Montecresto
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The Declaration of Independence says Americans have certain “unalienable rights,” including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Those words were written by a fellow that didn’t have running water or electricity in his home — Thomas Jefferson.
After Jefferson’s wells ran dry he began capturing rainwater that ran off the roof of his house, which is pretty much what a Florida woman, Robin Speronis, of Cape Coral, is doing.
Woman living ‘off the grid’ faces eviction | News To Me with George Mathis
Lots of people in the desert do this. They have huge underground cisterns to store the captured rain water. This is complete BS and the lady should have shot it out with these jack boot thugs.
Taxes paid cover the fire department and she is current.
Not in CA. Property taxes in some states don't have anything to do with water, sewer, garbage, lighting, storm drain and in some places even fire protection.
Some years ago, the Colorado Springs City Council decided it needed money. So it imposed a fee on all homeowners for the use of a sewer system to deal with the rainwater that ran off their roof and property. But if someone tried to collect that rainwater to use for irrigation, they couldn't do that because the City also determined that the water rightfully belonged to the city.
They finally had to trash that fee because so many people just didn't pay it.
I will give her this, she is pretty tough living in that house pictured with no electricity and thus no AC in Florida. I have always thought it would be cool living off the grid, or having an off the grid weekend cabin, but it sure would not be in Florida or the deep south.
I live in Oklahoma and it is illegal to store the runoff from rain on ones house. It's considered interfering in the free flow of water that should be going down thru the streams and into the rivers. I think that this needs to be changed but that is the law as it is now.
The Declaration of Independence says Americans have certain “unalienable rights,” including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Those words were written by a fellow that didn’t have running water or electricity in his home — Thomas Jefferson.
After Jefferson’s wells ran dry he began capturing rainwater that ran off the roof of his house, which is pretty much what a Florida woman, Robin Speronis, of Cape Coral, is doing.
http://blogs.ajc.com/news-to-me/201...I think a judge will probably agree with her.
If one is living off the grid, so to speak, then one cannot live on it while doing so.
The article does say that the code enforcement people didn't enter her home; she'll get her day in court. If she simply chooses not to use city water, I'd support her right to that. Many people don't drink tap water. If she has functioning plumbing in her home, I'd support her right to do as she chooses. And the town, if they think she's guilty of theft of services for using the sewer system, had better change the way it charges for it. Same for water service. One should not be able to simply shut off their water and avoid paying for the infrastructure. (Our town, for instances, charges sewer usage by a formula taking into account water usage.)
If she's pooping in buckets and throwing it in the backyard? She loses. Outside of that sanitary/safety concern, I think she has a right to live as she chooses. I think a judge will probably agree with her.
Maggie did you read the story? She's paid her taxes, she can utilize the sewage system. She is choosing not to use the city's water or electricity, she has her own.
That being said, why can't one "One should not be able to simply shut off their water and avoid paying for the infrastructure." Why cannot one opt out of paying for something they aren't ever going to use? These are services you pay for by your levels of consumption of water or wattage.
If I don't drive my car this week, should I be paying the gas taxes on the gas I didn't use?
Maggie did you read the story? She's paid her taxes, she can utilize the sewage system. She is choosing not to use the city's water or electricity, she has her own.
That being said, why can't one "One should not be able to simply shut off their water and avoid paying for the infrastructure." Why cannot one opt out of paying for something they aren't ever going to use? These are services you pay for by your levels of consumption of water or wattage.
I think that you missed Maggie's point. Water/sewer are a single utility bill, yet the billing is based only on the water usage. The home is using the sewer service but is avoiding any bill for it by supplying their own water to flush the toilet (into the city sewer).
I'm guessing every community has building/zoning laws that define habitability...running water most assuredly being one. Apparently, her decisions run amok of those laws in her community. If she doesn't want to abide by those laws, then she needs to move.
I have no problem with what she's doing as long as she is safely getting rid of waste water. And, for her area, that undoubtedly means having a functioning sewer system.
And that means paying one's fair share.
I don't care about this all that much... but just for reference, citing Jefferson as an "off the grid" person and then talking about his home ignores this:
If that's living off the grid, sign me the **** up.
First of all, they're not a single utility bill here, you see bills for separate amounts and there is no indication this lady isn't paying her sewage bill.
Second of all, I don't believe I did. The majority of these bills are paid for in taxes anyway, water is a heavily subsidized utility. Americans would be shocked and certainly consume less if they had to pay the true price of water.
Considering how much she pays in taxes and how little she uses, IMO she owes no one. In fact the fewer people using water the better for the infrastructure, especially given how many cities are experiencing water shortages.
There is no indication that she is not paying her sewage bill. Running water doesn't have to come from a municipality, what laws do you believe she is breaking simply by not using theirs? How about people who use wells or tap their aquifers?
That term refers to paying ones taxes, which she does, not for services that you pay for by the drop or wattage.
Plenty of room on that roof for solar panels, a cell network node and plenty of property for wells and rainwater collection. But could you really live off the land, despite having all that square footage to go back to?
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