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neighborhood ban on trucks
there is currently a fight going on in south
florida concerning parking your truck over night in
your driveway. city ordinance states no truck
shall be parked in driveway over night. the only
persons to receive fines are pick-up truck owners.i
thought trucks included suv's such as ford
expedition,chevy suburban,etc...they seem to be
excluded. trucks must be kept in the garage.
gee i wonder if we could have ordinances for
luxury sedans for same? one city is proposing
revising ordinance to be aimed at construction type
vehicles only and to remind everyone that pick-ups
are also family vehicles.
ANY COMMENTS.......
florida concerning parking your truck over night in
your driveway. city ordinance states no truck
shall be parked in driveway over night. the only
persons to receive fines are pick-up truck owners.i
thought trucks included suv's such as ford
expedition,chevy suburban,etc...they seem to be
excluded. trucks must be kept in the garage.
gee i wonder if we could have ordinances for
luxury sedans for same? one city is proposing
revising ordinance to be aimed at construction type
vehicles only and to remind everyone that pick-ups
are also family vehicles.
ANY COMMENTS.......
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Comments
the value of your home. All cities, for example, prohibit livestock to be kept on a property within the city limits. If they didn't, there would always be someone who keeps pigs, chickens, etc. right in the front yard. The smell and noise would make no one want to live there and the value of your home would plummet. Picture yourself finding out your home is now worth only $40,000 when you're still in debt for the $100,000 that you bought it for. And all because a few people are keeping livestock. Most people would immediately want to call a council meeting and have livestock banned, which is probably exactly how it happened.
Now the pickup law is an older ordinance that was enacted when pickups were mainly work trucks that were dirty, rusty, beat-up and possibly not well maintained (leaking fluids, etc.).
While not as big a threat as livestock, if enough people had them in your little community, you can bet potential home buyers would look elsewhere and your home's value would drop or at the very least, it wouldn't appreciate at all.
That law is now out of date which is why they're trying to get it to apply only to work vehicles. There are probably some snobs who want it to apply to all pickups, but they're just mad at the world for some other reason. Nowadays, even work trucks look pretty nice, though, so I'm not sure why it should even apply to them.
Townships are a bit different because they're usually in a rural area that has larger properties. In that case, no one cares if a truck is parked in your driveway because you can barely see it from the neighbors house. Same goes for livestock, the noise and smell aren't as bad when they're farther away. Just my thoughts on the subject.
-powerisfun
We had some loser move into our old neighborhood and decide to turn his property into a junk yard. He had old cars, trucks, junky boats, etc. all over his front yard, driveway, and occasionally on the street. It must have absolutely killed his immediate neighbors' property values. We (the neighborhood) tried to make him clean up the mess by claiming he was operating a non-permitted commercial activity in a single family neighborhood. By the time we moved (moving for other reasons), we still hadn't got the neighborhood eye-sore cleared up. If we had a law like the one about trucks parked outside, it would have been a lot easier to get rid of the neighborhood menace.
Unfortunately, like many laws that are created for good reasons, they are often abused later by being applied to situations like a family pickup parked in the driveway. I wonder if planners or law enforcement actively enforce the law, or if they only respond to complaints?
Ironically status seems to override common sense when it comes to most homeowners. Because we are rural property is relatively cheap so there are many fairl large homes, many with triple garages. Despite this, and the bad weather, it is always the expensive cars that are left out on drives to try and impress people - go figure.
I had relatives move to a "retirement" type of golf course/community where one resident of the house had to be 55 or older. No children under 18 were allowed to reside in said home for more than a month and some clown sued. The judge threw the case out (thank God) since the clown had no basis of the suit.
Would I live there? No...but it teaches an important lesson---Ask before buying. Find out about zones, restictions, deed-limits, etc...Before Buying!! Ignorance is not an excuse.
Has the law been actively enforced by city officials (i.e. - is it patrolled)? Or is it just enforced after complaints? It makes a difference, because it tells if the city officials are screwed up, or just forced to deal with an out of date law.
Argument for zoning restrictions,
Unless you live in a very uniform community where people have the same values, with today's populations, you have to have some zoning in order to prevent people from doing things in residential neighborhoods that are not consistent with residential life, like operating a business (noisy all-night mechanic shop, porn/sex shop/strip bar, stinky dairy farm), operating loud equipment at night, having noisy/smelly livestock, etc. If you don't have controls, the results include neighborhood discord (historically has led to violence, crime, decreasing property values and declining neighborhoods).
Obviously it's different in the country where people have acreage and can isolate themselves from their neighbors. But don't start encouraging people to move to the country. What do you think would happen if everyone moved to the country to avoid restrictions such as zoning laws? I bet those of you appreciating your freedoms in the country now would lose much of your quality of life.
