"Right to Dry" Protected in Colorado

While efforts to pass legislation protecting the right to line-dry clothes failed in recent legislative sessions in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut, a similar law in Colorado passed in April 2008. The law overrides homeowners association prohibitions not only on clotheslines (provided they are retractable), but on wind turbines, shade structures, ventilation fans, evaporative coolers, and efficient outdoor lights. The law permits restrictions of such devices only if the restrictions do not unreasonably impede their use or drive up their cost. The “right to dry” has become a

cause célèbre in many places, as those wishing to line-dry their clothes run up against homeowners association rules and, occasionally, local ordinances. Dryers account for about 6% of residential electricity use in the U.S., equivalent to the electricity generated by burning 30 million tons of coal each year.