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Stricter ordinances ruin everyone’s fun
By Kat Moser / Yucca Valley
This is in response to Frank Allen’s letter supporting ordinances to prohibit cars from being parked or repaired in front or corner side yards, and requiring all vehicles to be parked in designated driveways approved by the city. I sincerely hope he’s correct in stating, “It will not happen in the Town of Yucca Valley.” Making an ordinance against something that slightly perturbs a few people as being an eyesore can ruin the quality of life for somebody else.
My husband and I moved here from Glendora because of a similar ordinance regarding RVs, which prohibited us from using our home’s RV pad to store our RV. This was only enforced if there was a complaint, and we were on a six-house cul-de-sac where half the houses had RVs and none of the neighbors minded them.
The day came, though, when someone who didn’t even live in our neighborhood took it upon herself to start canvassing the whole city and file complaints about everyone who wasn’t in compliance with the ordinance. Our neighbors and we were all given 30-days notice to move the RVs.
Beside the expense of storage, towing the RV from the nearest available storage yard to home to load with that weekend’s equipment and supplies, and returning it after unloading, added four hours and 40 miles to both the beginning and end of every trip in the RV. That ended weekend trips. It really came down to a choice between moving and the RV. We chose to move here where there’s freedom to store your RV, classic cars, boat, sand toys, etc. at your own home.
I tell our story only as an example of how much such ordinances can affect people. These car ordinances would mean many classic car collectors would be unable to restore and keep their cars at home unless they could afford a garage like Jay Leno’s. Folks without garages, or with full garages, wouldn’t even be able to fix their own cars without first installing an “approved driveway” in the back yard, and renters would be plain out of luck.
Once ordinances such as these start being enacted it won’t be long before nobody can have RVs, boats, etc. on their property and instead must pay to store them in inconvenient, expensive and unsafe storage facilities. How much farther out of the city should folks have to move to be able to enjoy their leisure toys?
I applaud the Town Council for standing up to people that want laws limiting personal freedom just for appearances’ sake. This is a town where, unlike 90 percent or more of California cities, people have room for and are allowed to pursue their interests at home. It may not be the right town for people who prefer the homogenized look of most cities, with all their tract housing, the same chain stores and restaurants and no personality. That describes most of California, so it’s easy for people who prefer it to move back into that environment.
Yucca Valley and the Morongo Basin are different, and interesting, with a great amount of individualism and creativity on display.
Let’s keep it that way. If a few cars in a yard bother somebody, perhaps they could take a different route so as not to see them.
Why enact laws that take the fun out of life for many others in one of the very few towns where that fun is still available?
My husband and I moved here from Glendora because of a similar ordinance regarding RVs, which prohibited us from using our home’s RV pad to store our RV. This was only enforced if there was a complaint, and we were on a six-house cul-de-sac where half the houses had RVs and none of the neighbors minded them.
The day came, though, when someone who didn’t even live in our neighborhood took it upon herself to start canvassing the whole city and file complaints about everyone who wasn’t in compliance with the ordinance. Our neighbors and we were all given 30-days notice to move the RVs.
Beside the expense of storage, towing the RV from the nearest available storage yard to home to load with that weekend’s equipment and supplies, and returning it after unloading, added four hours and 40 miles to both the beginning and end of every trip in the RV. That ended weekend trips. It really came down to a choice between moving and the RV. We chose to move here where there’s freedom to store your RV, classic cars, boat, sand toys, etc. at your own home.
I tell our story only as an example of how much such ordinances can affect people. These car ordinances would mean many classic car collectors would be unable to restore and keep their cars at home unless they could afford a garage like Jay Leno’s. Folks without garages, or with full garages, wouldn’t even be able to fix their own cars without first installing an “approved driveway” in the back yard, and renters would be plain out of luck.
Once ordinances such as these start being enacted it won’t be long before nobody can have RVs, boats, etc. on their property and instead must pay to store them in inconvenient, expensive and unsafe storage facilities. How much farther out of the city should folks have to move to be able to enjoy their leisure toys?
I applaud the Town Council for standing up to people that want laws limiting personal freedom just for appearances’ sake. This is a town where, unlike 90 percent or more of California cities, people have room for and are allowed to pursue their interests at home. It may not be the right town for people who prefer the homogenized look of most cities, with all their tract housing, the same chain stores and restaurants and no personality. That describes most of California, so it’s easy for people who prefer it to move back into that environment.
Yucca Valley and the Morongo Basin are different, and interesting, with a great amount of individualism and creativity on display.
Let’s keep it that way. If a few cars in a yard bother somebody, perhaps they could take a different route so as not to see them.
Why enact laws that take the fun out of life for many others in one of the very few towns where that fun is still available?
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mydoit2002 wrote on Jan 7, 2009 11:34 PM: