VT State Senator advocates "right to dry outdoors"

[Saddle Bronc 124]

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20090221/NEWS01/902210345

Clothes flap: Lawmaker pushes 'right to dry' outdoors

2009/02/21 Daniel Barlow

MONTPELIER – Should Vermonters have a "right to dry?"

Sen. Richard McCormack, D-Washington, thinks so. For nearly 20 years, McCormack has been pushing a proposed new law that would make it clear that Vermonters have the right to dry their garments on outdoor clotheslines.

For McCormack and other right-to-dry supporters the bill just makes sense: Hanging wet clothes out to dry in the sun is more energy efficient than using an electric dryer, a step forward in conserving energy that most families can easily tackle.

Alexander Lee, the founder and executive director of New Hampshire-based Project Laundry List, a nonprofit group dedicated to expanding the use of clotheslines, said people can save upwards of 15 percent off their electricity bill by drying their clothes the old-fashioned way.

"We understand that not everyone finds clotheslines beautiful," Lee told members of the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee on Friday morning. "There are some snobbish objections to this. But the benefits of using clotheslines are clear."

McCormack's proposal was included in a larger energy bill approved by the Vermont Legislature, but Gov. James Douglas vetoed that bill when it came to his desk (his objections did not include the clothesline portion of the bill).

The new version this year would prohibit Vermont municipalities from passing local laws or ordinances banning the use of outdoor clotheslines – and take an extra step to also include solar panels to the list.

McCormack said Friday that the new version of the bill is modeled after an existing law in Florida. Research by legislative staff found few, if any, problems in that state with law, he said.

Karen Horn, the director of public policy and advocacy for the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, said Friday that she does not know of a municipality in the state that prohibits outdoor clotheslines.

Cities and towns in other states seem to have some regulations to control clothesline drying, she said, and there are a handful of planned communities and condominiums that do restrict its use.

"We would prefer not to have something like this clog up our state statutes," she said.

James Knapp, a Vermont attorney with experience in housing contracts, told lawmakers that depending on how the bill is phrased it could bump up against a host of problems with contracts between residents of planned communities and condominiums.

These contracts between condo residents, for example, complicates the situation because the roof of the building, where solar panels might be installed, are considered "shared space" and owned by everyone in the agreement, Knapp explained.

It's a similar situation with planned communities, he said. The green space outside of the homes in a planned community is also owned by everyone there and its use is often dictated by contracts.

If lawmakers went forward with a bill mandating that these contracts be changed to allow for the use of clotheslines or the installation of solar panels, Knapp said he could see the issue heading to court.

"It would throw a great question out there that I couldn't answer until a half dozen cases land before the Supreme Court," he told lawmakers.

Count the well-known Vermont Country Store in Weston as a supporter of the right-to-dry movement. In an online editorial posted on its Web site last fall, the owners encouraged people to engage in civil disobedience by hanging their wet clothes on outdoor lines – even if it is prohibited in their area of residence.

"It's a beautiful thing to see clothes drying in the sun and wind, letting nature do the job for free, without any energy being used or lint accumulating," the editorial read. "Do my tighty-whities hanging on the line really shock and embarrass anyone?"

[almaty 19]

nothing better..than seeing lady under garmets drying on the line....

[Ban Hammer 14,569]

does this mean there are places that outlawed clotheslines?

[Chica Yeyé 41]

does this mean there are places that outlawed clotheslines?

as they should. I do not want to see my neighbors undies

[Nothing1234 2]

does this mean there are places that outlawed clotheslines?

as they should. I do not want to see my neighbors undies

Right on!

[Nagishkaw 510]

[HAL 9000 96]

does this mean there are places that outlawed clotheslines?

as they should. I do not want to see my neighbors undies

Cleanliness is next to godliness sister Len.

Why not have more ammo to make fun of dirty neighbors?

Besides... sundried clothes... last longer and keep colors better.

[NickD 203]

does this mean there are places that outlawed clotheslines?

as they should. I do not want to see my neighbors undies

Fences make good neighbors, clothes drying like this is a form of green energy, but still prefer a clothes dryer for the small stuff, much softer. But nice for a sleeping bag that is too big to jam in that thing.

[Peikko 1,575]

Sun dried sheets smell and feel fantastic!

[Chica Yeyé 41]

does this mean there are places that outlawed clotheslines?

as they should. I do not want to see my neighbors undies

Cleanliness is next to godliness sister Len.

Why not have more ammo to make fun of dirty neighbors?

Besides... sundried clothes... last longer and keep colors better.

You sound like my mother

[HAL 9000 96]

Sun dried sheets smell and feel fantastic!

Hmmmmm...

does this mean there are places that outlawed clotheslines?

as they should. I do not want to see my neighbors undies

Cleanliness is next to godliness sister Len.

Why not have more ammo to make fun of dirty neighbors?

Besides... sundried clothes... last longer and keep colors better.

You sound like my mother

Now go wash your hands mijita.

[caybee 21]

Sun dried sheets smell and feel fantastic!

I agree! We used a clothesline at our last place which sort of circled the back yard, but I did hang the skivvies inside to dry. Working outside in the yard during the summer surrounded by damp sheets swaying in the breeze and cooling the air is a little bit of heaven on earth.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

does this mean there are places that outlawed clotheslines?

as they should. I do not want to see my neighbors undies

for you, since I implied charles' question in the title.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Waleed didn't like me hanging my sexy pretty undies out on the clotheslines on the balcony's in Cairo either but what am I supposed to do without a dryer and no shower curtain?

[Nagishkaw 510]

Kick em when their up, kick em when their down.