天堂加州开征草皮税

发信人: daemonself (mit行为艺术专业博士后导师), 信区: Joke
标  题: 天堂加州开征草皮税
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Tue Sep  2 13:50:27 2014, 美东)

California couple faces fine for brown lawn after complying with water-
saving rules
Published July 19, 2014Associated PressFacebook0 Twitter0
PreviousNext
LOS ANGELES –  Laura Whitney and her husband, Michael Korte, don't know
whether they're being good citizens during a drought or scofflaws.

On the same day the state approved mandatory outdoor watering restrictions
with the threat of $500 fines, the Southern California couple received a
letter from their city threatening a $500 penalty for not watering their
brown lawn.

It's brown because of their conservation, which, besides a twice-a-week lawn
watering regimen, includes shorter showers and larger loads of laundry.

They're encouraged by the state's new drought-busting, public service slogan
: Brown is the new green.

The city of Glendora sees it differently.

"Despite the water conservation efforts, we wish to remind you that limited
watering is still required to keep landscaping looking healthy and green,"
says the letter, which gives Korte and Whitney 60 days to restore their lawn.

They're among residents caught in the middle of conflicting government
messages as the need for conservation clashes with the need to preserve
attractive neighborhoods.

"My friends in Los Angeles got these letters warning they could be fined if
they water, and I got a letter warning that I could be fined for not
watering," Whitney said. "I felt like I was in an alternate universe."

Despite the drought, Californians have increased their water use by 1
percent in May compared with previous years, according to a state survey of
water providers. To combat perceived complacency, the state water board
voted this week to require water agencies to adopt emergency drought plans
and authorized fines of up to $500 a day for water wasters.

The board's chairwoman, Felicia Marcus, said "a brown lawn should be a badge
of honor because it shows you care about your community." But several
homeowners are reporting that a dried-up lawn instead attracts the wrath of
their community.

Homeowners associations can't punish residents for scaling back on
landscaping under an executive order signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in April and
a bill awaiting his signature. While both measures are silent on fines
imposed by local governments, the governor's office condemned moves that
punish drought-conscious Californians.

"These efforts to conserve should not be undermined by the short-sighted
actions of a few local jurisdictions, who chose to ignore the statewide
crisis we face, the farmers and farmworkers losing their livelihoods, the
communities facing drinking water shortages and the state's shrinking
reservoirs," said Amy Norris, a spokeswoman for the California Environmental
Protection Agency, in a written statement.

Local officials say conserving water and maintaining healthy landscaping are
not mutually exclusive goals. They caution that even in times of water
shortages, residents shouldn't have free rein to drive down property values,
and they can use drought-resistant landscaping or turf removal programs to
meet local standards.

"During a drought or non-drought, residents have the right to maintain their
landscaping the way they want to, so long as it's aesthetically pleasing
and it's not blighted," said Al Baker, president of the California
Association of Code Enforcement Officers.

Anaheim resident Sandra Tran, 47, said she started installing drought-
resistant landscaping after receiving violation notices from Orange County
Public Works. She spent more than $600 on the changes as the agency mandated
she water and maintain her yard in "a healthy green condition."

Yet as Tran drives home from work, she sees signs flashing on the freeway
urging her to conserve water.

"It's almost crazy because one agency is telling you one thing and another
is forcing you to do the opposite," she said.

Democratic Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown introduced a bill that would have
prohibited local governments from imposing fines, but she dropped AB1636
after cities in her district promised not to penalize homeowners for brown
lawns during a drought emergency.

Brown was shocked when she heard the practice continued elsewhere in the
state, and said she would consider reviving her bill in 2015.

"It seems to me those cities aren't using common sense," Brown said. "It's
too bad you need a law."

--
※ 来源:·WWW 未名空间站 网址：mitbbs.com 移动：在应用商店搜索未名空间·[FROM: 99.]

http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t/Joke/32992513.html

FT中文十大 华尔街中文十大 水木十大 小百合十大 饮水思源十大 日月光华十大

京东极速达北京支持货到付款 ， 更多京东优惠券