HOAs in general and all the bs that goes with it like this “law” are a thing of the past and don’t reflect the current world we live in. Pristine manicured yards have caused problems across the globe for the underlying systems that keep the earth healthy and vibrant. We need to relearn how to live in the environments we find ourselves in, not cater them to our own self deluding fantasies of perfection.

Yeah, we have some good things, besides “free” healthcare.

The closest thing to an HOA in Canada is when it is a shared building like a Condo, then we have a Strata.

It runs as a legal corporation, with some property (such as building, roof being common property, and some outdoor spaces being shared or limited common property) the difference is each year you get to vote in a new council (if people want the role) and changes to bylaws are voted on as a majority by the owners. Minor things 51% majority, major changes are 75% majority.

So if something like a “no yellow doors” policy bothers you, you just propose a motion to allow yellow as a building scheme for doors, and hope enough residents agree. Since the housing market where I live has such a high resell rate, its rare you’d be stuck with the same ultra staunch voters for every council.

It’s also, in the simplest way, incompetent.

All those weeds provide some ecological service in some way. If you look at my yard and note it’s covered in tall straggly white flowers, you could say weedy, and be right. I would clarify that wild carrots are helping convert our heavy clay soil into good tilth, and supporting a massive number of pollinators and pest predators.

And why would we put up with yellow dock going to seed everywhere? It’s the most nutritious chicken fodder, and it also gives tilth to heavy clay.

Don’t get me started about dandelion!!

Well, we all have varying degrees of parochialism in our local outlook.

Displaying a status symbol is a use—just a very poor one.

Ragweed can burn in hell.

F yeah, allergy brother/sister!

I think the term is fine if you approach it from an “invasive species” mindset rather than an “undesirable” mindset.

I don’t know if it was intentionally done by my teachers, but that’s the impression I always got about the term since it was usually brought up in the context of introduced species of plants causing harm to native species. Stuff like dandelions and such.

Yes but also no. I agree but there is a big grain of salt to be had here. Yards like also help pests thrive too. Particularly ticks and rodents come to mind. Lots of hiding areas that are safe for rodents to avoid seen / caught. Easy safe pathways for skunks, raccoons, possums etc. Ticks are gona love the tall plants and moist conditions. Earwigs are gona be all up in almost everything that is there. If there is anything that grows fruit, well you vet your ass theres gona be way more paper wasps/balshead hornets/ yellow jackets etc. Is the increased pollen going to now cause more allergies for 8 year old Timmy next door? When winter rolls around all those wonderfull bugs and critters 100% gona want to cozy up in your 2000sqft home. From attic, basment, or kitchen Cupboard.

Eveyone seems to miss the fact that a diverse environment doesn’t only just attract bees and Butterflies. It wouldn’t be "diverse " if it did.

The big reason we grow grass and keep it short is for pest control.

Cept for all those other Karens

ignoring the obvious fact that you’re effectively declaring entire clades of sentient animals to be basically biological waste because i know im going to make exactly zero headway with a human supremacist in this comment; if the primary consideration were pests, wouldn’t stones or pavement be a more ideal solution than grass with all the maintenance and upkeep that requires being baked into the law?

i feel comfortable declaring centipedes, you know those ones that look like eyelashes? those are biological waste because they freak me the fuck out. every time i see one i have nightmares for a week i’m going to wake up with beautiful gorgeous long eyelashes, but they’ll turn out to just be centipedes with a thing for my eye juices. if they have any other purpose in the universe than giving me eye juice nightmares i don’t want to hear it

Unfortunately many tax payers will support it, because non-standard property appearance drags down property values. Or people just get their panties twisted by stuff. Some of my city’s aldermen are trying to make it illegal to grow corn (technically “vegetable gardens over six feet tall”) in city limits because they have gotten so many complaints from neighbors. Having a food plant visible near a residence? The horror!

Oh, are you talking about House Centipedes? Great for controlling other insects in your house!

And also, at my current phase in my life, the closest thing I’ll have to some creature cuddling me at night.

Grass seed is significantly cheaper and faster than stones and pavement. Grass also provides some water retention during rain, helping reduce demand on storm drains.

Yes you will not make headway with this human supremacist for the fact that I have zero interest in paying thousands of dollars in repairs. Because some coon decided to live in my crawl space and fuck my shit up. Or worse yet, have a rat chew up wires and burn my house down. Fun fact, rats love the texture of Romex wire on their teeth.

i use wolf spiders for house insect control. currently Gary is on duty

That’s literally just an HOA, but only for multi-tenant buildings. Like, I get that you don’t have them for detached single family homes, but every aspect you’re describing is just how HOAs function in the US.

400,000 in fines? Fuck them. Even if I disagreed with her argument I would still agree with her for that alone. That’s just obscene.

this human supremacist

i take it back. i made a very small amount of headway with a human supremacist

edit: “coon” tasteful, bud. fun fact, humans love the texture of gunmetal in their hands. hey have you considered maybe its your fault for living in a house that’s not built to resist invasion? modern materials and construction techniques work wonders in allowing humans to pretend the natural world they’re raping for resources doesn’t exist. but no, it must be the animals seeking shelter, they must be murdered for their inconvenient audacity of wanting to be fucking alive. because you have zero interest in paying for any alternative solutions. it’s not in your interest to have empathy for other living creatures. empathy is a sin. you didnt rape all those resources just to spend them on anything or anyone else. those resources are for you. that’s why god put those animals there and you in charge of them, because you know best.

i hope you seek shelter and are murdered for the attempt by someone who looks at you the same way you look at a rat.

Some HOA documentaries I have seen about USA had them own the house or have right of sale refusal, and can have a say in who buys the property, with a strata here the sale is owner to owner, and strata is not involved other than notification and identification. You are bound by the bylaws created by fellow owners, but since Strata doesn’t get a say in the sale there is possibility for new buyers coming in to flip the old owners rules quite soon.