4 ms·

You have to call city hall to get permission to grow grass in your own backyard? Is that a HOA thing or what's going on there that that's required?

WheatMillington 2y ago
Your comment is being downvoted, but I'm curious about this, too. Is this an American thing, that the government forces you to mow your BACK yard?
- foobarian 2y ago
  These kinds of things are highly localized and I would not be surprised if there are municipalities that would have this kind of restriction.
- hettygreen 2y ago
  Canadian here, I let my entire back yard grow wild for 7 years. My neighbor was mad about it "because of ticks" and if the town found out about it, they would have come and mowed it and charged me for the "service" plus a fine.
  - Thiez 2y ago
    Wouldn't these hypothetical ticks only be a problem for him if he wants to walk through your barkyard? Never mind that ticks can and do live in short grass just fine...
- bloomingeek 2y ago
  In the suburban city we live in, the city looks the other way if no one complains when it comes to certain rules. Like for instance, you can't keep a dead car in your drive way(unless you are repairing it) or backyard, you can't have a dead tree in your front yard for an extended time. You must keep your yard grasses below twelve inches in the summer, except, we know now because we asked, for a pollinator garden. I'm sure there are other rules I don't know about. I'm also sure that in most towns and cities there are rules similar to these. However, I've never seen these rules enforced unless someone calls in. The city does not have an enforcement squad who inspects the neighborhoods. On my street, my next door neighbor is the street busybody. She called in on me once because of a tree that died in early spring and by mid-June I still hadn't removed it. The city worker told me I had two weeks to remove the tree or they would, for a fee. I explained my tree guy was busy and he said no prob, now he knows it will get done. So, we asked about the pollinator garden just to be sure.
- ses1984 2y ago
  In some urban and suburban areas, where there aren’t a lot of predators, thick vegetation will harbor pests like mice and rats. I’m not sure if there’s a code against in my town, but I have let certain areas of my back yard get thick, sure enough tons of mice showed up in my sheds and moved indoors, too. Do not recommend.
- beowulfey 2y ago
  It's usually neighbors complaining vs. the government. My buddy had parents who lived in New Hampshire, a notoriously small-government state. They kept their front yard unmowed for insects and wildlife. Got so many complaints from neighbors they had to register their front yard as an "urban nature preserve" of sorts to get them off their backs.
  - mindslight 2y ago
    That sounds like typical New Hampshire to me! "Freedom". The highways have extra signs for minimum speed limits, for goodness' sake.
- latentcall 2y ago
  Americans love rules and regulations. America is big on social structures that allow the common man to enforce rules upon others, giving them a sense of power. See HOAs or middle managers as an example. In my town we have Neighborhood Services drive around on patrol looking for code violations. I put a chair for free at the end of my driveway for not even 24 hours and received a letter from the city. My town really is just one large HOA.
ezfe 2y ago
There's no indication in the comment it wasn't allowed, only that they called to confirm it was okay.
- j-bos 2y ago
  Seems sad it should be a question, reminds me of that kid asking on reddit if it was legal to create a dnd group with friends.
  - markerz 2y ago
    The happy side is that the "pollinator garden" is actively encouraged by their city government.
  - tomrod 2y ago
    In some parts of the world it could very well be, now or in the future. Understanding the framework you can legally act is pretty important, even if it leads to some overcautionary edge cases.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - VHRanger 2y ago
    > legal to create a dnd group with friends. Of course it's legal! You just need to fill form DN-335, wait 4-9 weeks and you can play! Obviously planescape campaigns are banned, being innapropriate for minors, and so are characters from underdark species as they ruin neighbourhood character.
dawnerd 2y ago
There's some cities that are pretty strict about it, especially if it's in a fire area. But mainly just the stuck up gotta look "perfect" areas.
bloomingeek 2y ago
No permission was required, although we did explain we only were going to use a small area for the pollinator garden.(It's about 4 feet by 30 feet). We just wanted to make sure there wasn't a rule against it. My neighborhood doesn't have a HOA.
- artursapek 2y ago
  I can’t imagine being this deferential towards the government
  - Loughla 2y ago
    I was just watching Clarkson's farm, and commenting on that. The town council tells him how he can and cannot use his farm. That just wouldn't fly here in my part of the States. A building would get burned down. I know it's a double edged sword, but the freedom to do what I want with my own space really is something I take for granted.
    - no_wizard 2y ago
      Land use laws and culture around land use differ greatly. The further you get out from urban and suburban areas the less you typically encounter. Rural areas tend to have less land use laws than urban/ suburban areas.
    - 5040 2y ago
      America is really bad for this sort of thing though? One example that stands out in my mind: The shower is outside on the back patio. The shower is fitted with hot water from the conventional water heater plumbed from the house. The shower is surrounded by a stainless steel privacy screen and a lot of really tall tropical plants. It’s the one feature that friends and family seem to like the most about the cottage. But the county authorities said it was completely illegal. First, the county inspector cited the raw sewerage that was being released into the environment. By “raw sewerage” he was referring to warm soapy water. The “environment” in this case was my rural back garden. The remedy was to plumb the outdoor shower with a drain that carried the “sewerage” into the septic system for safe disposal. I had this work done at some considerable expense that I struggled to afford at the time. Then the inspector was invited back to final the plumbing permit. Unfortunately he cited the project for another violation instead. It seems that rain water was able to drain into the outdoor shower and enter the septic system which was a code violation. He couldn’t have told me this earlier? Evidently inspectors shy away from proscribing holistic solutions. Instead they just look at what’s in front of them and check off boxes on their clip boards. It’s up to the property owner to understand and comply with the impenetrable codes on their own. So I covered the outdoor shower with a simple roof that prevented the rain from entering the drain (completely ruining the whole concept of a tropical outdoor shower). When the inspector returned this too was a code violation since a covered structure with plumbing constitutes a second dwelling unit on a lot that is only zoned for one unit. I removed the roof from the shower in disgust. Finally a sympathetic neighbor said he had a similar problem with his outdoor shower and solved the problem by re-labeling it as a hose bib on the permit documents. I plugged up the shower drain with concrete, removed the shower head, and invited the inspector back to approve the hot and cold hose bibs inside the little privacy screen on the back patio. In fifteen seconds he was able to check off the little boxes on his clip board and there were no more problems with the outdoor shower. A sense of relief and calm washed over me. But it only lasted for ten seconds. The inspector then said he couldn’t sign off on the building inspection because this house didn’t have a shower or bath tub… source: https://granolashotgun.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/building-codes-and-the-self-built-mortgage-free-home/ https://granolashotgun.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/building-cod...