Lets face it, there are way too many people out there that are totally content to live like complete pigs, and would, if it weren't for zoning. I see it in plenty of areas without some zoning (double-digit broken down cars in the front yard, tons of unidentifiable rubbish, and a complete lack of upkeep). This can be unsafe, is injurious to those that do keep up their property (financially & aesthetically), and is completely preventable (regardless of economic level). All it takes is the occasional effort to clean up.
Now this particular law does stink in its current state if it is being enforced. But I bet when it was created, very few people had pickups for private use in that neighborhood. It is probable that it was started because MANY large construction trucks, heavy equipment, and pickups were being left in single-family neighborhoods in driveways and in the streets for extended periods of time.
Right now I have home construction going on around my house, and if I had the large trucks, machinery, and different trucks sitting in the driveway and on the street around my house 24-hours a day for six or more months, I would start getting annoyed and concerned. I don't care if the construction people leave one of their identified pickups at the house they are working on occasionally, but if its a different truck left there often over night, I think that situation leads to neighborhood security problems. An example would be burglars using the construction and random trucks to their advantage.
All this leads to the responsibility of government to protect the peace. I am way on the right side of the political spectrum and believe the goverment is way too intrusive and wants to coddle us too much. I can't believe their is a federal law requiring garage doors to have that stupic safety beam. I hate seat belt/helmet laws. There are too many to state. But I do recognize the role of government, and the tendency of many people to take advantage of chaos in the vacuum of laws.
Snobs go home....or in this case...MOVE!
I hate people who think they are soooo much better than eveyone else....when in fact most are credit carded to the limit and have no assets at all..and In fact most of us are actually better off than them.
DIE Yuppie Scum!
- Tim
before we voted on it. I almost dropped dead from a stroke, no pickups, no vans, no work trucks or business vehicles with the name on the side, no boats or sailboats in the front, cannot paint YOUR house unless approved PAINT & COLOR, dont even think of cutting or trimming that tree in the front without approval, no POOLS unless surrounded by a 5 foot high STONE wall, on and on etc...etc.. and what was the benefit of being part of that city/district. Our property would appreciate from their "label/name" and their police/fire response time was better. Of course our taxes would quadruple but we would have the benefit of the "prestige" associated with their name/city. My wife (pickup owner) took one look and said "if you vote for it, you're sleeping on the sofa", so after much DEEP thought on the ISSUE I decided I liked my bed instead......:0)
Until I have enough money to buy 40 acres and a nice home, which I plan to someday, I want to live where people at least appear to have pride of ownership. And trust me, I have lived in areas where they do not. As Tim says, many people do live like complete pigs if allowed. I don't want to live next to someone with six cars parked in their front "garden", two of the cars cut in half (obviously, that's from my experience).
Is it right to not allow any vehicles in the driveway? As I said before, I certainly don't think so. So, yes, that law should be changed if the residents in that community think so. But I'm guessing there was a good reason for the law when it was created. Otherwise people would have been complaining back then. It's more than likely that residents pushed for the restriction.
I was just speaking to the anarchists that were saying all zoning was unacceptable. Move to the country before it's too late. What a joke. Let's just destroy the quality of life in the country with every pig that wants to litter their yard living on 1/2-acre lots in farming country.
I think most of you would agree that some zoning is in everyone's best interest, but it's inevitable that some elements of even the most relaxed zoning would annoy someone. Capitalism is the best system and a restricted government role is the best role of government. But there is always someone that takes advantage of free society, and that's where government has a role.
I don't think its an easy thing to say what homeowners can and can't do. In general, I think planners are trying their best to balance the interests of having a pleasant community with preserving homeowner's rights. Further, their job is complicated when society changes and new factors must be considered and old factors are no longer the same. These are poorly paid people that only have negative relations with the public. No one ever thanks them when things are going well. But everyone is sure to rip them when things go wrong. Where I am living, the planners are getting ripped for allowing a new driving range (complies with zoning) to be built with 150' poles and nets that interrupt the mountain views for people living anywhere within five miles of the range. Zoning wasn't strict enough, I guess.
Often, I think the reason people originally like a community and decide to move there may become the reason they complain about zoning. You might drive through an area and think it is a great neighborhood and appreciate how everyone keeps their yards and drives, not realizing they might be forced to do so. Then you move there and resent that you have to take care of your own front yard.
So what do I think is the right amount of zoning control? I think there should be a variety of zoning restrictions in different areas. Let people decide what they like and live in those areas. It is prefferable to keep the control as local as possible, and that is where subdivision/neighborhood CC&Rs are good, rather than zoning, because different developers can create different types of neighborhoods with different rules, and free market competition will ensure giving the customer what they want. In general, I think city zoning should support the community norms and restrict those activities that would create discord or be unsafe. Like I said, I don't think that it is easy to define, and there are bound to be some rules that are looked upon unfavorably by some people. That's why the system must be kept open to public review, then the public has control and blame can't only be placed solely on planners or other city officials.
