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Everyone is missing the point. He is legally required to clean up the yard, and he refused to do so. He is not obeying the law. He knows what needs to be done and is capable of doing so, but he refuses. Actions, or in this case in-actions, have consequences.
As far as whether the laws are fair or not, consider that weeds are refuges for pests, including bugs, larvae, fungi, and bacteria. Overgrown annual weeds especially are a fertile substrate for pests, and rodents, snakes, and other vermin will prefer to nest there. At a certain point it becomes a health issue. Back yard or front yard doesn't really matter. It is just that when such a mess is in the backyard no one sees it so no one complains about it.
I'd like to beat this one to death:
bugs, larvae, fungi, and bacteria are all in healthy ground and make it work.
I quit using Roundup forty years ago, and wasn't happy to use it then.
A health issue? Florida with it's rain and humidity should be named to "compost" state.
Mess? Yea, ok, he should prune/spruce the place a little.
the LAW? Recommed summary execution? By-laws are not laws; that's why you can't usually enforce them or collect them on a state/provincial level.
Maybe the guy is sick of his neighbors walking their dogs and pooping all over his yard. Maybe he doesn't like busy-bodies. Maybe there's more to this story.
I knew someone who went through this hassle for a neat garden. So to put Big Brother in its place we planted it with native plants and registered it as a "natural forest community" which put a stop to the nonsense from Team Metro. Now it's a pineland in a desert of lawns. If only we could get the Mc Mansion across the street declared an "eyesore". It is uglier than a run down cracker shack although relatively new.
LOL This is so funny. I am all for property rights, and definitely not the type of person who would care about this. But I know people who would probably croak. His explanation about the Japanese gardening method LOL throw down seeds and see which one survives is HILARIOUS.
Poor guy. But if he is close to other people, I think he should mow the edges at least out of courtesy. That way it might look more like a meadow or something. It does look cheap and lazy, but at least it is eco-friendly. I am sure all that grass and "crop" he is growing LOL snort is filtering a heck of a lot of groundwater.
He definitely should not be fined so much money. That is insane. How can the govt. do that to a private citizen? Having an ugly unkempt yard should not be a crime. I am so glad I didn't move to Fla, though.
A lot of people from other states moved there, and it seems they are pretty closed minded in general, although the state is warm and tropical looking. They should chill out. Esp the retired ones. Who cares what is going on in someone else's yard? You're retired. Go boat, fish, swim and enjoy life.
LOLLL I just read the article again "..and he uses beautyberry plants as an alternative to toilet paper..." Well well well.
Longwood FL is completely littered with foreclosed homes. How about fining those folks for dragging down property values before someone that is actually living in the place and paying taxes?
If they're already foreclosed, they're owned by the lender/mortgage holder, usually a corporate entity of some kind.
The whole code enforcement system is a scam and their kangaroo courts use civil procedure to avoid having to provide due process. Basically they just run up fines until the property becomes worthless. It proves that you can never really own property in the USSA. This is the reason I also turned my yards into a natural forest community to hide my home from the outside world. I have had many run ins with the code Nazis on rental properties I owned and even in my business. My attorney spent a lot of time in that fight. Yet my home has never had a problem because they cannot get in and if they do....POW!
This is a discussion that will never ever reach common ground......you can tell in the video that he was being somewhat playful about what he was doing. Does he have the right to do as he pleases....yes.
My mom who had a rough life growing up in the depression was of a generation that believed your property was a reflection of who you were as far as appearances. Got forbid there was a piece of paper that had blown into her yard.....she was on it in a second. It was hard for her to understand that some of the neighbors did not care if they parked their vehicles on the lawn or hauled junk to the house to leave it sitting in plain view of everyone. Different times now.
Bottom line for those that say he has the right to do as he pleases........could you honestly say you would purchase the house next door to him if you were looking for a home in that neighborhood? Or if you currently lived next door or across the street could you live with the sight of it everyday?
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? By-laws are not laws; that's why you can't usually enforce them or collect them on a state/provincial level.
