Often it if it isn't a city or county ordinance it is a HOA that restricts it. Which is just private governace(which is voluntary). That said, it points to the root problem I harp on all the time. We are a society of busy bodies and control freaks.

On the one hand I get it. People want their homes to be in quiet neighborhoods with little traffic and drama. On the other many HOAs take it to the extreme. NIMBYism is everywhere. I like in an unincorporated community and not in a private development either. While there are county codes the enforcement is pretty much nonexesisant. It's fine.

We know our neighbors and discuss things among them. I have zero desire to move to a city or under a private government run by busy bodies.