That's it for me, I can't do anymore posts without mention of pickups.
it was created". It's not the pickups or trucks that bothers them, it's the people who come with them and don't have a offshore account or stocks to the hilt with bonds on the side. I live a "stones throw away" from them, and I know why they don't want my little 200k house in their sphere of ownership. But, thats OK, I'll just take my humble abode and be happy in the pride of
ownership of it and my lowly Toyota Pickup....
Now maybe social and economic standing are less important here, but I have never seen or heard of judgements being made based on vehicles driven - maybe I am lucky to live where I do.
My personal experience is sort of the opposite.
I live in an area where the homes are worth $150K-$250K, but across the street from me, the guy built a $600K home. It's great for the neighborhood (probably raised all our home values by quite a bit), but we can't understand why he would want to do that because he'll never be able to sell it for anywhere near that should he ever need to.
Some people do take it too far, but in general
zoning = good.
-powerisfun
If the restriction on pickups in driveways was indeed about elitism, as you say, it sounds more like a developer's CC&R rather than a city zoning code.
Regardless, with today's pickups costing upwards of $40,000 and representing status symbols, with LINCOLN set to sell pickups for God's sake, it's time to change the zoning anyway. I can just see a neighborhood in the future with a yuppy showing off his loaded Lincoln 3/4-ton Quad with tonneau cover, tail light grills, running boards, brush guard, and Warn wench parked next to his BMW on the driveway. If he can't park it out front, how can he show up his neighbor's stock Cadillac 1/2-ton ext. cab?
middle of a vast undeveloped area (e.g. you bought
the first home there)", I just bought 5 acres in a "vast undeveloped area" and am building one of the first few houses there. The homes being built are in the 200k-700k (this is florida after all) with rich retirees building their "dream homes" with plenty of savings. We plan to be very active in this new community and my wife has already made the rounds (with her pickup), its zoned AGRICULTURE and will soon come up against this very topic as more houses and roads are built.
If I was the developer, I would build 3 types of areas, the "retirement zone" with quiet and comfortable areas of parks and bike trails, the "yuppie zone" with wide boulevards, easy highway access, and plenty of malls, high tech business's, banks etc...., and the "progressive zone" where modest homes, condos, townhouses and apartments would be the norm with huge auto parks, nice resturants, schools for the children, lakes/beaches etc..
So everyone would have their "comfort zones" depending if you were just starting out, in the middle raising a family, or finishing at retirement. This would give each area a good mixture in the areas of income/social/economic levels and still allow those groups with similiar backgrounds/pursuits to build social ties and enjoy life.
-powerisfun
Case in point, I live in a semi-custom house on a half acre and purposely moved here so I'd have room for my toys. There ARE NO CC@R's. While working on me supercharged tunnel boat my neighbor asks if I could tune up his boat. After changing all fluids(outdrive, engine etc.) plugs, wires, all in all about a $300 service at no cost to him 'cept for parts I find out he MF's me to the other neighbors in the cul-de-sac that I'm always working on my toys on my property. He sure didn't mind me working on his junk. Thank goodness the other neighbors are gear heads also and came to me.
I irritate my neighbors sometimes when I drop the tranny or yank the heads in my front yard, and if they wanted too they could make trouble (I know there is one of the codes that retricts it).
So I take it into the back yard and everyone is happy, by doing so I adjusted my behavior so as to not disturb the "comfort zones" that my neighbors have a right to when they bought into this neighborhood.
Now in a undeveloped/unincorporated area there wont be any codes to restrict me, but will I dump the 3427 different tranny parts all over my front lawn and let them sit out there for 3 weeks till I get the replacement seals.
No, even though there is no rule or code I would still take it in the back and out of sight just out of common courtesy to neighbors who might get upset about it.
You have to respect their "comfort zones" that they expect when they bought into that neighborhood, BUT and a very big BUT, if they start making rules and changing codes to keep PEOPLE out of the neighborhood then we'll have a problem.
If they want to restrict BEHAVIOR (i.e. speeding, dumps on front lawn, butt naked streakers, etc..) I can handle that, but if they try to restrict PEOPLE (no pickups/people with trucks), then they are going to have a PROBLEM!!
I like it!
Rich
As the president in my association one of my responsibilities is to provide a copy of the CC & R's to the escrow agents who are closing on sales in my neighborhood, hopefully this helps all of my prospective neighbors make informed decision. I like my neighborhood, and those who wish to raise chickens or collect yet to be operational vehicles in the yard will not find it to there liking, and I'm OK with that, not that it is elitist it is just the way we choose to live and preserve our property values, consistency can be a good thing.
To each his/her own.
Were I in the same position, I would certainly follow the letter of the law... Trade in the pickup, acquire a florescent orange Humvee, and park it proudly in the drive!
this topic is being "frozen." It will be archived or deleted in the next 10 days or so.
Front Porch Philosopher
SUV, Pickups, & Aftermarket and Accessories Host