COUNCIL PASSES NEW RULE ON LAWNS.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer PALMDALE - A controversial Palmdale ordinance A law, statute, or regulation enacted by a Municipal Corporation. An ordinance is a law passed by a municipal government. A municipality, such as a city, town, village, or borough, is a political subdivision of a state within which a municipal corporation has been requiring residents to install front lawns and irrigation irrigation, in agriculture, artificial watering of the land. Although used chiefly in regions with annual rainfall of less than 20 in. (51 cm), it is also used in wetter areas to grow certain crops, e.g., rice. systems will go into effect next month. Called the ``Palmdale pride ordinance'' by supporters and the ``lawn police'' ordinance by opponents, the front-yard landscaping measure was approved on its second reading Wednesday night by the same 3-2 split as gave it initial approval in April. Council members Rick Norris and Mike Dispenza cast the dissenting votes. ``The whole idea is to get people to take pride in the community,'' said Mayor Jim Ledford, who proposed the law. ``This will make a huge difference in our community's appearance and our property values.'' The city will not go searching for hardscrabble hard·scrab·ble adj. Earning a bare subsistence, as on the land; marginal: the sharecropper's hardscrabble life. n. Barren or marginal farmland. Adj. 1. lawns, officials said, but will only enforce the ordinance if a complaint is lodged against someone's front yard. A code enforcement Code Enforcement is the act of enforcing a set of s, principles, or laws (especially written ones) and insuring observance of a system of norms or customs. An authority usually enforces a civil code, a set of rules, or a body of laws and compel those subject to their authority to officer will cite the homeowner if his or her yard is not in compliance and give them 18 months to comply. Homeowners still found in violation after 18 months could face maximum penalties of a $500 fine, six months in jail and a lien placed on their homes to cover the cost of the city coming in to install landscaping. The ordinance adds another financial burden on citizens already having to deal with rising electricity, natural gas and gasoline costs, Norris said. ``The concept is good, but the vehicle is wrong,'' Norris said. ``I'm very concerned about the senior citizens and those on fixed incomes. These people are barely able to make it now. This is too burdensome.'' City officials said they will try to assist senior citizens and low-income families with installing and maintaining lawns. The city plans to offer assistance using two existing home fix-up programs: an emergency grant program for residents with very low incomes and the single-family home rehabilitation program Noun 1. rehabilitation program - a program for restoring someone to good health program, programme - a system of projects or services intended to meet a public need; "he proposed an elaborate program of public works"; "working mothers rely on the day care , which offers low-interest loans. The city will likely bolster those programs in future budgets to meet the demand spurred by the ordinance, said Michael Adams
Michael Adams (born November 17, 1971 in Truro, Cornwall, England) is an International Grandmaster of chess. , Palmdale's housing director. Palmdale will join a list of other California cities that have adopted similar ordinances, including Rialto Rialto, city (1990 pop. 72,388), San Bernardino co., S Calif., a residential suburb of San Bernardino; inc. 1911. The city has greatly expanded as a result of the economic and demographic growth of the southern California area. and King City. |
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