One gardener with an overreaching homeowners association took to Facebook when the organization imposed what seemed like unreasonable restrictions.
Kaitlyn Zucchi made her complaint in the Raised Bed Gardening group.
"So my HOA sent a notice to all HOMEOWNERS to remove any potted plant from homeowner porches immediately and going forward, with concern that a potted plant on a front porch could cause 'lack of ventilation' and 'wood rot' to an entire home?!" she said in disbelief.
"Anyone ever heard of this? Is this a bit much for an HOA?" Zucchi asked.
The attached message from the HOA is slightly ambiguous, but it seems that the actual concern being addressed may have been about lack of ventilation and wood rot to porches under the plant pots, a much more realistic fear.
But the solution — banning porch plants — still seems like overkill, especially for a much smaller problem than Zucchi assumed.
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Unfortunately, the heavy-handed approach isn't unusual when it comes to HOAs ruling on enjoyable or money-saving improvements to homes and yards.
Whether it's solar panels, compost bins, or garden beds — all of which are good for your wallet and the planet — some HOAs will push back due to disagreements about how they look.
Homeowners may be able to change HOA rules to allow these improvements if enough of their neighbors agree.
"And this is reason 1,000 why I would never live in an HOA," one commenter said.
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Under $1K 😎 While avoiding HOAs entirely would avoid these sorts of issues, people need places to live and sometimes have limited options based on other considerations.
"We don't have much choice for now," the original poster replied. "We fled violent crime a few years ago and bought a safe home here near my family. Although it seems some SoCal HOAs do the most about petty stuff. My little girls have a couple potted strawberry plants with saucers they water on the front porch daily and somehow this is an HOA concern."
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