 An actual picture taken in Fort Myers, FL |
A picture says a thousand words-- this one just says, "Stupid." If you're unfamiliar with the organization, Code Enforcement is a branch of (most?) local governments that walk around and police property owners about what they can and can't do on their rightfully-owned property.
For example: In Cape Coral, Florida, you cannot have your grass higher than 12 inches. Why anybody would want high grass is beyond me, but you'll get a hefty fine if you don't trim it down to 12.0 inches. If you own a sprinkler system, you can only run it on certain days (depending on whether your house address is an odd or even number) year-round even though Cape Coral gets almost 10 inches of rainfall in June alone.
A few weeks ago we had Code Enforcement knocking on our door with a clipboard in hand and a stern look on face. Our "violation" was having a table and three chairs outside that weren't "lawn furniture." Ex-fucking-cuse me? We need to have "lawn furniture" in our lawn? Who the hell decided this? The furniture companys' lobbyists downtown?
Other policies in place by the County Codes & Ordinances include:
Limiting the number of vehicles on your property.
Forbidding you from parking a car length-wise on the sidewalk (even if you're just stopping in for a minute).
Detailing what you can and can't build on YOUR property.
The list goes on.
Their reason for this fascism? Property values. If you buy a house, you aren't buying a home anymore-- You're investing in the real estate market. And because rich, snooty northerners like to live in gated communities, our local officials are trying to turn every neighborhood into one by robbing the property owners of all freedom in the name of profit.
And, if you notice in the picture above: Not only do they make these arbitrary laws and codes, they can't help but make them into a mass of hypocrisy.
So there you have it: You're losing more and more freedom everyday because people are so obsessed about property values in rural communities. There's a reason they call this place the slums, asshole. It's not supposed to be pretty and well-manicured. Some of us have better things to do than make our house look like yours to protect your investments.
