[Greenbuilding] rules rules rules

Shane ONeill shane at webgate.net
Tue Dec 6 16:10:02 CST 2011


Provincial Government of Ontario changed these types of by-laws (2-3 year
ago) so that clothes drying was allowed outside and that residential
developments could not write by-laws to stop such efforts that go against
clothes drying outside.  As for apartment blocks- I think that this is still
not allowed.  In the 1950s many places had specific locations where everyone
dried their clothes on communal lines.  This worked really well.  Your
question is one that suggests that  we have forgotten how it was done in the
past.  While I recognise that you are also asking about the legislative
aspects, condominiums tends to create their own laws and monitor them.  I do
not think there would be a regional ban on drying clothes outside in MD.
But to answer your question.. I would focus on how different communal
arrangements satisfied this activity in the past.  

 

If you can provide examples of how the activity was done in the past and
show the visual impact, then you have a hope of changing the current status.


 

I must say that hiding clothes drying has a long history and there are
examples of how it was done in the 1940s and 50s where it was discrete,
enclosed in special places and always a shared facility .  I am sure that if
one were to propose drying clothes on balconies in the 1940s, one would also
not have been allowed to do so; and thus I doubt if things have changed.
The solution is to find the past resolutions and it will mean a change in
personal space, a sharing of facilities and developing a designated spot.
All of these things intrude on the defensible space of contemporary living
and as such, is your community willing to share in a new way of doing
things?

 

Photos of old developments demonstrate that clothes drying was not a typical
balcony use.  Tenements tend to have a significant amount of clothes-drying
and this is the visual impact that people tend to negatively react to.  One
thing I have noticed though, my richer clients never dried their clothes in
machines, they always had them dried outside in the air- it had to do with
scent , not energy. 

 

Shane 

 

From: greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org
[mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of Reuben
Deumling
Sent: December-06-11 4:42 PM
To: Green Building
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] rules rules rules

 

 

On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 1:36 PM, Alan Abrams <alan at abramsdesignbuild.com>
wrote:

 One rule forbids drying laundry on balconies. 

In short, does anyone out there have knowledge of this issue has been
contested,

yes 

or of success stories, 

hm. Not at the tip ofmy fingers. have you tried here: laundrylist.org/

 

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