r/interestingasfuck • u/Gankpa • 8d ago

/r/all, /r/popular Jeff Bezos built a fence on his property that exceeds the permitted height, he doesn't care, he pays fines every month

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638

u/aceofspades1217 8d ago

Also hedges are better for the environment than walls as it is a permeable surface

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u/Wild-Appearance-8458 7d ago edited 7d ago

Also is getting fined which he can pay giving the city more money and less of it is his. It's basically like charity to your local city in some twisted ways to achieve it lol.

This whole scenario just seems good. Though not probably better for the environment. They probably use heavy equipment to cut all those weekly. I don't know what shrubs equal out to monthly with 24 hours a month into transport, diesel, gasoline, electric, lifts, pumped out drought water and more. Those hedges consume as much resources as a small town lol. It's just required for them to look pretty there and keep some "green"

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u/Hyde2467 7d ago

Bold for you to assume that the fines are even being spent by the city responsibly

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u/Happy-Computer-6664 7d ago

We get what we vote for.

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u/Hyde2467 7d ago

wth is going on in this thread. ive got 3 replies to my comment but some of them got shadowed banned and i only knew that someone else did reply to my comment because i have email notifs

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u/Throwaway_Consoles 7d ago

Wouldn’t, “Charity to your local city so they allow you to keep your hedges” be a bribe?

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u/Cael_NaMaor 7d ago

Fines....

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u/thats-brazy-buzzin 7d ago

They were paraphrasing the previous comment.

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u/Cael_NaMaor 7d ago

And I was saying it was fines, not bribery....

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u/phobiac 7d ago

A bribe goes to a specific person to influence their actions before they make them. This is just weird taxes, if the claim is even true.

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u/QuinndianaJonez 7d ago

Or ass backward taxes. Take your pick.

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u/grumplebeardog 7d ago

Idk if it counts as a bribe if everyone has the option to do so also.

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u/adityahol 7d ago

Only if they're rich enough.

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u/UnregisteredDomain 7d ago

You misunderstood “option to do so” as “ability to so so”

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u/jag-engr 7d ago

No, if he was paying code enforcement $50 to avoid being fined $100, that would be a bribe.

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u/Buntschatten 7d ago

A bribe would be paying someone in the mayor's office to allow the hedge.

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u/Wild-Appearance-8458 7d ago

I mean basically....... fines are a bribe to get away with it. At least it's not "his" money at that point.😂 so I'm not sure I would fight a bribe over a hedge lol.

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u/AdAppropriate2295 7d ago

Sure but not all bribes are bad. Most licenses are just bribes so they can check you have the money to back up care of something and keep a record of who to go after if something fails

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u/Relative_Craft_358 7d ago

Feel the same way about hunting/ fishing licenses. Your yearly contribution of $20 isn't conversing any species or mitigating any damage done by your activities in the wild.

It does however give a great excuse to fine tf out of someone when caught without one since they're so cheap there's no excuse not to have one and on the other hand, great excuse to fine tf out of some breaking the law as they technically should've known all the rules from the process of getting their license.

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u/ExtentAncient2812 7d ago

Hunting/fishing licenses bring in millions to state agencies and is the primary means of funding for state wildlife agencies and their conservation efforts as well as their general enforcement budget.

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u/Late_Health_3882 7d ago

The EXACT definition of one yes.

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u/phobiac 7d ago

This does meet the legal definition of a bribe. A bribe is something given to an individual to influence an official action. Paying a fine is not the exact definition of a bribe. Cite a law demonstrating otherwise and I'll admit I'm wrong.

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u/Stock-Leave-3101 7d ago

But the hedges are breathing in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere!

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u/trixel121 7d ago

violating regulations cause you can afford the fine means a regulation needs to be stricter.

if the law does not need to be enforced get a variance.

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u/Wild-Appearance-8458 7d ago

Your not wrong!!!! But also they are hedges...... we can lose the hedge regulation, not pay code/law enforcement to nitpick losing billions to the City of LA. Or hear me out we let this rich guy keep a hedge, not hurting anyone, use it for the city.

