Florida Makes Off-Grid Living Illegal – Mandates All Homes Must Be Connected To An Electricity Grid

[KamaAina]

http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/03/09/florida-makes-off-grid-living-illegal-mandates-all-homes-must-be-connected-to-an-electricity-grid/

It’s no secret that an opposition to sustainable living exists. Earlier this year, Texas state brought several SWAT teams to a sustainable community and threatened to shut it down. Each one of the community members were initially handcuffed at gunpoint. It was called “The Garden of Eden Community,” and was totally self sustainable. You can read more about that here.

This time, it’s Robin Speronis that’s come under fire. She lives off the grid in Florida, completely independent of the city’s water and electric system. A few weeks ago, officials ruled her off-grid home illegal. Officials cited the International Property Maintenance Code, which mandates that homes be connected to an electricity grid and a running water source. That’s just like saying our dependency on corporations isn’t even a choice. The battle to live without most utilities has been ongoing for Robin, the self-sufficient woman has lived for more than a year and a half using solar energy, a propane camping stove and rain water.

In the end, she was found not guilty of not having a proper sewer or electrical system; but was guilty of not being hooked up to an approved water supply....

The only problem with off the grid living is that corporations lose their ability to control others. With a completely self-sustaining life style, no body would ever have to work. What would happen then? Think about that for a moment. We would be free to expand and create, to discover our full potential as a race and move forward into the world of exploration and discovery, all the while living in harmony with nature, not against it.

Derp.

[LiberalEsto]

1. Oh shit, here it comes.

The Kochroaches and their friends gotta squeeze their profits out of hapless consumers.

[ChiciB1]

23. Make No Mistake... Koch's Are A Fave Of "The Alien!"

Regular money slung his way, LOTS & LOTS of it and it's being used to SMOTHER every media outlet with Governor Skeletor's lies and obfuscations! For anyone not following this race, and believe me I'm APPALLED by how many UNINFORMED people there are here in FL, how his ads are worded are soooooo misleading!

I keep trying to GOTV, but amazingly I've found that many, many people don't even know there's an election in November! I've been aware of so much apathy from people, but not even knowing there's an election is worse than I imagined! So people are easily duped, but also the fact that people care more about Duck Dynasty or The Karhdasians(sp?) is overwhelmingly depressing.

I generally watch alternative TV, so I can't name many shows that I presume are called "reality" shows. I think these shows get targeted for ads that mislead, but not sure.

[raging moderate]

2. I guess I don't want to go to Florida.

Most of my ancestors left Europe to get away from serfdom.

[Brigid]

17. And guess what . . .

this time there is nowhere to go.

[LiberalArkie]

18. Mine left Scotland to get away from the English..

[procon]

3. Perfect example of how the "Free Market" system

works in today's American Oligarchy. Second verse, same as the first.

[cali]

6. it's not a blanket thing- thankfully

here in Vermont, living off the grid is a respected way of life. A number of real estate agencies feature off the grid properties.

http://www.nancyjenkins.com/Blog/Living-Off-the-Grid-in-Vermont

[JimDandy]

4. Old article. Only found guilty of no proper water supply.

Did she ever comply with that? She had until last March to do so.

[Wellstone ruled]

5. This isn't the only state.

Arizona,Uduh,and some others that swallowed the ALEC pill.

[djean111]

7. Florida, like a lot of other states, adheres to the International Code Council, which is a useful

(IMO) compendium of building codes that pretty much cover everything required for a dwelling where people will live.
I think that this is the blueprint used when you are building a house and there are inspections, to make sure that your builder, for instance, is not just stringing extension cords throughout the walls or giving you water pipes that are too small or cutting back on floor joists or whatever. Most likely, architects adhere to these standards, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Building_Code

I think the intent is to not have homes with no power. Anyway, Florida did not just suddenly "decree" this. This may be used as a wedge to delay solar, though, although most solar arrays seem to be connected in order to sell back excess and have power when solar is not adequate. When battery storage gets better and cheaper, I hope we see homes either off the power grid or on local grids..

In the end, she was found not guilty of not having a proper sewer or electrical system; but was guilty of not being hooked up to an approved water supply....

She did not pay for or use city water, but was using rainwater to flush waste, and they capped those pipes. So she was disposing of waste in the trash.

Looks like she was not cited for not being attached to the grid, but guilty of not being hooked up to an approved water supply.
Anyway, here is the colorful story of Robin Speronis.....
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-10/off-the-grid-in-florida-robin-speronis-fights-municipal-code#p1

[daschess1987]

8. It's a free country!

You're free to decide how corporations profit from you. You'll either buy from them or they'll make money off you through the private prison industry.

[bahrbearian]

9. Just like our fore-fathers wanted.

[yodermon]

10. Hmmm.. there are Amish in Sarasota... are they on the grid?? n/t

[ret5hd]

11. They are probably out of city limits where building codes apply.

[dbackjon]

12. Not this shit again about Robin Speronis

This is what, the 1,000 article on DU about this, all with the wrong facts?

[KamaAina]

13. I must have missed the previous 999.

[secondvariety]

14. If she wants to

live like it's 1830, she should get a place outside the city limits and build herself a two hole outhouse and stop stealing city services.

[Historic NY]

15. Is Florida paying the bill ??

[Jack Rabbit]

16. I think the Koch brothers should be investigated for racketeering

ALEC strikes again.

[tammywammy]

19. If you're using the city sewer system you should pay for it.

[WinkyDink]

20. This headline is NOT TRUE. Here is the story, from BusinessWeek (Speronis is still Off-Grid):

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-10/off-the-grid-in-florida-robin-speronis-fights-municipal-code#p5

"That said, the conflict with the city will surely continue. For now, Speronis is home, off the grid, and outside the law."

[Veganhealedme]

21. Rethug big govt. Big police-state govt.

I hope Crist wins.

knr

[DirkGently]

22. Eh. Headline is untrue. And she's kind of a crook.

For starters, she appears to have stolen the property:

And then there was the issue of who owned the house. Speronis maintains that a friend had essentially given it to her—the sale was recorded with the county for $10—because it was vacant and in disrepair and he didn’t like her living in the woods. The friend, a semiretired landscaper named Ronald Mayo, emerged to dispute that, telling police that Speronis had forged his name and a notary seal on the title transfer documents. “She was a friend, and I was letting her stay there,” Mayo says. “I gave her a small piece of paper to go to the county to represent me with the property. Next thing I know, she sold the AC units.”

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-10/off-the-grid-in-florida-robin-speronis-fights-municipal-code#p4

The same article says she gave up her real estate license after being accused of stealing a client's deposit and has had problems with dogs being taken away because they weren't cared for.

in June 2011, she plead no content to larceny, and was sentenced to 10 years of state probation and ordered to pay $32,000 in restitution. In January 2012, she had her real estate license revoked following a second complaint that she had not returned a $3,500 deposit following a failed condo sale.

http://www.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com/page/content.detail/id/528416/Owner-of-Cape-real-estate-company-has-license-revoked.html

She's not a nice person.

And what she actually got nailed for was municipal sewer violations -- flushing with rainwater but not paying for sewer. She doesn't have a safe water or sewer system in place. This is not the case of some special Florida state law saying she couldn't have solar power or something.

That said, there IS a problem with municipal codes and utility companies deliberately making off-grid options difficult. This person is just not a good example.