Thread: Saving Energy is forbidden in the U.S.

Originally Posted by HermantheGerman

Carl Weiner, a lawyer for about 50 homeowners associations in suburban Philadelphia, said the no-hanging rules are usually included by the communities' developers along with regulations such as a ban on sheds or commercial vehicles. The no-hanging rules are an aesthetic issue, Weiner said. "The consensus in most communities is that people don't want to see everybody else's laundry."

I saw a report about the same or similar case a few years ago. It is not only an aesthetic issue. The owners fear their area might lose value as laundry in the open is seen as lower class.

Originally Posted by HermantheGerman

He said opposition to clotheslines may ease as more people understand it can save energy and reduce greenhouse gases. "There is more awareness of impact on the environment," he said. "I would not be surprised to see people questioning these restrictions."

Let's hope the argument takes on. But it seems there is a little more to the story. A compromise could probably be found, like

Originally Posted by Sir Wilson

WTF ? 1. Why doesnt she hang it out the back ?

But ideology seems to get in the way.

For Froehlich, the "right to hang" is the embodiment of the American tradition of freedom. "If my husband has a right to have guns in the house, I have a right to hang laundry," said Froehlich, who is writing a book on the subject.

Originally Posted by dirtydog

Originally Posted by HermantheGerman

Kevin Firth, who owns a two-bedroom condominium in a Dublin, Pennsylvania housing association, said he was fined $100 by the association for putting up a clothesline in a common area.

Should have fined him more.

If they "fined" me I would make sure to do at least twice as much damage to something they have to pay for. Only a governmental entity can legally impose a fine.
These condo and house associations have a tendency to attract frustrated dictators.

I looked at a rental condo in Chiang Mai, new and nice but nothing too flashy. They told me about the no laundry on the balcony policy, so I told them to get fukd.

Another lil item I could never understand .
I remember they started the same nonsense on the cregagh , in belfast in the early 60's. Ok in the back garden but if jo public could see it then it was illegal.
Crazy if it happens in toiland as the sun would dry your clothes quicker than you could say "fok they're dry already".

Originally Posted by HermantheGerman

In some parts of the U.S. it is strictly forbidden. Fines of up to $900 is the thanks you get for saving the Planet. Dear Prudence...

US Residents Fight for the Right to Hang Laundry

by Jon Hurdle
PERKASIE, Pennsylvania - Carin Froehlich pegs her laundry to three clotheslines strung between trees outside her 18th-century farmhouse, knowing that her actions annoy local officials who have asked her to stop.
Carin Froehlich has help from her granddaughter Ava as they hang some laundry in the front yard of her residence in Perkasie, Pennsylvania, November 12, 2009. (REUTERS/Tim Shaffer)
Froehlich is among the growing number of people across America fighting for the right to dry their laundry outside against a rising tide of housing associations who oppose the practice despite its energy-saving green appeal.Although there are no formal laws in this southeast Pennsylvania town against drying laundry outside, a town official called Froehlich to ask her to stop drying clothes in the sun. And she received two anonymous notes from neighbors saying they did not want to see her underwear flapping about.
"They said it made the place look like trailer trash," she said, in her yard across the street from a row of neat, suburban houses. "They said they didn't want to look at my 'unmentionables.'"
Froehlich says she hangs her underwear inside. The effervescent 54-year-old is one of a growing number of Americans demanding the right to dry laundry on clotheslines despite local rules and a culture that frowns on it.
Their interests are represented by Project Laundry List, a group that argues people can save money and reduce carbon emissions by not using their electric or gas dryers, according to the group's executive director, Alexander Lee.
Widespread adoption of clotheslines could significantly reduce U.S. energy consumption, argued Lee, who said dryer use accounts for about 6 percent of U.S. residential electricity use.
Florida, Utah, Maine, Vermont, Colorado, and Hawaii have passed laws restricting the rights of local authorities to stop residents using clotheslines. Another five states are considering similar measures, said Lee, 35, a former lawyer who quit to run the non-profit group.
'RIGHT TO HANG'
His principal opponents are the housing associations such as condominiums and townhouse communities that are home to an estimated 60 million Americans, or about 20 percent of the population. About half of those organizations have 'no hanging' rules, Lee said, and enforce them with fines.
Carl Weiner, a lawyer for about 50 homeowners associations in suburban Philadelphia, said the no-hanging rules are usually included by the communities' developers along with regulations such as a ban on sheds or commercial vehicles.
The no-hanging rules are an aesthetic issue, Weiner said.
"The consensus in most communities is that people don't want to see everybody else's laundry."
He said opposition to clotheslines may ease as more people understand it can save energy and reduce greenhouse gases.
"There is more awareness of impact on the environment," he said. "I would not be surprised to see people questioning these restrictions."
For Froehlich, the "right to hang" is the embodiment of the American tradition of freedom.
"If my husband has a right to have guns in the house, I have a right to hang laundry," said Froehlich, who is writing a book on the subject.
Besides, it saves money. Line-drying laundry for a family of five saves $83 a month in electric bills, she said.
Kevin Firth, who owns a two-bedroom condominium in a Dublin, Pennsylvania housing association, said he was fined $100 by the association for putting up a clothesline in a common area.
"It made me angry and upset," said Firth, a 27-year-old carpenter. "I like having the laundry drying in the sun. It's something I have always done since I was a little kid."

