Small 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 un

Small 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.