Do Your HOA Gardening Rules Restrict or Ban Gardening?
Homeowner’s Associations — HOA gardening rules — have foiled many an aspiring gardener. If your HOA restricts food gardens, partially or completely, there are still ways to work edibles into your ornamental landscapes.
During the Covid-19 quarantine, a friend shared that their HOA had sent them a list of all the things that had to be done now that families had more time at home. While we can all appreciate the benefits of someone regulating of neighborhoods for helping to keep up property values and appearances, most of us don’t like to be told what to do and when, and what we cannot do on our own land.
Some people rally their fellow HOA members to try to contest the no-gardening allowed rule, and that’s certainly an option. In fact, a dream neighborhood to us would be one in which all homes were growing food as well as ornamentals instead of lawns, (or predominantly lawns).
More Gardens, Less Lawns
Flying into Atlanta on a nice sunny day, my window seat afforded a grand view of the expansive sprawl of subdivisions along the flight path. At about 2000 feet, it was easy to spot which homeowners had installed food gardens in their yards.
Of the hundreds of cookie-cutter homes stamped upon the terrain in concise patterns, not one garden appeared.
Not one.
The layout of these dwellings in all their efficiency reminded me of office cubicles. Perhaps, many of the inhabitants boxed themselves for convenience… as in work in a box, drive in a box, live in a box, and eat out of a box (basically).
Not to disparage anyone who happens to be in this category, it’s just an observation, an overview that led to wondering why there were no gardens planted in these tracts. Surely, somebody yearned to scratch up some Georgia red clay and plant some collards!?
Vegetable Gardening Not Allowed
Then the realization came. Dollars to donuts, the Homeowner’s Associations (HOA’s) were in charge and for whatever reason, food gardens did not fit the desired pattern. Zoning may also have played a role, but based on a working familiarity with subdivisions and their CCR’s (Conditions, Covenants and Restrictions), it looked like the HOA enforcers were doing their job down there. Then the next realization hit: this is what the homeowners wanted. Simple, safe, easy-care property value insurance. Safe, simple, and uniform.
Cover image from Mother Earth News article by Betsy Model, on Edible Landscaping.[1]https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/garden-planning/edible-landscaping-zw0z10zalt.aspx
Everything looked to be so regimented, locked-in, standardized, mass-produced, quality-controlled.
The Ups and Downs of HOA’s and CCR’s
As mentioned, experience in building and developing our own 40 acre “forested” subdivision with lots from 1/2 acre to 5 acres, has informed us of the necessity to install CCR’s as a matter of protection. We are property owners and managers acting in the stead of an official HOA.
Even though our CCR’s are clearly spelled out, registered with the county deeds office, and tied in with every lot, real estate agents miss them. New arrivals often need to be apprised that the CC&Rs exist, which doesn’t set up for a great get-to-know-your-neighbor event.
Often, they have to be convinced that, yes, we do have neighborhood rules. No ATV’s, dirt bikes, commercial shops, setbacks, pigs, mobile homes, and a rather broad category where … “No obnoxious or offensive use of the property will be permitted.”
HOAs Protect Property Values
These measures protect property values, the land itself (ever seen what ATV’s can do to a yard and septic field?), noise, and all manner of disturbances. One newly arrived resident couldn’t understand why it was a problem to fire off practice rounds on weekends from his back porch (50 feet away from the next door neighbor).
HOAs Help Create Pleasant Neighborhoods
Another neighbor decided to open a motorcycle repair shop that operated part time—all hours of the night. We appreciate anyone’s entrepreneurial enterprise and side-hustle.
However this was a noisy one and included frequent customer visits to test drive these bikes all hours of the day and night. We’d awaken to revving and racing up the hill on (some of them) unmuffled motorbikes, and all of which were tweaked for that extra macho loudness.
Each of these things in turn, sets off a cacophony of neighborhood dogs, for an increasing crescendo of noise in an otherwise quiet wooded subdivision. We’d rather listen to the birds, crickets and peepers.
Appearance – How is Food Gardening Offensive?!?
Would the neighbors really complain about something so beautiful? Likely someone would. And I get it, for frost covers and cattle panel greenhouses aren’t necessarily aesthetically appealing, excepting perhaps to the gardener who created them!
Out of some 15 families in this small cul-de-sac neighborhood, only ours keeps a garden. We had to clear a wide swath of pine trees to get enough sun and would have no issue whatsoever with any neighbors doing the same.
Fortunately, our CCR’s do not prohibit vegetable gardening. We never would have considered food gardening as offensive. However, driving down our street and seeing our home and garden, it’s clear that the protective row covers and tunnels in the garden, plus the large pile of wood chip mulch, can make it look like a tent city.
Further, we can see how—to the unfamiliar eye—some vegetable plants look sprawling, unkempt and even weed-like. Never mind that the neighbor might be poisoning some of the best food source on the planet when spraying the dandelion in his grass.
Odors
During parts of the growing season, the straw bales can smell pretty ripe for a few days as the organic fertilizers went to work. Similarly, the organic compost bins and fertilizers can add their own “eau de ripe” aroma.
So we get it and can appreciate how these facets of gardening aren’t for everyone.
The psychology of this is poignantly covered in another article we’ll link to at the end of this. It’s actually very interesting.
So What Can You do?
If you belong to a HOA’s that imposes a ban on food gardens, there may be steps you can take.
The Neighborhood Food Act
There’s good news for Californians. Nearly two years ago, California passed the “Neighborhood Food Act” along with several other bills to promote sustainable and local food growing.
This act essentially bans the banners (HOA’s, CID’s, and other entities like landlords) and promotes the growing of food gardens for personal consumption or donation. [2]https://www.shareable.net/blog/governor-brown-signs-californias-neighborhood-food-act
If you’re not in California, what can you do?
Avoid HOAs if You Can
First, avoid the situation entirely by buying or renting property that is not so subject to neighborhood controls. However, just be aware that your neighbors may actually get to do as they please too.
Advantages of HOAs
We’ve seen, experienced or heard of numerous neighbor situations in unrestricted rural areas that you may not want to experience.
Examples of Neighbors You May Not Want
- Backyard sawmill
- Motor-Cross trail
- Trailer park
- Junk yard – used car parts business; appliance collector, etc.
- Pig farm (or downwind from any livestock farm)
- Shooting range
- or back yard target practice
- often late into the night on weekends while partying
- Honky tonk (or garage band buddies who party late into the night)
- Puppy mill or dog breeder with lots of barking dogs
- or lots of barking dogs in general, (or 1 or 2 incessant barkers)