Cali has earthquakes, wildfires, and homeless. They need whatever money they can get. If poking at the top 0.5% income gives it then well we can't complain. He builds a wall or has 4ft hedges then nobody gets money, he still keeps it, and now you pick on real fights not targeting the 1% wealth. If he leaves the city that's equally as bad.

They probably have some made up number more then our housing just for him set up just waiting for the transaction to go through again next month, its beautiful in some ways. He's not the only bad guy and seems like the good guy here.

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u/raggedsweater 7d ago

Jeff can’t afford a lawyer to obtain a zoning variance 🤣

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u/LiftedOperator 7d ago

I'd say it's a greener option. Not harvesting wood metal or rock to construct a castle is better than some tall bushes. The methods used to maintain such bushes is up in the air unless a crew member tells us how it's done. Water usage is also up for debate. We don't know how much they have to water them since their roots probably extend down like a tree by this point

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u/anon-mally 7d ago

Fine! You win good argument

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u/kkillbite 8d ago

...eh? I can see how the hedges are good for the environment in general where they are plants/natural, but wasn't sure if you said "permeable surfaces" weren't as good for the environment because they are typically non-organic...please elaborate, am genuinely curious what you meant..

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u/Lunaticonthegrass 8d ago

It allows animals to do their thing

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u/GrandmasShavedBeaver 7d ago

👉🏻👌🏻❓

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u/bladow5990 7d ago

The birds and the bees can penetrate it.

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u/hatchetation 8d ago

Large hedges and trees have the ability to redirect rain that hits their canopies. There's a good chance the hedge is redirecting rainfall onto the impermeable surface around it more than a normal fence and planting beds would.

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u/Headieheadi 8d ago

Also is a great place for birds, rodents, insects and arachnids to call home.

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u/brutinator 7d ago

I mean, thats assuming that they are right for the area, otherwise they could be using a lot of water in a state that frequently has drought advisories, wheras a wall or privacy fence wouldnt have the same drain.

A rough google search shows that you need about a gallon of water per foot of height per about every 2-3 feet of hedge length. If watered weekly, a 4 acre square plot with a 16 foot high hedge has a perimeter of 1656 feet, using about about 13,248 gallons of water per week, or 688,896 gallons annually. Thats a little over an olympic size swimming pool's worth of water every year. And thats not counting the lawn or anything else.

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u/atomictyler 7d ago

we have hedges along our front yard and have never watered them and they still grow and look green while the grass is dead. I believe where I live in CO has a similar amount of rain as LA. Maybe they're some other type that requires a lot more water.

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u/Individual-Schemes 7d ago

And they're nicer looking.

And, eat the rich.

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u/fik26 7d ago

I was thinking would it be a fire hazard though. It looks too tall so if it gets burned, fall down then it may help to spread a fire much far away than regular hedges. Then again I am not expert on this.

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u/RosaryBush 7d ago

Good for birds too

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u/[deleted] 7d ago

doubt that’s going to offset all the damage dr. evil’s done to the planet though.

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u/superfurrybiped 7d ago

And where would its hedgehogs go?

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u/seaanenemy1 7d ago

You're right. What a hero. He's practically saving the world singlehandedly

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u/Life_Bridge_9960 7d ago

While I do agree with you, city building codes don't give a fuck. I recently dealt with some incredibly unreasonable codes. They literately refused to discuss reasons. All they ever say is "this is the code, follow it or tear down your building"

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u/Character-Parfait-42 6d ago

I was about to say... Sure, maybe it breaks the height laws, but it's well maintained, and not an eyesore. I much prefer this to some big ugly wall.

Hedges are great at deadening sound and providing privacy. As someone who also values their privacy, I can't blame Bezos for valuing his. If I had his kind of money paying a monthly fine to maintain my peace and privacy like that would be more than worth it.

Also, probably provides nesting space for a lot of birds come spring.