New Law - Vegetable Home Gardens NOT OK
 

Members of the Amenity Authority Committee learned at their meeting on Wednesday that a new Florida law that permits vegetable gardens in residential front yards won't affect community standards in The Villages. Lewis Stone, the AAC's attorney, said he and Valerie Fuchs, who represents the numbered Village Community Development Districts, concluded deed restrictions that Villagers agreed to in their purchase contract supersedes the new law. (Full report in Thursday August 8, 2019 Daily Sun Section C.Page C-4).

That is too bad, I would much rather put water on something of value that waste it on a green dog toilet.

I am thinking that the issue will be resolved to the status quo. The new Representative Hage has close ties to The Villages and this area.

Florida Representative Brett Thomas Hage (R) | LobbyTools

I never thought the front yard garden was ever going to happen. So now we can stick a fork in it (pun intended).

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Sorry to hear that. We Just put in two rows of Corn and one row of Tomatoes. Oh Well! Green Acres Opening and Closing Credits and Theme Song - YouTube :1rotfl: :ho:

I suspect that much of what people might choose to plant is not covered by the deed restrictions anyway.

Will have to dig ours out and see what they say.

Yeah I checked the deed restrictions and community guidelines for my area and didn't see a thing about not being allowed to grow vegetables in the flower bed.

There are height restrictions, border restrictions, decoration restrictions, fencing restrictions, and "exotic" "invasive" and "non-Florida-friendly" restrictions.

So basically if I wanted to grow tomatoes, bananas, raspberries, basil, oregano, rosemary, mint, cabbage, and eggplant, there's nothing in the restrictions saying that I can't. The herbs would have to be in pots since they would be considered "invasive" otherwise.

Nope, it’s not just an opinion. The author of the bill, Rep. Hage, confirmed that it is not the intent of the law to affect voluntarily agreed upon restrictions and that the deed restrictions every one signed (except perhaps those on the historic side) fall into that category. He intends to introduce language more specifically addressing that distinction in the next session.

I think in your area there are no restrictions.

Oh pishaw, deed restrictions, shmeed restrictions. You would have to be turned in by neighbors and if you are feeding them wonderful fresh veggies you probably will not get any complaints. Besides the restrictions do not matter too much, have seen hedges higher and longer than the Great Wall of China. We don't need no stinking money for a wall, we just need some of our outstanding gardeners from TV and all is solve!!!

There are some lightly worded restrictions from the Original Days before the founders realized this place was going to get so big.

As bad as some think The Historic Section is decoration wise that is really not true. There is an occasional house that is just unbelievable in its disregard for socially acceptable outdoor decor. I think the lack of "Rules" and the consideration for thy neighbor keeps our Hood Nice.

I asked our next-door neighbor about yard farming together but definitely tastefully and small only in between both houses. Looks like we're in business. Just something for fun. :ho:

There is one house that has a Blue driveway. It is the biggest, ugliest shot at a neighbor I've ever seen anywhere. It has to be a joke. A very bad one, this is the kind of thing that gives us a bad reputation. I'll bet you 98 out of 100 people would agree with me and the other 2 are lying, it's rough. Needs some rows of Corn up the Driveway to cover the view! :ohdear:

Chip in and offer to pay for decorative designs painted in festive magenta on that driveway to break up all that blue! C'mon, have a heart and be a good neighbor!

:clap2:I saw that UGLY Blue driveway off of Delmar,at least I hope that's the only one.I would much rather see tomatoes or any vegetable than Plastic windmills and flowers.

Oh please, no!! I don't want to live in Green Acres

Looking at the history of this legislation it was first introduced into the FL Senate by Sen. Bradley in Nov 2018. A companion bill was introduced in the Fl House by Federoff in Jan 2019. While Hage did vote for the bill he does not seem to have written it. Nor, of course, is his opinion of what it says binding. The interpretation of the law is by the judicial system. You can read the analysis of the effect of this law prepared for the legislature


My reading of this, and I am most assuredly not a lawyer, is that local government cannot restrict fruit/vegetable gardens without an extremely good reason. And deed restrictions are not going to cut it. The reason this law was written was because some local communities were restricting and fining Floridians for having vegetable gardens. The state legislature has pre-empted the local government's authority on this issue.

Yep, it really is JUST an opinion, until such time as the first case...winds its way entirely through the legal system. :ho:

Excellent post...thanks! :thumbup:

It's really something else, but luckily it's not around us. I would never put the address as that is just wrong. I wouldn't report it either.

The majority of a whole lot of neighborhood that I am familiar with are full of great people with an occasional Nudge sprinkled in just like the rest of the world. Who cares? The fight is over of course if your Dog has a problem on our lawn then it's on! :1rotfl:

I can't get that damn Green Acres Song outta my head. LOL :)

What reasonable person would want a garden in their front yard instead of their backyard?

Yeah this part here:
doesn't really need to be interpreted. It's plain English. The Villages cannot forbid vegetable gardens on a residential property.