WheatMillington 2y ago

Your comment is being downvoted, but I'm curious about this, too. Is this an American thing, that the government forces you to mow your BACK yard?

foobarian 2y ago
These kinds of things are highly localized and I would not be surprised if there are municipalities that would have this kind of restriction.
hettygreen 2y ago
Canadian here, I let my entire back yard grow wild for 7 years. My neighbor was mad about it "because of ticks" and if the town found out about it, they would have come and mowed it and charged me for the "service" plus a fine.
- Thiez 2y ago
  Wouldn't these hypothetical ticks only be a problem for him if he wants to walk through your barkyard? Never mind that ticks can and do live in short grass just fine...
bloomingeek 2y ago
In the suburban city we live in, the city looks the other way if no one complains when it comes to certain rules. Like for instance, you can't keep a dead car in your drive way(unless you are repairing it) or backyard, you can't have a dead tree in your front yard for an extended time. You must keep your yard grasses below twelve inches in the summer, except, we know now because we asked, for a pollinator garden. I'm sure there are other rules I don't know about. I'm also sure that in most towns and cities there are rules similar to these. However, I've never seen these rules enforced unless someone calls in. The city does not have an enforcement squad who inspects the neighborhoods. On my street, my next door neighbor is the street busybody. She called in on me once because of a tree that died in early spring and by mid-June I still hadn't removed it. The city worker told me I had two weeks to remove the tree or they would, for a fee. I explained my tree guy was busy and he said no prob, now he knows it will get done. So, we asked about the pollinator garden just to be sure.
ses1984 2y ago
In some urban and suburban areas, where there aren’t a lot of predators, thick vegetation will harbor pests like mice and rats. I’m not sure if there’s a code against in my town, but I have let certain areas of my back yard get thick, sure enough tons of mice showed up in my sheds and moved indoors, too. Do not recommend.
beowulfey 2y ago
It's usually neighbors complaining vs. the government. My buddy had parents who lived in New Hampshire, a notoriously small-government state. They kept their front yard unmowed for insects and wildlife. Got so many complaints from neighbors they had to register their front yard as an "urban nature preserve" of sorts to get them off their backs.
- mindslight 2y ago
  That sounds like typical New Hampshire to me! "Freedom". The highways have extra signs for minimum speed limits, for goodness' sake.
latentcall 2y ago
Americans love rules and regulations. America is big on social structures that allow the common man to enforce rules upon others, giving them a sense of power. See HOAs or middle managers as an example. In my town we have Neighborhood Services drive around on patrol looking for code violations. I put a chair for free at the end of my driveway for not even 24 hours and received a letter from the city. My town really is just one large HOA.

