In rural areas, where properties are counted in multiple acres, restrictions on homeowners are few because neighbors are too distant to be impacted. Another law in the Town Code requires that trash cans be stored to the rear of your home between pick-ups. However, some residents found it convenient to just leave it at the front permanently. When neighbors see that occur and decide to do the same thing, the result is a street lined with trash cans and the downward slide towards deteriorating properties moves quickly. High grass and weeds, firewood and other building materials laying on the ground and indoor furniture placed on porches or in yards are other violations of the Town Code based on health and welfare concerns.
Rats look for harborage in such conditions and rats contribute to disease and decay.
Officials there are faced with conditions neglected so long it will take years to get under control. Residents who respect their neighbors and do the right thing to maintain their properties sometimes are swept into compliance with laws enacted to correct a problem they did not cause. In the case of the front yard parking restriction, some residents whose cars have always been parked on a dirt driveway and never on the grass, will now have to convert that driveway to a prepared surface. It will require some outlay of money, but crushed stone or gravel on their driveway will meet the basic requirements of the law. Most of the towns and cities around us have added a front yard parking restriction to their codes.