Lawns Become a Growing Concern

Kathy Allen is trying to sell her million-dollar home here. But she is so worried that her neighbor’s overgrown yards will scare off potential buyers, she is paying a gardener to care for two of the properties.

City leaders feel her pain, and are poised to pass a sweeping public nuisance ordinance that would require property owners in San Jose to landscape their yards and keep recreational vehicles mostly hidden from sight--or face fines of up to $1,000.

Allen says such enforcement is exactly what her city needs. But the proposed rules, expected to pass on second reading May 28, have sparked a lively debate about property rights and the definition of blight.

“The real estate agent told me it’s an eyesore,” said Allen, who spoke on the condition that her neighborhood not be identified. “We’re trying to sell our home for $1.2 million, but if they see five homes in a row on this block that aren’t mowed, no one is going to pay a million anything.”

Under the proposed guidelines, owners of single-family homes would have to landscape frontyards and sideyards that are visible from a street or public right of way, using either live plants or decorative material such as rocks, bark or gravel. Bare dirt would be unacceptable, and so would weeds. Recreational vehicles, boats, campers and trailers could not be parked “in an area visible from any street” for longer than 72 consecutive hours.

City workers would not comb the streets looking for weedy lawns or motor homes parked in driveways, but if neighbors complained, the city would respond.

“We want to make it possible for people to live in great neighborhoods in San Jose,” said Mayor Ron Gonzales. “I don’t know that we’re going to reach a conclusion that makes everyone happy, but I know it’s important to the people.”

Residents who can’t afford to meet the minimum landscaping requirements or who are physically unable to do so can get help from city programs and neighborhood associations.

City planners met with about 50 neighborhood associations to develop the new guidelines, Gonzales said.

The proposed landscaping regulations drew little public outcry at a recent City Council meeting where they were discussed.

Recreational vehicle owners, however, said the rules about where they can park their boats and campers infringe on their property rights.

“I have a small RV, and I have it parked in my driveway,” said retiree Glen Sutherlin, who has kept such vehicles since 1971 without incident. “It does not stick out on the sidewalk, and it does not bother anybody. My neighbors have not complained.”

Sutherlin said his RV simply will not fit in his backyard.

“I own this piece of property, and I should be able to do what I want to on that property. If I’m not impeding the foot traffic in front of my house, it’s not my problem,” Sutherlin said.

He recalled a similar attempt to legislate RV parking on private property about 20 years ago in San Jose. That effort fell flat. “They had such a crowd at the City Council that they could not even get everyone in the room, and the plan got shelved,” Sutherlin said. He hopes for the same result this time around.

San Jose Councilman Chuck Reed cast the only dissenting vote last week, but said he would support the new rules if they are made more specific. The way the ordinance is written now, he said, “if you had a little rowboat in your driveway, that would be prohibited. But if you had a 20-foot [sport utility vehicle] that was rusted out and looked like hell, that would be allowed,” Reed said.

The rules would not be unique to San Jose. Many towns regulate RV parking and some require a measure of landscaping in the frontyard. But the specific definitions of landscaping make the proposed regulations in San Jose more stringent than most on the books.

In the Orange County city of Brea, for example, there are rules requiring frontyards to be maintained and kept free and clear of trash, inoperable vehicles and debris. But it’s left up to the individual to determine what kind of ground cover is appropriate, said Brea city planner David Crabtree.

That city takes a tiered approach to controlling RV parking: If possible, the code states, it’s preferable for the vehicles to be stored in a garage or backyard, out of view. If there is no room, they can be stored in the side or rear yard, 25 feet behind the property line. If that fails, an RV may be parked in the driveway as long as it doesn’t extend onto the sidewalk or obstruct the view of traffic.

The world’s largest RV owners club, the Good Sam Club, has helped RV owners in dozens of communities resist attempts to outlaw the storage of such vehicles on private property--with measured success.

“These laws are so complicated,” said Bob Livingston, associate publisher of Trailer Life and Motor Home magazines, which are affiliated with the Good Sam Club. “We don’t feel there’s any problem parking an RV on your own property.”

An example, said Livingston, is the city of Ventura, where his magazines are published. “In this city, you can’t have an RV parked on the street between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., but you can have it out there on the weekends.... We try to fight the laws that don’t make any sense. Unfortunately, we lost this one,” he said.