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My yard - my castle?

3K views 21 replies 13 participants last post by  Trackball 
#1 ·
I read the topic about the fines for the use of water in California.
http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=357880
Why brown yard subject to a fine, if it's MY grass on MY land?

That allowed the owner to do on their own land?
Can I, for example to remove all the grass and make rock garden on MY yard?

I'm not American so I'm naive questions.
 
#7 ·
Can't even begin to tell you where to tell you find rules governing building restrictions in Moskva. In the US, each city has different rules governing those things. You go to the city hall or wherever the codes department is housed and ask.

In Oak Ridge, Tennessee, that building contained the local court, where you paid your water and electric bill, and the codes department. Where I live now, it's just a single tiny building for the whole city (village) of 350 people.

Different places restrict fence heights differently. Likely in metropolitan areas, fence heights are lower. However, two meters isn't an unusual height.

I'd like to have enough brick to build a two meter fence around a .25 acre yard. Sorry, hectares aren't in my base of knowledge.
 
#4 ·
Different states, counties, cities, and neighborhoods within them, may have different restrictions, so you'd have to look up each area you're intrested in seperately.
Yes, there are usually fence height restrictions as well.

and fer the record, I think it's stupid.
Around here if you have more than 3 acres, you do not have to mow the whole thing. Some counties say 2 acres. If you have less, you have to mow your entire property.
I have 12 acres, so I ain't mowin what I don't want to. I can have a fence of any height, collect rain water [unlike Colorado] paint my house [or not] any color I want ect.

and then we have "insurance restrictions" which basically say if some part of your house is non conforming [roof in state of disrepair for example], they won't insure it. Our house wasn't insurable when we offered to purchase it, because of the "alternative heating system" so we had the owners put in a conventional furnace.

I doubt any country or region is free of all restrictions - unless it's an impoverished, inhabitable or undesirable location. Seems the more desirable the area, the more restrictions.
 
#6 ·
Can I, for example to remove all the grass and make rock garden on MY yard?

I'm not American so I'm naive questions.
Privet. Like Russia, the country is so big there are different areas, and city areas have different rules than rural areas. Different cities have rules different from other cities. Different states have different rules, but city rules seem to rule supreme regardless of state.

Like Russia, here there are different areas of topography. There are mountainous regions, foothill regions, just hilly regions, flatland regions, almost tropical regions, e.g., Florida, which I don't think you have in Russia. There are desert regions and abundant greenlands.

There are metropolitan areas and rural areas. There are suburban areas adjacent to metropolitan areas. Probably the same as in Russia around Mockva.

The article in the post was about a region with complications. It's a metropolitan area in a region without a large natural supply of water. Los Angeles' water is piped in from other areas. (The 1974 movie "Chinatown" explores this.) So there is a conflict if there is a lack of rainfall. No rain equals brown lawns. Metropolitan areas like pretty lawns.

It doesn't matter if it's your grass on your land, nor if it's drought. Some idiot from the city may or may not cite you because they don't like the looks of your lawn. It's California, which a lot of US citizens consider a crazy state; besides which there are idiots in every city everywhere, even Moscow.

Yet, because of water being piped in from far away, Los Angeles is frequently faced with not having enough water. Therefore, the residents frequently face pleas to use less water. That couple tried to conserve their water usage, but some over zealous city official didn't like their brown lawn.

It's too early to tell what the outcome will be. Personally, I'd think it will amount to not much at all, but you never know.

Can I, for example to remove all the grass and make rock garden on MY yard?
As far as I know in most cities, most likely. I've seen city yards done this way. Our present front yard, however, is .5 an acre. My husband frequently threatened this after mowing the yard of our previous .25 acre yard on days of 95F with 90% humidity.
 
#9 ·
Privet. Like Russia, the country is so big there are different areas, and city areas have different rules than rural areas. Different cities have rules different from other cities. Different states have different rules, but city rules seem to rule supreme regardless of state.

Like Russia, here there are different areas of topography. There are mountainous regions, foothill regions, just hilly regions, flatland regions, almost tropical regions, e.g., Florida, which I don't think you have in Russia. There are desert regions and abundant greenlands.

There are metropolitan areas and rural areas. There are suburban areas adjacent to metropolitan areas. Probably the same as in Russia around Mockva.

The article in the post was about a region with complications. It's a metropolitan area in a region without a large natural supply of water. Los Angeles' water is piped in from other areas. (The 1974 movie "Chinatown" explores this.) So there is a conflict if there is a lack of rainfall. No rain equals brown lawns. Metropolitan areas like pretty lawns.

It doesn't matter if it's your grass on your land, nor if it's drought. Some idiot from the city may or may not cite you because they don't like the looks of your lawn. It's California, which a lot of US citizens consider a crazy state; besides which there are idiots in every city everywhere, even Moscow.

Yet, because of water being piped in from far away, Los Angeles is frequently faced with not having enough water. Therefore, the residents frequently face pleas to use less water. That couple tried to conserve their water usage, but some over zealous city official didn't like their brown lawn.

It's too early to tell what the outcome will be. Personally, I'd think it will amount to not much at all, but you never know.



