Insanity: Woman fined $200 for dry grass in drought

[n2doc]

DENVER, July 16 (UPI) -- A Denver woman said her homeowner's association is fining her $200 for having brown spots on her yard amid drought conditions.

Lori Worthman said she has been trying to get her grass to grow, but her attempts have been unsuccessful and the city has declared a Stage 1 drought and imposed watering restrictions, KMGH-TV, Denver, reported Monday.

"I'm glad to try to reseed again when it cools off, but we're in the middle of a heat wave," Worthman said.

However, the Green Valley Ranch Homeowner's Association wants her to pay a $200 fine for failing to make her grass grow.



Read more: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2012/07/16/Woman-fined-200-for-dry-grass-in-drought/UPI-35721342465427/

[Duer 157099]

1. No doubt she is expected to reseed with Monstersanto's drought-resistant grass

Betcha

[Behind the Aegis]

2. I'd be a broke ass mofo!

Almost our entire yard is dead! Three trees, two maples and an unknown, have dropped almost all their leaves. My little ginko tree is turning yellow, and my magnolia and Japanese maple trees are in jeopardy, but are on the north side of the house so they don't get direct light. It is 102 degrees right now in NE Oklahoma. Last month we didn't get 1/3 of the average amount of rainfall. It didn't rain here for over a month, and then it wasn't very much.

[Aerows]

12. Wish I could send some of ours your way!

We are absolutely floating here along the Gulf Coast. Still, I agree with you that it's silly in drought conditions to fine someone for brown grass.

[Behind the Aegis]

13. Send away!!! We need it some kinda bad!

I never thought I would miss the rain in NOLA, but I sure do! I can only imagine the water bills of those who are constantly watering their yards. Many yards here look like it's winter-time. The only thing that seems to grow and grows mightly are the fucking weeds!

[my2sense]

3. Ridiculous

While I like the fact that HOA's try and keep up property values. This is simply ridiculous. So I guess she's supposed to break the law to follow HOA restrictions? WTH?

[MadHound]

4. Another reason I'm glad that I'm not subject to HOA's

Petty little tyrannical organizations, I simply don't understand why people would subject themselves to such things.

[LuckyLib]

5. Agree completely. Have heard too many horror stories of HOAs with

petty tyrants at the helm who make life miserable for everyone because they have no life. No thanks. I'll take my chances with owning or renting an apt.

[nichomachus]

6. Otherwise

You'd have the guy next door painting his house 22 different colors with two dead cars jacked up in the front yard and 75 American flags all over the property to show his patriotism. Then, when you go to sell your house, people don't even slow down to look at it, never mind stop. Bye-bye property values.

[snooper2]

11. LOL, I love the extremes people go through to justify living in an HOA

You don't see cars jacked up in yards anywhere in suburbia, much less the city (Detroit excluded )


If you do there's usually a handy little number you can call for property inspections-
Pretty much every city in the country has this little thing called (property standards) as well. Enjoy paying your HOA fee and not getting to plant that blue spruce you love so much

Chapter 4 - ANIMAL REGULATIONS [27]
ARTICLE I. - DEFINITIONS AND ENFORCEMENT
ARTICLE II. - TREATMENT OF ANIMALS
ARTICLE III. - PUBLIC NUISANCES
ARTICLE IV. - IMPOUNDMENT, REDEMPTION AND DISPOSITION OF ANIMALS
ARTICLE V. - MULTIPLE ANIMALS
ARTICLE VI. - RABIES AND ZOONOSIS CONTROL
ARTICLE VII. - ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION AND REGISTRATION
ARTICLE VIII. - ANIMAL BUSINESSES
ARTICLE IX. - DANGEROUS ANIMALS
ARTICLE X. - WILD ANIMALS, BEES, AND LIVESTOCK
ARTICLE XI. - MISCELLANEOUS OFFENSES

Chapter 6 - BUILDINGS AND BUILDING REGULATIONS [29]
ARTICLE I. - IN GENERAL
ARTICLE II. - BUILDING CODE
ARTICLE III. - PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CODE
ARTICLE IV. - TEMPORARY AND NONCONFORMING BUILDINGS
ARTICLE V. - BUILDING LINES ON SPECIFIC STREETS
ARTICLE VI. - HOUSE MOVING
ARTICLE VII. - FENCES
ARTICLE VIII. - PLUMBING AND MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT
ARTICLE IX. - ELECTRICAL CODE
ARTICLE X. - SWIMMING POOLS
ARTICLE XI. - OUTDOOR LIGHTING
ARTICLE XII. - TEMPORARY SIGNS
ARTICLE XIII. - IRRIGATION SYSTEMS
ARTICLE XIV. - SOLID WASTE REMOVAL FROM CONSTRUCTION SITES
ARTICLE XV. - ADMINISTRATIVE CODE
ARTICLE XVI. - BUILDING SECURITY CODE
ARTICLE XVII. - BUILDING CONSERVATION CODE
ARTICLE XVIII. - ENERGY CONSERVATION CODE
ARTICLE XIX. - FUEL GAS CODE
ARTICLE XX. - RESIDENTIAL CODE
ARTICLE XXI. - OUTDOOR TOILET FACILITIES

