As far as the proposed exterior maintenance ordinances are concerned, people need to be aware of what is happening. First of all, what defines “blight”? Is it truly municipalities who have these selective ordinances, or is it homeowner associations (HOA) within those municipalities?
What – or who – defines overgrown and unsightly?
If one reads between the lines of these so-called beautification ordinances, one will find sheer ugliness. These proposed ordinances by BG SONG (Save Our Neighborhoods Group) are designed to keep “undesirable” people out of our city. Bowling Green makes claims on being inclusive and wanting to attract new residents, yet the recent drastic increase in property taxes and these proposed maintenance ordinances speak to the opposite. Seems that BG SONG only wants to attract the “right type” of resident. After all, poor = blight, right?
These ordinances will result in ticketing the elderly who have been in their home for decades and prefer to buy medication and food instead of bushes. Citations will be issued to single parents who do not have the time to religiously trim, water, and weed flower beds because they need to work extra overtime to pay for the extreme hike in property taxes in order to keep their home.
What will become of a new homeowner who will require several months, if not years, to make their new house a home? Never mind the new roof… flowers are required by law!
Perhaps the members of BG SONG enjoy the HOA lifestyle. Good for them, they can stay there and keep their judgements to themselves. I chose not to live within the restrictive confines of a HOA because I like making my own decisions. If I choose not to hide my house behind a bunch of bushes and flowers, that is my right. If I choose to paint my house funky colors, hang my clothes out to dry on an outside line, sit in my own driveway, drink beer, and build a pyramid with the empty cans, I will do just that. I might even hang a sign from my dirty windows that says “I DO NOT LIVE IN AN HOA.” That is the right of property ownership. As long as I own the property, pay the taxes and pay the insurance on that property, I will enjoy that right. As long as there is no health or safety risk, my property, and everyone else’s property in BG, is nobody else’s concern.
In short, MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS.
RJ Babel-Smith
Bowling Green
