The Quiet Before the Regulation Storm

When you buy a house in a municipality, you are agreeing to any laws that they have regarding your private property. I just never imagined that any city would have laws as restrictive as an HOA. I also never imagined living in a city in which the city staff interpret the city codes as restrictive as possible (If you're a private citizen. If you're a developer, you are above the codes). It never occurred to me that city staff would provide information in the most confusing and misleading terms as possible. Rest assured, If you live in Atlantic Beach Florida, you are living in a city that makes frustration an art form. One of the things I learned five years after buying my house is that I have to garden in my front yard. My back yard is completely shaded in the summer with two live oaks and two bay trees. I also have an orange tree, a lemon tree and a tangelo tree. The blessing of this shade is that it's cooler and the kids can play outdoors more than expected in the Florida heat. However, you really can't grow a garden in the shade. I know. I tried. So I have been gardening in the front yard for the last four years. I am not what one would consider an "accomplished" gardener. I am however, a dedicated amateur. My children find gardening to be almost magical. Over the last few summers, I have had to remove more and more of my flowers in the front yard to make room for the vegetable beds. A couple of years ago, we built raise beds. However, they were only 12 inches tall. With my herniated disc, this made weeding and pruning grueling and painful work, despite my passion for my hobby. I did the best I could, but my gardening was restricted by my own physical limitations. Last fall, As we were leaving my home with all four kids, my two year old ran out of the house and straight for the street. I told my husband in the car, "We need a fence in the front yard". We had a berm in the front yard, almost three feet tall. I knew that a fence would make the total height seven feet; Well above the city code regulations of four feet. So I told my husband, "In order to put a fence up to keep the kids safe, we are going to have to drastically change our front yard". So we agreed. In December, we dismantled the flag stone berm I have loved for years, and we had someone come and remove most of my front yard with a mini bulldozer. In January, with the City's blessing (a permit), I installed a four foot white vinyl fence around my front yard. However, there was an unforeseen problem with the fence. People would walk up to my house and stare at it, clearly confused about where the entrance was. The entrance gate looks just like the fence. So when I began to work with a local landscape designer, we agreed that an arbor would be a great way to define the entrance to the house. This positive intention was the first paver to the road of City regulation hell.