It CAN still restrict water useage, types of fertilizers, and it still CAN restrict the types of vegetation -such as invasive species (which is also clearly worded in plain English in the next sentence of the law).

So, if corn requires certain water useage and fertilization that more Florida-friendly plants don't need, the Villages can say "sure, plant that corn, just don't water it, and don't fertlize it." You won't get much corn out of it, but you're allowed to try. Cabbages, crucifers, beets, peppers, would probably do much better, and can be grown organically, be a decorative asset to the flower bed. Most of those are very low-growing as well, can can grow in dense clusters, which serves as excellent ground cover (which is very good for the soil) and fill-ins between flowering herbs - and those tend to keep insects away and attract honeybees and hummingbirds.

Most people I know have gardens in their front yards. Some of those plants are vegetables, some herbs, and most of them are flowers and decorative grasses.

Some people don't get enough sun in their back yards to grow vegetables, which typically need a lot of it. Tomatoes don't grow well at all in the shade so if the only place you get full sun for most of the day is your front yard, then that's where you'll be growing your tomatoes.

I highly doubt anybody will plant corn? IMO tomato’s taste like crap in this area. About the only thing that’s tastes are peppers at least till the white flies kill all the leaves. I also doubt anybody will be planting in their front yards. Most yards are full to trash left over from the building and poor soil on top of that. You can water with garden hose all you want by hand.

With all due respect are you talking about in The Villages? I use to have a garden prior to retirement and coming to The Villages but wouldn’t think about growing one in my front yard here. We are a deed restricted community and for the most part we have “small” yards in TV. A garden like I use to grow would look completely out of place in The Villages in my front yard. And there is always the local farmers market or Publix which is 5 minutes away by golf cart. Reasonable people can disagree but I don’t believe the intent of the legislation was to over-ride deed restrictions like we have in The Villages.

Those deed restrictions HAVE BEEN overridden by law. That's what this thread is about. Those deed restrictions are no longer enforceable. By the way the deed restrictions about clotheslines were never enforceable, and the ones about antennae and aerials haven't been enforceable in over 20 years (which is why you see a lot of satellite dishes on top of the houses and no one forcing anyone to take them down).

I was responding to your post which asked "what reasonable person would plant a garden in their front yard?" You didn't clarify - you didn't ask about vegetable garden, you didn't ask "in the Villages." I tend to take things literally unless the person gives some indication that they're joking. If you had posted what you actually meant, I probably would not have responded as I did.

Not so fast. Wait and see. You are safe, no deed restriction about this stuff where you live. I'd check before I grew Pot though. (But Pappy's workin' on it) For the people, you know.

You need to do more research as to why.....

Deed restrictions, for the most part, always supersede laws for this type of thing.

The two attorneys have stated the new law's affect on TV. It's seems to me that they should know.

...unless the law expressly states that communities are not allowed to restrict something.

(edited out bad analogy)...

If the law says you can do something, and the law says your community is not allowed to forbid it...


then your community is not allowed to forbid it.

My concern would the the quality of the recycled water that is used to water our yards.
Would that be appropriate for vegetables that we consume?

Here's the general summary answer to that question: SL339/SS544: Reclaimed Water Use in the Landscape: Frequently Asked Questions about Reclaimed Water

So you can safely use it to water the tomatoes and other crops that grow OUT of the soil. But crops that grow IN the soil (root vegetables and ground cover) would need to be cooked, peeled, or "thermally processed" before eating.

There's still the matter of raised beds, which you can plant away from the automatic sprinkler system (or zone out of the automatic watering system) and water by hand, or use filtered rainbarrel water.

I hope Marathon Man is right. Do you really long for a vegetable garden in your yard CNM?

"So you can safely use it to water the tomatoes and other crops that grow OUT of the soil. But crops that grow IN the soil (root vegetables and ground cover) would need to be cooked, peeled, or "thermally processed" before eating."

But the yard water sprinklers DO SPRAY UP ON THE SURFACE of the vegetables that grow in the yards.

So I don't see how crops that grow above the soil can safely be used as food without peeling or cooking.

Then tomatoes would not be SAFE?

I agree with your thinking. All this is much too new to be definite. There will be modifications.

It kind of reminds me of a brand new model car. You don't want to buy one the first year of manufacture until all the kinks are ironed out. Wait and see how things pan out. There will be changes.

By "recycled water", if you mean water that is treated by the sewage treatment plants then this is not an issue if you live north of 44. Recycled water from the sewage treatment plants is not used for residential irrigation north of 44. It is used for golf course irrigation. South of 44, recycled water from the sewage treatment plants may be used for residential irrigation.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, you seem to be incorrect.

FL law protects your rights to grow vegetables, but not if you live under HOA rules • IAC

The new law restricts local governments but does not apply to HOAs or deed restrictions agreed to by a property owner.

Will see you in court --- you are wrong !!!

Yes I do