I got shut down - no more outdoor brewing

[jacksonbrown]

If that involves moving, move then.

Sweet! Does this mean you're shelling out the down payment?
Seriously though, for the record I have no problem with my HOA. They keep the grounds looking good. I didn't have to shovel a lick of the 35" inches of snow we got in December, or the 101" we got last season. They replaced our roof when it started leaking.
My issue is not with them. If someone hadn't directly called and said something, I don't think they would have cared. My problem is the nosey neighbor who lives right across from my garage. Although, me cutting back on consumption, making smaller batches really isn't a problem either.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Don't get the wrong idea. I am sympathetic to your dilemma. I think the 10' distance is going overboard and the use of BBQ's is not fair.

I would have to say the HOA is generally intended to make sure property values are protected. You don't want the cat lady with 50 cats or the guy that mows his grass twice a year in your neighborhood.

I'm curious as to how you will address this.

If it was up to me I'd make it a goal to move but in the mean time brew PM's inside or go with AC.

 

[epimortum]

Grass should not be mowed too often, it's bad for its uhh umm ego, yeah ego that's it.

 

[jacksonbrown]

There's nothing to really address. It's a municipal law and I have no intention on breaking it. I work in news media, so I try to be a good example. If people start firing up their grill this season too close to their homes, I'll either report to the HOA that I'm seeing a lot of it, or I will let the people know myself.
As for moving, well, we just bought the place 21 months ago, about 2 months before I ever started brewing. So no plans to leave any time too soon, although is a thought for a few years down the road. Certainly not until the market picks back up.

 

[Mustangfreak]

F*ck HOA's!

 

[katja]

jacksonbrown, sounds like you have the right attitude - you like the benefits of living in that type of community, so you are willing to adapt to the limitations. sucks that you will have limitations on your brewing but it's obviously worth it to you for other reasons.

owning a home under the jurisdiction of a HOA would NEVER work for me, but good for you for keeping perspective on why you want to live there and being reasonable about your dilema.

 

[Dotneck]

Seriously though, for the record I have no problem with my HOA. They keep the grounds looking good. I didn't have to shovel a lick of the 35" inches of snow we got in December, or the 101" we got last season. They replaced our roof when it started leaking.

I hate my HOA association too. They are a PIA although they have not tried to get me to stop brewing yet.

So far, I've been doing extract on the stove top...but I recently just bought a turkey fryer and I was thinking about moving out to the deck...I'd rather brew on the deck than in my garage....my garage is filthy and the deck has a nice view andis close to the kitchen...

 

[gridstorm]

This is not for the OP, but rather the other posters on this thread. PS - I am also being shut down because of this rule.

However, what pisses me off more than HOAs are people who complain about their HOAs but never join and do any of the hard work themselves. If you want change, get on the board and do something about it.

Unfortunately, it is the FD and not the HOA that are doing the fining. I understand the ordinance though, as in a multi-unit building, one dumb neighbor can cause a lot of damage to other people. In boulder, single- and duplex homes are exempt.

 

[rico567]

After reading some of this thread, I realize I have lived Way. Too. Long. in a rural area. Forty years or so, was raised in the city but I sure don't know if I can go back.
I try not to think globally these days, believe me, I try really, REALLY hard not to. But we are beginning to institutionalize and legitimize thought control, busybodyism, and the polar opposite of "live and let live." I'm not sure we'll survive it....

I think somebody had a comment on this topic, albeit peripherally....oh, yeah:

"Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security."

 

[GodsStepBrother]

Those facist bastards!!

 

[chrislehr]

Eff HOA's. I am SO SO SO glad I bought a home without one. We have a "neighborhood association" but there are no rules, and no fees (optional donations only)

I have had a pile of dirt in my driveway for the better part of 5 months now. And I brew out in the garage/driveway everytime.

 

[willynilly]

50A GFCI and a control box and those Blichmanns become mean electric brewing machines

 

[completegeek]

Not to be petty, but I can sure play that game if they want to. You may not be able to beat the system, but you sure can break it. I would look at the handbook and report every single infraction that I saw. Hey, it's their rules. If they are going to be A$@es about it then I can be a bigger one.

 

[alecoholic]

I'm not sure why people choose to live like rats stacked on top of each other in places like townhomes but if you accept that type of lifestyle, you deserve what you get. So just brew indoors. In the wintertime I brew 6 gallon all grain indoors on my electric stove, granted it is more powerful than the average stove and takes a little longer to get to a boil than my propane burner but once it gets there it works just fine.

 

[COLObrewer]

I'm not sure why people choose to live like rats stacked on top of each other . . . . . . .

+1, a lot of people seem to need a LOT of rules and regulations governing their every move in order for them to survive.

 

[SOB]

I'm not sure why people choose to live like rats stacked on top of each other in places like townhomes but if you accept that type of lifestyle, you deserve what you get. So just brew indoors. In the wintertime I brew 6 gallon all grain indoors on my electric stove, granted it is more powerful than the average stove and takes a little longer to get to a boil than my propane burner but once it gets there it works just fine.

