Well, now wait a minute. I don't know if someone's already said this, but sometimes there are real reasons to regulate something that aren't so obvious. For example, some of these might have been obstructing sight lines for traffic. Leaving them up might have led to dangerous traffic conditions that could cause injury or death, and this is one reason for regulating detached structures. It's not a huge media meme right now, but that sort of thing does happen--a driver cannot see the running children, gets distracted, makes a turn, and boom, a couple of funerals that could have been prevented if ordinances had been followed.
Of course, sometimes, that's not the story, and it really is someone sticking their nose in where they don't belong. For example, there are a great many cities that have (usually unenforced) laws that prevent people growing their own food--brought to you by lobbyists of the corporate agriculture and grocery industry.
