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HOAs are not the only thing that controls where people can build abattoirs. In much of the US, this is controlled by zoning. And zoning is decided on via local
by ekidd 2y ago
HOAs are not the only thing that controls where people can build abattoirs. In much of the US, this is controlled by zoning. And zoning is decided on via local politics, not via a HOA.
I'll take a small town politics over an HOA any day, because the few local HOAs are far more likely to make weird and obnoxious requests.
I live on a dirt road in the woods. I don't care whether my next-door neighbor cuts his lawn or what color he paints his house, or whether he decides to start keeping goats. The landowner across the street is running a tiny part-time farm, and I'm a fan. I know most of my 20 closest neighbors.
I don't mind the occasional HOA for people who want that sort of heavy community control. For me, it was an automatic "no" when buying a house.
- fastball 2y agoHOAs are local politics. You're making a distinction without a difference. Some local politics sucks, some does its job with minimal fuss. The difference is not made by the label you put on the political entity.
- ekidd 2y agoSmall town politics is based on voting and laws. I can participate in Town Meeting, or call the town manager, or volunteer for a role in town government. And unless I make a spectacular nuisance of myself (or ruin the groundwater or dirt roads), the town doesn't much care what I do with my land.[1] HOAs are basically private pseudo-governments, and most of the ones around here seem to impose far more stringent rules about how people use their land than the towns do. [1] If I were operating on a scale beyond an individual homeowner or a small farm, the town would pay more attention. Want to keep a dozen goats or turn 5 acres into a truck farm? Go for it. Want to raise 1,500 pigs with a manure lagoon? You'll need to go through a permitting process.