Wilderness Subdivision OKs Nudity, Bans Mowers

Residents of a new environmentally conscious subdivision near Lexington are permitted to go fishing naked, but they’d better not mow their lawns.

Those are among the rules owners must agree to in writing to buy one of the $25,000 to $35,000 lots in the woods northwest of Lexington. Another rule requires household cats to wear bells so wildlife know they’re coming.

“My lawyer told me, ‘It’s the only document I’ve ever seen that makes it legal to go around naked as long as your cat wears a bell,’ ” said developer Deborah Reed, a writer, dancer and part-time farmer who bought the land in 1987.

The rules, called restrictive covenants, tell residents what they may and may not do while living in the 40-acre Wood Sorrel development.

“Coming from a farming background, I got to have a great deal of respect for nature’s balancing act,” Reed said. “That’s really what this is all about.”

Two homes are completed. Three of the seven plots have been sold.

Reed, who lives at the development, said she walks among jumpy squirrels instead of dodging speeding motorists and hears songbirds instead of traffic.

Deer, raccoons and orioles dart across the only road, a dirt path called Gold Tooth Woman Lane, and take cover among oak and hickory trees.

Restrictions are placed on pesticide use and on hunting, as well as on embarrassing or annoying behavior.

Planting grass or mowing native ground cover are banned.

Nudity is allowed, including while fishing at the development’s stocked lake.

“I am looking for people who want a greater interaction with their environment and who are willing to make fewer demands and place less stress on the environment,” Reed said.