I took my first contested vote last Tuesday, so I’ll explain my reasoning for it here. The Planning Department had proposed an ordinance to ban furniture manufactured for indoor use from being placed outside. The justification for it was that indoor furniture poses a risk of turning into a health hazard outdoors through mold and infestation. It failed to pass in a deadlocked 3-3 vote.
I opposed the draft ordinance, and not because I’m keen on porch couches. I agree that moldy or infested furniture poses a health hazard, and that can justify some action. But I think that whenever we empower the City to intervene in what people do on their private property, the scope of that authority needs to be narrow and focused directly on the actual hazard. The draft ordinance was a step removed from that standard because it focused on what the furniture was made for rather than on what condition it is in.
My preferred course of action is to instead add to the definition of “rubbish and refuse” in the existing ordinances governing maintenance of private property (Sec. 3-1101), so that it’s clear that furniture with accumulation of mold or mildew or signs of infestation counts as rubbish that the City can require property owners to remove. As a practical matter, that also saves citizens and the City from getting sucked into fruitless arguments over whether some old piece of furniture (for example, a wooden chair) was made for indoor or outdoor use. If it’s covered in mold, it’s rubbish and needs to go. If it’s in fine condition, enjoy it so long as you can keep it that way.
Some of my colleagues came down differently in terms of how they weighed the different considerations involved in this vote, and that’s not unreasonable. And I wouldn’t necessarily object if one of the HOAs were to adopt an indoor furniture rule, if they don’t already have one. When people buy a home in a neighborhood with an HOA, there’s an expectation that the HOA will have some rules based on appearances. My own judgment is just that the proposed ordinance as drafted wasn’t appropriate for the City, which on these issues I believe should keep a narrower focus on health and safety and otherwise leave people to do what they will on their property.
But if you are rocking a porch couch, please consider this – if you take pride in your home, your neighborhood, and your city, does a beat-up couch or armchair outside really add to its appeal? Just because there should be constraints on government doesn’t mean that we as citizens are always obliged to take full advantage of them.
Click here for background on the item up for vote.