As far as I know in most cities, most likely. I've seen city yards done this way. Our present front yard, however, is .5 an acre. My husband frequently threatened this after mowing the yard of our previous .25 acre yard on days of 95F with 90% humidity.
Of course, there are differences according to locality, but very small. Basic rules for the use of land contained in the Federal Code and federal laws.
 
#12 ·
I have been having issues with my neighbor, he has complained to the city twice
first was a tree hanging over his yard was letting a raccoon get into his barn.
I thought it was stupid to complain to the city ... you are allowed to trim branches hanging into your yard. I wanted the trees gone anyway because they were in the power lines
so after 2 years of calling the power company finally cut them down.
Now he is calling be cause one of the has poison ivy in it and it is 10 feet away from his property i told the city lady that called , that it was my property and not affecting him so i wasnt going to do anything about it
 
#15 ·
I have been having issues with my neighbor, he has complained to the city twice
first was a tree hanging over his yard was letting a raccoon get into his barn.
I thought it was stupid to complain to the city ... you are allowed to trim branches hanging into your yard. I wanted the trees gone anyway because they were in the power lines
so after 2 years of calling the power company finally cut them down.
Now he is calling be cause one of the has poison ivy in it and it is 10 feet away from his property i told the city lady that called , that it was my property and not affecting him so i wasnt going to do anything about it
We solved the problem easier. I'd invite a neighbor to visit me, we would drink vodka (or brandy or wine or liqueur :) ), sincerely talked and forgot about this little thing. :)
or not.

There is a Russian joke:
Americans will choose a long and tedious judicature, than fast and fun scuffle.
 
#14 ·
Every city in America has laws about what you can and cannot do in your yard. For example, where I live I must keep grass and weeds less than 8 inches, unless I am raising a crop of wheat or something. They also say that the houses must be so many feet apart to reduce the risk of fire spreading, the houses must be at least this many feet away from the street, and other such things.

Many neighborhoods also have a Home Owner's Association with even MORE rules, but I deliberately avoided moving into a place with a Home Owner's Association because I do not like a lot of rules with what to do with my own land.
 
#17 ·
Yes, every town, city, suburb has it's own rules unless you are quite far from "civilization". These rules can be strict or very liberal. When a new housing development goes in, there may be a homeowners association or not. The HOA usually makes a lot of silly rules. The idea is to have a homogeneous area that looks "pretty". The houses are likely to have similar styles of architecture and to be on lots of similar size so that no house sticks out like a sore thumb.

In the 1960's, my parents bought a house in a semi-rural area that required that each house have a minimum of five acres of land with it. That rule stood until fairly recently when it was changed to allow houses to be closer together. That house is still in the family and the closest neighbor is now less than 100 yards away. It's still nice out there and people still have their barns and horses, but the new crowding has changed the bucolic setting.

There is a gated community near me that has very restrictive rules, including what color you can paint your front door and shutters, what trees you are allowed to plant and it does not allow pets. As a tradeoff, it has a private lake just for the people behind The Wall. It also has a large private pool, tennis courts and a huge community center, walking and bike paths and a real community "feel". It's very quiet and charming with housing units from two-bedroom duplexes to four-bedroom private houses, all privately owned. There is a security guard at the gate in a little guardhouse who decides whether to let people enter or not and you have to tell him where you're going if he doesn't recognize you. Some people, especially older people, may chose this type of lifestyle for the extra security and sense of community.

I once lived in a Historic District. The rules there were of a different type. Most of the houses were 100 years old or older and the Historical Society wanted to maintain that neighborhood personality and character. Renovations or additions or changes had to be approved by the city to ensure that they conformed with the style and character of that historic era. When I put in a new fence, a lady from the city actually came out to my house with a tape measure to measure the height of my fence.

I understand why people want to live in a certain type of neighborhood and I would be greatly annoyed if my neighbors did things that adversely affected my property values. It's important to understand all the local rules before committing so you know you will know what you are getting into.
 
#18 ·
Yes, every town, city, suburb has it's own rules unless you are quite far from "civilization".
But the crowd of lawyers always have a piece of bread :)
These rules can be strict or very liberal. When a new housing development goes in, there may be a homeowners association or not. The HOA usually makes a lot of silly rules. The idea is to have a homogeneous area that looks "pretty". The houses are likely to have similar styles of architecture and to be on lots of similar size so that no house sticks out like a sore thumb.

In the 1960's, my parents bought a house in a semi-rural area that required that each house have a minimum of five acres of land with it. That rule stood until fairly recently when it was changed to allow houses to be closer together. That house is still in the family and the closest neighbor is now less than 100 yards away. It's still nice out there and people still have their barns and horses, but the new crowding has changed the bucolic setting.

There is a gated community near me that has very restrictive rules, including what color you can paint your front door and shutters, what trees you are allowed to plant and it does not allow pets. As a tradeoff, it has a private lake just for the people behind The Wall. It also has a large private pool, tennis courts and a huge community center, walking and bike paths and a real community "feel". It's very quiet and charming with housing units from two-bedroom duplexes to four-bedroom private houses, all privately owned. There is a security guard at the gate in a little guardhouse who decides whether to let people enter or not and you have to tell him where you're going if he doesn't recognize you. Some people, especially older people, may chose this type of lifestyle for the extra security and sense of community.
Such cottage villages come into Russia, too. I see this ad in every newspaper.

 
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