. Our lawn mower was stolen at the time. Threatening someone with a $1,000/day punitive fine isn't being a good neighbor. Thinking it's OK to do that is morally deprived.
- kortilla 4y ago
  The city ordinances can have different rules for historic preservation districts. Many restrict fences just to ensure people don’t block off the view. Given your statement confusing that with HOAs, I would recommend reading up on the Phoenix rules for historic preservation districts to make sure there aren’t any other lurking differences you assumed weren’t there.
  - andrewmcwatters 4y ago
    Guidelines for the districts are specifically oriented towards architecture and preservation of the design of the structures. Nothing to do with grass. It's just mean. That's all there is to it. It's uncivil.

1letterunixname 4y ago

How do you get overgrown lawn in sun-scorched Phoenix without using absurd quantities of water in a desert that's running out of water?

kadoban 4y ago
Depends on the time of year. For maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of the year, most of winter and anywhere near monsoon season, your grass will grow regardless of if you water it or not.
- 1letterunixname 4y ago
  Phoenix gets 1.50" or 38 mm of rain per year. Kuwait City gets double that. It's Phoenix: it's hot as hell and the insolation is crazy such that it's optimal for solar deployments. If you don't water your grass daily when it's over 90 F / 32 C, then it will die. That's a shit ton of water for a decoration. https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/104331~2460~8004~2228~1705/Comparison-of-the-Average-Weather-in-Kuwait-City-Phoenix-Austin-Las-Vegas-and-Los-Angeles https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/104331~2460~8004~2228~170...
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - kadoban 4y ago
    > If you don't water your grass daily when it's over 90 F / 32 C, then it will die. This is just completely untrue. Many places water ~biweekly in the summer and the grass is green as hell. Also, in monsoon season it rains enough on its own that you don't have to bother. I also made sure to specify that it's mostly the winter and monsoon season where it'll grow on its own. Winter it does _not_ get over 90.
kortilla 4y ago
If op is in Phoenix proper (which is implied by the historic district), the water comes from the salt river, which now has all 3 reservoirs full upstream of the city. Additionally, the Sonoran desert is a monsoonal one, so it receives a deluge of water during particular times of the year. There is a massive amount of water waste in Arizona, but it’s in agriculture, not lawns.