'Natural' yard could land owner in jail

Houston Chronicle ^ | March 24, 2003 | By TERRY KLIEWER

[HairOfTheDog]

Meanwhile in other news...

Big bushes are tickin' people off.

(I tried to search a bit for some photos of this place in prior coverage of this lady's dilemma.... no luck yet.)

[HairOfTheDog]

Pinging some Texans I know....

[HairOfTheDog]

.... That habitat in your driveway would lead you to the slammer in this neighborhood!

[Lost Highway]

If you want to have that kind of yard the don't live in a neighborhood with a HOA.

[annyokie]

There are always busy-bodies in these "planned communities" who spend their lives acting like Brown Shirts.

[the gillman@blacklagoon.com]

And some will probably show up here to tell you how a lawn taller than four inches will lead to the end of civilization.

[HairOfTheDog]

Property rights vs. Community Association issues... who pings for this stuff?

[Xenalyte]

But no one forces anyone to buy a home in a deed-restricted HOA-governed subdivision. Careful (or hell, even minimal) research before home purchase is the key.

[CobaltBlue]

Her yard sounds beautiful to me. I have a similar problem with my neighbors but we don't belong to a homeowner's association, so they can't do anything about it.

People's ideas about good tastes vary.

However, I must say that if she lives on property that has a homeowner's association, she must abide by their rules. I would never live in a neighborhood with a homeowner's association - I've heard horror stories.

[Cultural Jihad]

'Natural' yard could land owner in jail

The title is misleading. The land owner could land in jail not for her 'natural' yard but for contempt of court.

[farmfriend]

who pings for this stuff?

For property rights/environmental issues? Me or madfly.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Our country is at war, we're under constant threat of terrorism at home, our educational system is a shambles, criminals are treated to a revolving door "justice" system while law-abiding citizens are denied their full 2nd Amendment rights, we're in the midst of a serious economic recession, and these busybodies have time to go to court against a little old lady who likes to maintain her little property as an oasis of natural flora and fauna?

[farmfriend]

Out here they get upset if you paint your house yellow. Even if it's been yellow for the last 30 years. Go figure.

[HairOfTheDog]

She did agree to Community Association rules and can't expect complete autonomy, I agree, but I wish I could see a photo of the place as well as the rules she agreed to.

I have just never seen big bushes and trees as an eyesore. If she had a lawn that wasn't kept up, I could understand, but not because of too much shrubbery!

Before I judge for sure, it needs a picture! - Anyone in Houston that can go take one?

[T. P. Pole]

Here's the best I could do for the photo. From here

[ConservativeDude]

i am dying to see a picture....it sounds fantastic to me. I wish i could grow all those trees! if I lived in her neighborhood I would be taking my kids to her yard all the time....

of course, as a matter of legality the home assoc has the upper hand. pity, really.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Yep - she violated her agreed injunction. Something hinky about this woman - "unemployed landscaper" is a little hard to justify.

[kjam22]

She's not abiding by her homeowners agreements. And she's not abiding by the court order she agreed to. Yet we are expected to believe that everything else she tells us is just right.

I'm always amazed at the number of people who will move into a very nice well kept area. Buy a nice home in that area, and then let the yard and the house deteriorate to nothing of value. And then wonder why they are not received well in the community. That behavior completely baffles me.

[CobaltBlue]

I found a link to a story with a photo of her house - don't know how to post the photo, sorry. Her grass is kinda long but otherwise I don't see the problem.

http://www.katytimes.com/story5.shtml

[mewzilla]

Community associations. I see...Anyone who moves into one of these places gets no sympathy from me. Sheesh.