If you're rich and hire a service to mow your lawn, this story will be of little concern to you.
If you work 9-5ish, then commute through traffic, racing home to mow your lawn before dark on a weeknight, plan on a change of routine.
At least if you live in Chevy Chase Village, Md.
According to the Washington Examiner, the Washington area's wealthiest small town has banned all power landscaping equipment after 6 p.m. Keep the mower in the garage and don't even think about sneaking in a little weed-eating.
Now, the average home value in Chevy Chase Village is $1.2 million and the median income is $250,000, so, of course, many residents already employ a lawn service. For them, it's just a scheduling concern.
But if you work full-time weekdays and mow your own lawn, better plan to carve out some time on the weekend.
Residents can thank U.S. Court of Appeals Judge David Tatel, according to the Examiner. Many in the community identify him as the major push behind the new law.
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"I've already been forced to give up working at home, I shouldn't have to give up my porch and back deck, too," Tatel said.
Village Manager Shana Davis-Cook said the board has yet to receive any complaints.
Byron Anderson, who's lived in Chevy Chase Village for 11 years, said the new law punishes those who can't pay a landscaping crew to mow during the daytime. "Every aspect of life seems to be regulated here. Cutting your grass is about as American as it gets."
Many jurisdictions including Montgomery County already ban loud leaf blowers, but the evening lawn mowing ban is the first of its kind, according to Kris Kiser, the executive vice president of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute.
Violating the ban will cost homeowners $25.
Some fear the ban is going to far, and others worry it will spread to other jurisdictions.
Peter Yeo, the secretary of the Board of Managers for Chevy Chase Village, called the new law "classic government overreach." Yeo said it's "like using a sledgehammer to kill a gnat."
