Neighborhood watch Owning a business makes most people myopic. There are so many issues to juggle — budgets, inventory control, employees, customer demands, etc. — it can be hard to see what's brewing in the community. If you don't see the issues surrounding your store, it doesn't mean those problems won't affect you. It just means you have to figure out how to patch things up after your store gets sucker punched. An obvious issue you need to keep an eye on is the positions your local and regional water councils take. Will you and your store become the scapegoat for poor municipal planning? Will there be a complete ban on watering lawns? The best time to defend yourself on that score is long before the clouds roll away and leave a drought behind. But you shouldn't overlook more subtle community forces. Depending on where your store is located, the most influential organization that can affect how your customers garden isn't the local government. It's homeowner associations. Tyrants in the making There are two things you should keep in mind about bureaucracies like HOAs. The first is that their rules can be arbitrary. The second is that they're zealous in protecting those rules. When battles with HOAs go far enough that they make the press, you'll usually hear board members talk about how giving way on any standard can bring down the resale value of the homes. HOAs gain their power from the contracts new homeowners sign when they move in, and from the state-level laws that support HOAs. Even if the rules conflict with current attitudes, in court the HOAs win. Many who embrace Earth-friendly gardening are not only using organic controls, but are taking their lawns out altogether. Flower beds usually take the place, but so do vegetable and herb gardens, and even the occasional drying yard for those rejecting their clothes dryers. Those kinds of improvements can run afoul of HOA rules, and in the end, the homeowner has to rip everything back out and lay a new lawn. To give you an example of how shortsighted the rules can be, take a look at what happened in North Carolina this year. A North Carolina HOA recently sent a letter to its members telling them that despite the water restrictions in place, each homeowner was responsible for keeping their lawn weed free and green. If the homeowner refused to do so, it would be fined each day the conditions continued until the HOA hired a landscape firm to take care of the problem. The bill, of course, would be sent to the homeowner. Get involved The problem with HOAs is that those who are on the boards are as varied as any group of humans. That means there will invariably be the busybody types who feel it's their responsibility to bring others in line. HOAs will and do affect what your customers buy for their gardens. While the HOAs are powerful enough to even foreclose on houses with rule violations (depending on the state), they are run by a small group of people. Think about wooing all area board members. Figure out creative ways to appeal to their love of gardening. The more they understand about water use, xeriscaping, green roofs and other gardening trends, the more likely they are to support them in their own neighborhoods. It never hurts to have a few tyrants in your pocket. Send this article to a friend Enter your e-mail address: Enter your friend's e-mail address: Click the image below to send: © 2007 Branch-Smith Publishing