Some of us really have no choice. Now, I wouldn't say I live "like a rat stacked on top of" one another but I do live in a single-family home housing development with an HOA (OK, really nothing like rats on top of each other but still much closer to my neighbors that what I like so hear me out). I grew up in the country and still love the country but there are no engineering jobs in the country (at least around here). So, I am forced to live here in order to make the nice income that I do. The HOA doesnt care about anything in my community. The fees are low and the hassle is non-existent and I can always drive the 1+ hours back home to let loose and get away but my point is that not everyone "choose" to live where they do...

 

[Brewham]

The problem is Nosy Nelly can see you. Just lower the door to about knee high. That leaves room to ventilate but not observe.

 

[doctorRobert]

Can't have a flame within 10 ft of a structure... only inside of a structure... silly isnt it?

 

[MeatyPortion]

Dude, if you need a place to do a big brew then I have a house plus neighbors who mind their own business plus a big backyard with a 6' privacy fence. PM me if you want to do a big batch.

P.S. I have no AG equipment lol

 

[throwbookatface]

I'm not sure why people choose to live like rats stacked on top of each other in places like townhomes but if you accept that type of lifestyle, you deserve what you get. So just brew indoors. In the wintertime I brew 6 gallon all grain indoors on my electric stove, granted it is more powerful than the average stove and takes a little longer to get to a boil than my propane burner but once it gets there it works just fine.

Dude, people live where they can afford. No need to be vindictive. If you want to take care of the down payment on a half-acre property with two yards and a four-car garage for the OP, nothing's stopping you.

 

[Pappers_]

I'm not sure why people choose to live like rats stacked on top of each other in places like townhomes but if you accept that type of lifestyle, you deserve what you get.

I'll pile on . . .

Many of my posts are dumb, nonsensical and ill-advised. But really, this is just plain 'ol stupid.

 

[Shooter]

Dude, people live where they can afford. No need to be vindictive. If you want to take care of the down payment on a half-acre property with two yards and a four-car garage for the OP, nothing's stopping you.

What's a half an acre with that setup running for in Emeryville these days?

Wait, I'll call one of the Pixar guys. They're local...and pretty much the only ones who could afford it.

 

[BadKarma]

Open flame huh?

Every weekend I'd tour the block and report every single b-b-q in operation!!!! Propane or charcoal.

 

[rico567]

Originally Posted by alecoholic
I'm not sure why people choose to live like rats stacked on top of each other in places like townhomes but if you accept that type of lifestyle, you deserve what you get.

I'll pile on . . .

Many of my posts are dumb, nonsensical and ill-advised. But really, this is just plain 'ol stupid.

I agree completely, AND it's not what I just renewed on HBT and come to see. Generally, HBT is a breath of fresh air, compared to a lot of stuff on the Internet.

If anything, we're all here to discuss and try to help people brew in their given situation, which (from what I've read on most HBT threads) they are quite capable of making into places where they can make very fine beer indeed.

"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell,
a Hell of Heaven."

- John Milton, Paradise Lost

 

[jacksonbrown]

I'm surprised to see this got sug back up. For whatever it's worth, I don't brew in doors. I just moved my operation to the yard (even though I'm still within 10 ft of a structure), but my direct neighbors don't care. And in the winter, I'm in the garage with the door up only 1.5-2 feet. So far so good.
Oh, and if alecoholic is willing to spring for us to move to a single family home in the area, I am totally down with that. Just let me know how you want to work out the payments.

 

[throwbookatface]

What's a half an acre with that setup running for in Emeryville these days?

Wait, I'll call one of the Pixar guys. They're local...and pretty much the only ones who could afford it.

Yup, That's why I brew 1-2 gal batches in my studio, with my tiny stove and sink. With alecoholic's help though I can make payments on the penthouses with rooftop yards a couple floors above me, probably occupied by Pixar execs!

Once I graduate from law school and hopefully end up in Texas, THEN I can start "choosing" where to live.

 

[USMCMatt]

Nice neighbors...

 

[evolcoms]

I got a call from my homeowners association this weekend. In the message the woman says somethign to the afftect of "some people have noticed you brewing... something in the garage. Whatever it is, I think it's probably against fire safety laws and we'd like you to stop."
I called up my local fire dept this morning to get some info, and, indeed, an open flame within 10 feet of a structure is not allowed in a townhome setting like ours. He didn't say it was illegal, but if an inspector saw it they would make me stop.
I do not have a private yard large enough that would keep me 10 ft from a wall or fence, which means I'm moving operations indoors. Which means 2.5-3 gal batches since our stove sucks. Which means my banjo cooker and 20 gallon Blichmann are essencially useless to me until we move. This f'n BLOWS!

Thats why I hate HOAs. Can't even do what you want to your own home. I came home from work one day and the HOA painted my front door.......while it was closed. Pain in the ass to open when it was dry.

 

[Hackwood]

Old post, but HOAs have their good and bad. Most can understand why they are the way they are, others just think they are there to make homeowner's lives bad.

 

[cpesko]

Atleast your not this guy!!

http://www.gazette.com/articles/lab-124798-evacuated-apartment.html