[Massplanners] mowing requirements

Wed Jul 3 17:34:32 EDT 2024

My 2 cents, if you want an acre lawn,  more power to you, not my thing. My
lawn care was "don't water; don't fertlize, minimize need to cut". I'm sure
some neighbors didn't like it, but the 6 foot forsythia hedge rendered the
front yard unseeable. My front yard was mostly moss which held up well with
this approach.

>From zoning and water quality point of view, I strongly recommend less
lawn,  more natural plants, and leave the trees untouched. Thus having s
Coastal Resources District with strict lot clearance restrictions.  Big
lawns affected water levels in the kettle ponds and
fertilizer/pesticides/weed killers were destroying the Coastal Habitat.

Places in Arizona and a few other states are prohibiting lawns due to water
supply concerns. Bridgewater MA was running on empty two weeks ago and
prohibited watering. Probably time we all got ahead of the curve and looked
at lawns for their impact on water supply and quality.

If anyone wants the Crowe's Pasture Resource Protection District Landscape
Restrictions,  I can share them.  Landscaping, thus clearing beyond the
house and driveway is limited to 12.5% of the lot, this is lawn and other
plantings.

Daniel Fortier, AICP Retired Planner

On Wed, Jul 3, 2024, 4:20 PM Carolyn Britt via MassPlanners <
massplanners at masscptc.org> wrote:

> Love this conversation....
>
>
> Our yard is an example of an unusually shaped lot that is large and lends
> itself to "meadows". Oddly shaped yards can be tempting for different
> management approaches. We have lawn around the house, large veggie gardens,
> lots of landscaping, groundmount solar, and two meadow areas. We mow the
> meadow areas once in the fall. They are host to decorative grasses,
> lupines, daisies, and many, many, many daffodils in the spring. People take
> photos. Is it a lot of management - no, but some.
>
>
> Why can't people let part of their yard that was perhaps overcleared for
> construction allow some of it to return to forest through an unmanaged
> process. It would be of value to us all.
>
>
> A good conversation for an "almost friday".
>
>
> Carolyn Britt, AICP 1 Shagbark Woods Ipswich, MA 01938 978-356-9881
>
>
> On 7/3/2024 4:29 PM, Mark Hamin via MassPlanners wrote:
>
> I am 100% on Team Pollinator/Re-Wilding myself, however I believe that
> every community needs to have some plan for how to differentiate between an
> intentionally designed, well- managed pollinator garden or meadow landscape
> vs. owner negligence/abandonment of care, which could constitute an
> attractive nuisance that neighbors would likely and rightly consider
> problematic.  Private property (yard) rights are not 100% sacrosanct if
> there is a valid public interest in regulating potential negative impacts
> on abutters, e.g., pests, fire, etc.  Maybe neighbors just need to
> communicate better with one another during No-Mow May and Low-Mow Spring?
> My $.02, fwiw...
>
> Mark Hamin PhD (he/him)
> Principal Consultant, Sustainability Designer
> https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-hamin/
> https://www.sustainabilitydesigner.com/
> <https://secure-web.cisco.com/1MLmvRFjWMJmQMr_yWrjBH8BklHd_NXr9vAlfagDgAbD-u3L7nPvAQK9a3KxpzBqsKxz5TD7mEF2up_kRfbuzebh_4Ivn9AgOj8C6AI6SBC1NFavPWgeTtHrsEicbF9TLxULXUzGQ2CP4wGPKVTHwfFNImxcULoxZn4U5Xxlwxk3lSSds2QDAk1exkU3EIhGYqT79tllAY-7qoeguUykzFnIEXZr1acaD1UIN6Aom_7T3FeioiQWq1n13bi8ojHIK094YPvBofLfz7abd7uWnBmuwhUZluC0SKzqCT_L6ZivpBHI9d64hjH8PQY3dgPsA2kPdLQ4vRamN57_J_j5_7wj8mzCymgzaMn00t5LX2vu9smI0quu4qHlKq5wYaXkQSvejmg2UxPZGkaOGWrCN1IjxehfhYq9Dxr6ntnDOeOw/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sustainabilitydesigner.com%2F>
> 413 387-9760
> ------------------------------
> *From:* MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org>
> <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org> on behalf of Corrin Meise-Munns via
> MassPlanners <massplanners at masscptc.org> <massplanners at masscptc.org>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, July 3, 2024 4:00 PM
> *To:* Barbara Carboni <bcarboni at truro-ma.gov> <bcarboni at truro-ma.gov>
> *Cc:* Nate Card <card24 at csld.edu> <card24 at csld.edu>;
> massplanners at masscptc.org <massplanners at masscptc.org>
> <massplanners at masscptc.org>
> *Subject:* Re: [Massplanners] mowing requirements
>
> Love the support. Come and speak at my Town Meeting :)
>
> On Wed, Jul 3, 2024 at 3:57 PM Barbara Carboni <bcarboni at truro-ma.gov>
> wrote:
>
> I’m with Jeff, on grounds of both property rights and pollinators.
>
> No retreat; no surrender; no forced mowing.
>
>
>
> Barbara Carboni  AICP  MCPPO
>
> Truro Town Planner and Land Use Counsel
>
> (508) 214 0928
>
>
>
> *From:* MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org> *On Behalf Of *Jeff
> Lacy via MassPlanners
> *Sent:* Wednesday, July 3, 2024 3:41 PM
> *To:* Nate Card <card24 at csld.edu>
> *Cc:* cmeisemunns at longmeadow.org; massplanners at masscptc.org
> *Subject:* Re: [Massplanners] mowing requirements
>
>
>
> Are we talking about private property? A homeowner’s little patch of the
> earth? I can’t see any legitimate role for government here, especially if
> the only complaint is appearance.
>
> Jeff Lacy
>
> Rural Planning Associates
>
> (413) 230-9693
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>
>
> On Jul 3, 2024, at 3:18 PM, Nate Card via MassPlanners <
> massplanners at masscptc.org> wrote:
>
> 
>
> I don't know what it would look like, nor of any precedents (as far as
> regulations go) but I suspect you could establish an approved ratio of
> mowed to un-mowed lawn, essentially requiring some degree of cues-to-care,
> like mowed borders or pathways. Or perhaps waivers to the current
> regulations could be issued for households submitting a plan for some level
> of lawn conversion, to promote long-term pollinator support.
>
>
>
> *Nathanael Card *
>
> M.S. Ecological Design, 2024
>
> The Conway School, Northampton, MA
>
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> --
> *Corrin Meise-Munns* *(she/her)*
> Assistant Town Manager / Director of Planning & Community Development
> Town of Longmeadow, MA
> (413) 565-4110
>
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