I witnessed a quite-similar situation about twenty-years ago in Downingtown, PA (Pennsyltucky).
A lovely, eighteenth-century stone-built farmhouse and barn had been purchased by a lovely family who wanted to restore the structures and to hang their laundry out-of-doors.
The farm's former fields had been sold to a 'developer' who 'seeded' the fields with
$300K USD McMansions.
The inhabitants of these newer dwellings succeeded to enforce obscure regulations and the clothes-lines were deemed to be illegal. Pretty weird.
Anal-Compulsive-Retentive yuppies eat where they shit?

The problem is "homeowner's associations" who act with impunity. They are unelected and are entirely arbitrary. They should be banned.

Originally Posted by Sir Wilson

WTF ?

1. Why doesnt she hang it out the back ?

2. why ban the practise ?

Welcome to the UN agenda 21. Yes, the 'UN' agenda 21 is taking effect and has been for some time in the US.

Oh fuck it, it's just conspiracy isn't it!!

US Residents Fight for the Right to Hang Laundry

by Jon Hurdle
PERKASIE, Pennsylvania - Carin Froehlich pegs her laundry to three clotheslines strung between trees outside her 18th-century farmhouse, knowing that her actions annoy local officials who have asked her to stop.
Carin Froehlich has help from her granddaughter Ava as they hang some laundry in the front yard of her residence in Perkasie, Pennsylvania, November 12, 2009. (REUTERS/Tim Shaffer)
Froehlich is among the growing number of people across America fighting for the right to dry their laundry outside against a rising tide of housing associations who oppose the practice despite its energy-saving

like sir wilson said,why not hang it out back.By the looks of the area,its not an assn.,but a single family home with enough room out back to have a cloths line.
I like the way the pic shows a couple of American flags and her little granddaughter.(very well staged) I would bet dollars against doughnuts that she had a problem with the neighbors before the laundry got hung out in her front front yard.

Originally Posted by Jools

The problem is "homeowner's associations" who act with impunity. They are unelected and are entirely arbitrary. They should be banned.

Actually, most Homeowner's Associations hold elections every year- it's a pretty thankless task, though, and often the same people run unopposed annually.

Originally Posted by Sir Wilson

WTF ?

1. Why doesnt she hang it out the back ?

2. why ban the practise ?

You can bet the house that hanging them in front was meant to incite.

When I was growing up there was something that looked like an umbrella/brolly or a carousel that took up half the space.

These condo and house associations have a tendency to attract frustrated dictators.

^^Now aint that the truth. Bit like parking wardens.