[Don W]

If you don’t like my choice of color for MY home, then BUY it and paint it whatever color you wish. Otherwise, just don’t look at it.

Attitudes like what you appear to be espousing are what lead to bylaws where I have to apply for permission from the town to cut down MY trees on MY property. I WASTED 4 months this summer waiting for the township to approve my app to remove trees that were threatening both my house AND my neighbor’s. Then the tree police gave me grief for taking so long to apply!

I lost my place in line for the sawmill AND the roofer because the town took so long to finally inspect my trees.

Now I sit here with a yard full of 11 foot logs, and a leaking roof because someone decided that they didn’t like property owners dealing with their own property.

Oh, I have to apply for a permit from the town to replace my roof, too.

Unintended consequences is the term, FRiend. Be careful what you wish for, as you just might get it in the end...

[skeeter]

On the other hand, we have immigrant home owners building tin lean-to's for their relatives to live in and slaughtering chickens & cooking pigs in their backyard here in the SF bay area.

That watching what you hope for thing works two ways. There has to be some middle ground

[MEGoody]

The question is, were those rules in place when you bought your home? If so, then you had the choice not to buy there.

[Vigilanteman]

If you don’t like my choice of color for MY home, then BUY it and paint it whatever color you wish. Otherwise, just don’t look at it.

I'm not fond of illegal colonization, but if they are here legally, I don't care what color they paint their home. In fact, I rather like the tropical colors to break up the monotony of uniformity.

I, for instance, have encouraged clover growth in my lawn to the extent that the grass is almost gone. One neighbor (a liberal busybody) thinks it's terrible because it might send seed into his uniform lawn for which he spends a small fortune fertilizing, watering and constantly mowing.

Another neighbor loves it because it stays greener, needs cutting half as often and requires no fertilizer and watering. He's asked for some starter clumps for his yard this fall. As I told him, it is great to live in a 1970's neighborhood built before the lawn nazis took over.

Your story is, I'm afraid, all too typical of what happens when the lawn nazis and local nannies take over neighborhoods.