A homeowner in Goodyear, Arizona is locked in a dispute with his homeowner's association over his practice of distributing free cold water from his driveway.

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[–] 68 points 1 year ago (25 children)

How anyone that lives in a country that has HOAs can unironically call it "land of the free" is beyond me

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  • [–] 31 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Some HOAs can be quite nice as they're just there to add some basic community rules. However, many are hijacked by a handful of narcissistic individuals who let this insignificant amount of power go to their heads and they turn into a bunch Mussolinis

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  • [–] 24 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Having served on the board of my building, you see what slobs and mindless people you share the planet with. Letting their pets piss in the hallway. It gets cleaned by staff, right? What's the problem? Compost stinks, leave the bin in the hallway! Doesn't matter as long as I don't smell it, right?

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  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    "ProPTeRy VaLUes!"

    No one sees any value in just living in their homes. They have to be statements on your personal wealth, and though that, statements on your character as a human being. Living under the thumb of narcissists is a small price to pay so your neighbor doesn't look poor.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    It's not a home, not even usually a statement of wealth. The "statement" properties are invisible behind large gates and long driveways.

    In most cases, they're investments, rather than homes. A way to gain wealth, not brag about it.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    They are definitely statements of wealth. Just because it's investment doesn't mean it's also a statement of wealth. Try growing vegetables in your front lawn or hanging cloths to dry. These are things poor people do.

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  • [+] -7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (17 children)

    What do you think a city or state is? Gotta have rules, good luck living in a neighborhood without a HOA when the fat shirtless guy next door turns his front lawn into an open air trash heap.

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  • [–] 19 points 1 year ago (9 children)

    My city has bylaws for that sort of thing. I can't let my grass turn into a jungle either. That's also a bylaw. Shoveling snow into the street? Guess what, bylaw.

    Don't need an HOA full of overbearing Karen's to Lord over me about what color I painted my garage on top of the fairly loose bylaws that I also need to abide by.

    At least with bylaws they're enforced by public workers, not Karen from next door.

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  • [+] -13 points 1 year ago (8 children)

    You guys are wrong. The city handles what overflows onto ITS property, they don't care about your property. That's what the HOA is for.

    You can't leave your trash on the sidewalk (city property) randomly, the city can't do jack shit if some slob leaves his trash on his lawn.

    Until rats set in. You guys comfortable leaving things degenerate to that level until the city acts?

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  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago

    This is straight up not true in many places. Where I live they have a long list of things you can't have in your yard, or in your yard for extended periods of time. They have a list of rules for the flora, maintenance, etc.

    The only time your assumption is true is the inside of the house. They can't do much there until it is a fire hazard, bio hazard, etc. , but that level of hoarding stuff is not common, and even then, there are limits to it before the city intervenes

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago

    You are the one who is clueless. My city absolutely will fine people for violating the upkeep laws. I know because I've been fined for grass before, and I know one of my neighbors had an abandoned, rotting car towed out of their driveway.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    I just picked a random US city out of thin air.

    https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/2022/06/27/topeka-looks-cut-down-overgrown-grass-other-property-maintenance-code-violations/7614641001/

    If they're that concerned about how tall your grass is, I imagine they'll also get involved if you let trash pile up.

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  • [+] -8 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    That's my point. They'll do something when it's three feet tall, but maybe I want the neighbor to cut it before it reaches that level?

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    That’s my point.

    No, that wasn't your point. Now you're moving the goal post. Your point was, and I quote,

    The city handles what overflows onto ITS property, they don’t care about your property.

    Plus, the article explicitly states that the ordinance specifies 12 inches, not three feet.

    You can keep digging your hole deeper, but it's not going to support your claim. Your just wrong here, and one sign of a well adjusted adult is knowing when to admit they're wrong.

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  • [+] -10 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    They don't care about your property, right. No one wants 12 inch grass.

    It is you who is wrong. The HOAs exist to make people respect human living conditions, not the contractor-grade specs the city enforces for its purposes.

    Try to picture a city with just the city rules enforced. All right, it's 1 foot tall grass, not three feet. OK, it's three trash bags with rats, not 12.

    That enough? Of course it isn't.

    The grass matters to the city when it overflows onto its property. One hopes that in the vast majority of cases, people will maintain their property a bit better on their own. The HOA just makes it possible to ensure that. The vast majority of HOAs aren't PITAs, only the extreme stories make it to the news.

    If you like your lawn 1 foot tall with trash bags everywhere, move to where there is no HOA. I realize there are fewer and fewer trailer parks these days, but that's not my fault.

    I don't know how to put it simpler.

    " Your just wrong here, and one sign of a well adjusted adult is knowing when to admit they’re wrong."

    It's "you're", and I'm not, and take your own advice.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago*

    They can where I live. While I might "own" the land, I'm in Canada and there's a very specific and technical legal definition, I never "own" anything. The land is owned by the crown, and we lowly peons get to "buy" (or lease in perpetuity for a one time set cost, plus property taxes every year) the land we live on.

    The Crown, and by extension, the government acting on behalf of the crown, can do whatever the fuck they want, including telling you what you can, and cannot do with your land, and whether you can turn it into a trash heap.

    Many other places are the same, though, not as technically/legally screwed; I don't have to look any further than city zoning to know that similar (in effect, not implementation) rules exist for everyone. Zoning means you can't just turn your plot of land into an industrial manufacturing operation because you feel like it. That's the government telling you what you can (or cannot) do with your property. There's plenty more examples and rules that limit people's freedoms as to what they can do with "their" property, if you do any research at all.

    Don't be such a spoon.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    turns his front lawn into an open air trash heap

    The town/city is suppose to handle that.

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