Mow your lawn or go to jail?
 

What do ya'll think about this one?

mow your lawn or go to jail

I am so tired of cutting grass that I'm considering putting up some fencing and getting some goats.

Stupid

Good thing I dont live there. My mower happens to be broken right now :/

A guy in north Dallas ran into this some years ago. He just plowed up his front yard and planted it in wheat.

Since he was using his front yard for a garden there was nothing the city could do.

This has GOT to be Obama's fault. Or maybe Israel's.

Seems to me like people who live close to each other on relatively small properties should be considerate enough to keep their neighbors' feelings and property values in mind. If a few don't, maybe remedies are in order. Easy for me to say, that's why I don't live like that.
By the way, goats will eat all your trees, rose bushes and other landscaping and ignore your grass until it's the only thing left. They're browsers, not grazers; preferring to eat bark, leaves and berries at head height or above. You want sheep.

I'd pave the world in that case. Or at least my yard. Though I'm betting the target of this law isn't Joe Average homeowner, but James Bankster who owns three foreclosed properties, and isn't maintaining them before they're put on the market.

This being said, I have no desire to own a house with a lawn, ever. (Unless there's a dozen or so acres of "lawn", I can keep horses, and grow my own veggies, that is :) )

I knew a guy who owned a giant home. It was more of an Estate. If I had to guess the house was probably 15,000 sq. ft. The estate was probably 40 acres.

This was on the edge of Dallas, but in the city limits. He was trying to find a way to keep the grass down, so he bought about five or six goats.

Two days later they had eaten everything. The grass, his shrubs and they were starting on the smaller trees. It was really amazing to watch them eating since they never stopped. I guess they slept at night, but I never saw them doing anything but eating and eating as fast as they could.

So he rounded them up and sold them by the side of the road. After that he bought a tractor and had to hire a guy to maintain the place.

He also has a landscaping company come in and replant everything.

If you want to use a goat stake it out with a chain and check on it every ten minutes. And don't let it near your shrubs.

You can also fence them in - a stake and chain is cruel.

40 acres? WTH is the point unless you farm it, have it wooded, or keep animals?

We have an anti blight law in my city but as far as I can tell it has no teeth.

I like anti blight laws, if you live in a city keep your house nice. If you want 20 cars in your front yard and crap everywhere move out to the country with the rest of them.

I'd much rather have a township law than having HOA boards capriciously enforcing anti-blight rules, as is done out West. At least township laws tend to be enforced semi-fairly and not in an insanely vigorous manner.

HOA's are rear in my area because most of CT was developed before such an idea even existed.

We don't get the big subdivision communities the states with lots of land build.

Sooner or later, someone will get your goat. :D

And thank G-d for both things! I had this conversation with someone who grew up in a wealthier town in Orange County, CA.

"So, you mean, you can paint your house any color you like?"
"Well yes: your neighbors might point and laugh, but there's no law."

is this really that nice of a village.boarded up windows and doors,and unattended shopping carts.sounds more like the ghetto.

On the face of it I see no issue. There is always risk of any law being abused but sometimes you have to get hard ass with people to get them to clean up their property. Sounds like they are trying to clean up the town. Good for them.

Just so long as people are not required by law to have a grass lawn!

There is always one idiot in "the village"

I have this semi problem with a rental property in CT. Im paying a guy a fortune to mow what lawn there is, trim the bushes, and generally keep the property in a state where it looks ok and the city is off my back. I consider it worth it to pay this guy, because he's reliable essentially, and he plows as well, so tenants are pleased with his service, but its $$$$.

At any rate, how im getting the bill lower is using ground cover plants like pachysandra that require zero maintenance. It looks great, doesn't have to be mowed, and is spectacular planted under trees and such.

Downside is no playability like grass and easily damaged by kids. So far ive got it planted on about half of a 2 acre properly, leaving the other half grass for tenant use. Has made a decent inroad on maintenance costs though.

I just recently removed an english box hedge violently and planted more pachysandra instead. Opened up the area, and got rid of the ailing box hedge. (those hedges just don't last forever like in England with the winters being harsher locally)

Something similar here. If you let your grass get too tall the county will come cut it for you... and hand you a nice big bill for doing the work.

-J

Ha! I want to see them force the banks to do ANYTHING!

I talked my way out of one of these fines when they discovered that the company which the city had "recommended" to do the work was bankrupt!

I am for keeping things clean, but the little city where my workshop is, now has two "esthetics enforcement officers" whose job is to make sure that everything "blends."

What a crock!

If they enforce this, I'm moving.

I'll knock down the building and plow the ground with salt.

Most of the residents of Massapequa Park are, shall we say La Canaille who are either struggling to stay afloat or non-resident landlords. Similar to many lower class Long Island locales.

Sir, your political analysis is amazing! Once again, you have hit the nail squarely on its head . . .

I think he's wrong. It's Canada's fault.

these town and city zoning laws are pretty interesting.

This weekend i am taking a day trip out to Nantucket MA, which has a zoning law where every newly constructed building must be cedar shingled and a variation of colonial style, where it will weather to a nice uniform grey to maintain the island identity and prevent outlandish construction that offends historical precedence.

I think you have a very limited choice on trim color, but even then I think its like 2 or three colors, and predominantly white

The only buildings that are not required to do this are historic ancient buildings that were originally painted or brick.

Consider xeriscaping.

Growing up, my Dad constantly threatened to pour concrete in the yard and paint it green.

I think the government needs to stay out of peoples lives. What part of the term "land OWNER" do they not understand? Problem is that too many people believe that the government owns your land, not the person that bought and paid for it. The pipeline companies certainly think that!

check this out
 

paint or go to jail

Now you can get thrown in jail if you don't paint your house:eek:. Do they not realize how broke ppl are these days?

The town is otherwise known as...
 

*******pequa Park

That law says that the house has to be painted and not peeling. It doesn't specify a color or pattern. Time to take donations of some left over paint in obnoxious fluorescent colors.

WHAAaaaaat...... You mean it's not Bushes fault!:eek: Ask Obama and I bet HE will say it's Bushes fault.

We roto-tilled our lawn. No grass to deal with. It's now my wife's flower and plant garden. Aka Hippie lawn.

I can assume its to handle some "bone headed owners" e.g. in my neighborhood there is this one family I cannot understand..

They moved in about the same time I did in my place, I have a smallish lawn back and front which I mow with my ancient Sears mower that I got for free, infact my trimmer and blower were pickups too.

anyway - back to the point, this certain household has 2 able bodied men and a lawn mower along with all lawn tools, yet their lawn looks like a warzone, Its more weed than lawn now, grass growing onto the sidewalkway, bushes growing like mad,, they even put junk in the lawn sometimes (tires), the owner himself smokes cigarettes and just simply throws the ciggie butts on the driveway which then collect into the grass. The backyard is more akin to a badly kept graveyard, they just throw stuff there like old broken fans, furniture..

This mandate must be pointed to those type of houses.

I thought the issue was about the grass, not the . . . oh, nevermind.

http://www.bubbleinfo.com/wp-content...-neighbors.jpg

ultimately, even when faced with a fine, trash neighbors will simply pack up and move to another neighborhood and start trashing it up. trash is trash, get used to it or move to a neighborhood that isn't occupied by trashers.

And if this doesn't work, perhaps the town council could vote to make it a capital offence!

Happy Motoring, Mark

You could make it a horse whipping and some people would keep on doing it. "law" (really a Statute, Regulation, Rule or Ordinance all different animals of sorts) after "law" is passed to fix a perceived problem. Then, the real trouble begins as the bad law tends to exacerbate the problem.

The system is working.