The most insane news story ever: Man jailed for brown lawn

[Tommy_Carcetti]

I came across this story by accident and was absolutely floored by it:
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http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article847365.ece

Brown lawn means jail time
By Jodie Tillman, Times Staff Writer


BAYONET POINT — On Friday morning, Joseph Prudente put on a pair of shorts and his "Grandpa Gone Wild" T-shirt. He took off his wedding band and put his heart medication in a plastic Wal-Mart bag.

Then his daughter drove him to jail. Grandpa had time to do.

His crime? He had disobeyed a court order that he sod the lawn at his Beacon Woods home.

His bail? Zero.

Prudente, 66, must stay in the Pasco County jail in Land O'Lakes until the required sod work is completed, under a September court order signed by Circuit Judge W. Lowell Bray.

* * * *

Earlier this year, the Beacon Woods Civic Association took Prudente to court after he failed to install new sod on his browning lawn, which had withered after his sprinklers broke. The association had already sent letters telling him to resod his front and back yards by certain dates.

In an interview at the jail Friday evening, Prudente said he thought he had made a good financial hardship case to the association: His adjustable rate mortgage went up an extra $600 a month. Wachovia repossessed his Toyota Scion. His daughter and her two young children, who had fallen on hard times, moved in with him and his wife, Pat.

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This is absolutely sick. Not only is it a sad sign of the times of the mortgage crisis in this country, but Florida's water tables are strained due to overdevelopment and many communities are actually curtailing sprinkler use.

I hope the judge who signed the order and the sicko members of the homeowners association do not sleep one wink of sleep until this man is out of jail and recieved reperations for this crap.

[skipos]

1. America's obsession with lawns is silly. nt

[begin_within]

2. In some areas of California, the opposite has happened

During times of drought, temporary ordinances have been passed that made green lawns illegal (mostly in the late 1970s as I can recall). People could have gotten tickets for having green lawns.

[TomInTib]

3. I wouldn't live in a place with a homeowners association if my life depended on it.

They seem to wield extra-legal powers.

[DJ13]

4. Crap, I'd get life

No lawn, just dirt.

:scared:

[marions ghost]

5. I would divorce these neighbors....

"Representatives of the Beacon Woods association expressed regret Prudente had landed in jail. But they said it was his own fault.

"It's a sad situation," said board president Bob Ryan, who added that the association had followed all the correct procedures. "But in the end, I have to say he brought it upon himself."

[lpbk2713]

6. Homeowners Associations should be outlawed.

They are way too oppressive and usually act on popularity contest motivations.

By that I mean --- Resident 'A' can do such and such because he's a good ol' boy.

But Resident 'B' can't do the same thing or something similar because he doesn't suck up to the HOA.

I would never buy a home in a neighborhood that has a HOA.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

9. The stereotypical HOA board member:

Somebody who's never been in any sort of power position all their life. They finally get the chance to have some sort of say in something, no matter how trivial, and they use their position to bully and nitpick out of sheer frustation that their life never amounted to all it could have.

Sadly, I think there are way too many HOA board members who have actually lived up to this stereotype. At my old condo complex, I remember going to the complex swimming pool after a long days work just to take a swim. It was early evening but the sun hadn't set yet. I actually had one gentleman--the HOA president I think--scream at me and demand I exit the pool because "the rules are that the pool closes after dark!"

[DoctorMyEyes]

19. I did once

and didn't understand at the time what a prickish thing an HOA was. I figured I was not a slob and had never wrecked a neighborhood so I wouldn't have a problem. Wrong! Nickel and diming nazis always wanted some fee or another to cover some bullshit they wanted to do to improve THEIR section of the development.

The thing is, I don't know if there even were any single family homes available in that state that DIDN'T have come with HOA strings. I'm not sure how avoidable they are, depending on where you need to be for school/work/family.

But, they should be voluntary and never able to enforce any RULE that isn't already a law.

People who run them are fundamentally fucked up. What normal person has the time or inclination to volunteer to nit-pick their neighbors?

[Ezlivin]

7. Cheap solution: Green spray paint

If you read the history of the Soviet Union you'll come across cases where servicemen actually painted trees and grass to impress visiting dignitaries.

So now that we're living in Amerika, perhaps the comrade should have simply grabbed a can of green spray paint?

[MikeE]

8. This just proves my point about homeowner associations

which is why I live in the city and don't deal with one. A friend of mine always used to mispronounce the title of the movie "Resident Evil" as Residential Evil", to which I would always say, "That is a home owner's association"

[Sukie]

10. I found their website.

Hmmm, wonder if there is a place on it to voice our disgust?


http://www.bwcai.org/


Yes, there is.

http://www.bwcai.org/contact.php

[Sukie]

12. Looks like things worked out okay

Those fabulous volunteers again!


http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/letters/article851995.ece

[Tommy_Carcetti]

13. Also, emails of the board members

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[ddeclue]

17. Also:

[e-mail]
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[ReadTomPaine]

11. If you can be jailed for this, you can be jailed for any reason at all. n/t

[TreasonousBastard]

14. There really is a place called "Bayonet Point"? That and...

a homeowners association with lawn nazis has to be a spoof.

It does, doesn't it?

(I hope it does)

[Selatius]

15. Home Nazis Associations are a problem that should be dealt with.

Maybe America needs a Homeowners' Bill of Rights to outlaw certain rapacious and arbitrary decisions handed down by HOAs.

[vanderBeth]

16. I wouldn't live anywhere that has a HOA if you fucking paid me.

[riverdeep]

18. Not only are homeowner's associations nuts,

but the ones in Florida are really nuts. Filled with busybodies with too much time on their hands.

I was listening to Randi the other day say that they made her take down her and her neighbors Obama sign.

The association actually lowered their own property values through the publicity of this story more than than if they just worked out a deal with the guy in the first place. Did it have to be grass? What about some other, cheaper material to place on the lawn? Some sparse ornamental rocks would look fine.

[Overseas]

20. He is free now. MadFloridian says good samaritan neighbors helped out.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/2893

[rebecca_herman]

21. Disgusting

I've read the story and it disgusts me. But don't they realize their property values will go down MORE now that everyone in the area knows what a nasty HOA it is? No one will recommend living there now!

You can read all their restrictions on their website. They are control freaks. I can't believe anyone would want to live there. You can't even keep a kiddie pool or toys in your own backyard when they aren't playing with them. Ridiculous.