ezfe 2y ago

There's no indication in the comment it wasn't allowed, only that they called to confirm it was okay.

j-bos 2y ago
Seems sad it should be a question, reminds me of that kid asking on reddit if it was legal to create a dnd group with friends.
- markerz 2y ago
  The happy side is that the "pollinator garden" is actively encouraged by their city government.
- tomrod 2y ago
  In some parts of the world it could very well be, now or in the future. Understanding the framework you can legally act is pretty important, even if it leads to some overcautionary edge cases.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- VHRanger 2y ago
  > legal to create a dnd group with friends. Of course it's legal! You just need to fill form DN-335, wait 4-9 weeks and you can play! Obviously planescape campaigns are banned, being innapropriate for minors, and so are characters from underdark species as they ruin neighbourhood character.

dawnerd 2y ago

There's some cities that are pretty strict about it, especially if it's in a fire area. But mainly just the stuck up gotta look "perfect" areas.

bloomingeek 2y ago

No permission was required, although we did explain we only were going to use a small area for the pollinator garden.(It's about 4 feet by 30 feet). We just wanted to make sure there wasn't a rule against it. My neighborhood doesn't have a HOA.

artursapek 2y ago
I can’t imagine being this deferential towards the government
- Loughla 2y ago
  I was just watching Clarkson's farm, and commenting on that. The town council tells him how he can and cannot use his farm. That just wouldn't fly here in my part of the States. A building would get burned down. I know it's a double edged sword, but the freedom to do what I want with my own space really is something I take for granted.
  - no_wizard 2y ago
    Land use laws and culture around land use differ greatly. The further you get out from urban and suburban areas the less you typically encounter. Rural areas tend to have less land use laws than urban/ suburban areas.
  - 5040 2y ago
    America is really bad for this sort of thing though? One example that stands out in my mind: The shower is outside on the back patio. The shower is fitted with hot water from the conventional water heater plumbed from the house. The shower is surrounded by a stainless steel privacy screen and a lot of really tall tropical plants. It’s the one feature that friends and family seem to like the most about the cottage. But the county authorities said it was completely illegal. First, the county inspector cited the raw sewerage that was being released into the environment. By “raw sewerage” he was referring to warm soapy water. The “environment” in this case was my rural back garden. The remedy was to plumb the outdoor shower with a drain that carried the “sewerage” into the septic system for safe disposal. I had this work done at some considerable expense that I struggled to afford at the time. Then the inspector was invited back to final the plumbing permit. Unfortunately he cited the project for another violation instead. It seems that rain water was able to drain into the outdoor shower and enter the septic system which was a code violation. He couldn’t have told me this earlier? Evidently inspectors shy away from proscribing holistic solutions. Instead they just look at what’s in front of them and check off boxes on their clip boards. It’s up to the property owner to understand and comply with the impenetrable codes on their own. So I covered the outdoor shower with a simple roof that prevented the rain from entering the drain (completely ruining the whole concept of a tropical outdoor shower). When the inspector returned this too was a code violation since a covered structure with plumbing constitutes a second dwelling unit on a lot that is only zoned for one unit. I removed the roof from the shower in disgust. Finally a sympathetic neighbor said he had a similar problem with his outdoor shower and solved the problem by re-labeling it as a hose bib on the permit documents. I plugged up the shower drain with concrete, removed the shower head, and invited the inspector back to approve the hot and cold hose bibs inside the little privacy screen on the back patio. In fifteen seconds he was able to check off the little boxes on his clip board and there were no more problems with the outdoor shower. A sense of relief and calm washed over me. But it only lasted for ten seconds. The inspector then said he couldn’t sign off on the building inspection because this house didn’t have a shower or bath tub… source: https://granolashotgun.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/building-codes-and-the-self-built-mortgage-free-home/ https://granolashotgun.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/building-cod...