Chapter 12 - MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC [70]
ARTICLE I. - IN GENERAL
ARTICLE II. - RESERVED
ARTICLE III. - TRAFFIC-CONTROL DEVICES
ARTICLE IV. - SPEED
ARTICLE V. - STOPPING, STANDING AND PARKING
ARTICLE VI. - COMMERCIAL VEHICLES
ARTICLE VII. - BICYCLES
ARTICLE VIII. - ABANDONED AND JUNKED VEHICLES
ARTICLE IX. - RAILROADS
ARTICLE X. - AUTOMATED TRAFFIC SIGNAL ENFORCEMENT

Chapter 19 - STREETS AND SIDEWALKS [109]
ARTICLE I. - IN GENERAL
ARTICLE II. - DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
ARTICLE III. - STORM DRAINAGE
ARTICLE IV. - RIGHT-OF-WAY MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS
ARTICLE V. - STREET AND THOROUGHFARE CLOSURES
ARTICLE VI. - RESERVED

http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=10327

[nichomachus]

14. Well, I've lived like that in a "nice" neighborhood

People next door turned their yard into a junkyard. And yes, there are city ordinances that you can try to get enforced -- good luck with that. Most cities and towns are laying people off right and left. Besides, the guy who was doing it was a cop -- so you know how far that complaint got.

I've lived with HOAs and without HOAs. Yes, some HOA people can be jerks -- just as some traffic cops can be jerks -- but overall, you're better off with them than without them.

And I get a kick out of how people who claim to be "progressive" will seize on one incident to indict tens of thousands of hardworking people who try to make their communities better places.

[snooper2]

17. ROFL, there are millions of HOA "incidents" a year where they are assholes

You enjoy going to those monthly meetings so you can debate steeple gray vs. mineral dust for an approved soffit color

[mysuzuki2]

18. you're right. I just love how 90% of HOA's give the rest a bad name.

[Sirveri]

19. If you like not actually owning your property, have fun with that.

But for those of us who actually want to own our land and not be beholden to a group that can dictate if we can put solar panels on our roof, or that we HAVE to plant a water eating lawn, or any of the other inane bullshit they like to pull. Don't like it, they steal your house.

Screw that.

[mysuzuki2]

22. I think you may have missed the actual point of my post.

I live in a condo and am vary familiar with the inanities of HOA's. I envy you if you have the freedom to live otherwise. Life is a compromise.

[sabrina 1]

27. People survived all those horrors for centuries it seems. I would not live in one of those places

if someone paid me.

Authoritarians scare me more than a neighbor with a rusty car and a purple house. So long as they mind their own business, I really don't care what color they paint their house or how many cars they have in their own driveway.

[longship]

7. It was either the HOR or the watering ban.

[GarroHorus]

8. She should read the covenants of the HOA

Most likely, it's pretty iffy for the HOA to be capable of issuing a fine like this and she can sue not only to overturn the $200 fine but also to receive punitive damages from the HOA.

And, even if the convenants allow this sort of rule making by the association board, if there is even a single instance of it not being evenly applied in the HOA, everybody who was fined is due a refund.

[KurtNYC]

9. That's Grascism -- Fascism + Grass

[barbtries]

10. thank you for posting this.

just a little reminder that if i ever do manage to own a home of my own it will not be associated with an HOA if i can help it.

[Spider Jerusalem]

15. Lawns should be banned in most of the US west of the Rockies anyway

20 inches or less of rainfall a year? not conditions conducive to having a lawn, sorry, and especially not when all the water is coming from the Colorado River with water rights and use heavily disputed between three or four states and Mexico.

[chowder66]

16. There's gonna be a shortage of green spraypaint soon.

She should refuse to pay this. What next... when it rains they are going to fine her for allowing the neighborhood to get wet?

[Sirveri]

20. If she refuses they can possibly take her house.

Seriously, though this depends on the bylaws for the HOA. It's possible the worst they could do would be to put up a mechanics lien.

[liberalhistorian]

21. The problem is, if she simply refuses to pay

they will add penalties and fees to it and then can file suit to take the house/condo to pay the damn bullshit fees. She can appeal, but they can file to take the house/condo while she's appealing, so there's a double-whammy in defense fees. HOA's can and will file to take your house if you owe even a small amount of a fee or fine and even if it's bullshit and, as a former real estate paralegal, I saw many HOA's do just that, many times, for really bullshit reasons. Your house is NOT yours when you are a part of one of these tyrannical organizations. And when you rent, it's even worse, because then you have even less leverage with them. FUCK. THAT.

Anyone remember that old X-Files episode where Mulder had to try and stop an eerily out-of-control HOA that used an underground "monster" as its "enforcer"? Too close to the real world for me after my professional experience!

[chowder66]

23. Maybe she can ask to change the landscaping to rocks instead.

expensive I'm sure but maybe it will pay off over the long run??

I guess I thought that the HOA would be responsible for lawn care. Guess not in this case.

[liberalhistorian]

24. HOA's are usually responsible

for lawn care and maintenance in the common areas, but not in the personal yards; residents are responsible for their yards themselves.

[chowder66]

25. Good to know. nt

[Blue Owl]

26. The grass is always greener on the other side of the gated community

n/t