I sent this letter to the zoning person in our township today, check out the photos. The last straw this morning was when I found the idiot had literally wire tied some unstained / unpainted lattice to my fence. WTF?
I know in CA(which is way worse than Ohio on building stuff) you can have a 10x10X10 structure, no permits required. I believe that you can even go slightly larger, so long as it isn't permanently attached to a foundation. Also, looks like your neighbor's a meth head. Call the non emergency number and say you've seen drug activity there, and whenever anyone shows up at his house call 'um again. That'll at least bug the shit out of him, or if he's a tweaker get him arrested.
You deduced that because his yard is cluttered that he is a meth head? Wow... MSP have you ever considered talking to the guy and not being all passive aggressive about it? I know telling a grown man to clean up his messy yard wouldn't be an easy task but it's more civil than calling the police about it.
Well, if he has extremely poor wiring going to some tent or something outside, that has been there for months, you can probably see that happening. They'll do some ridiculous idiotic stuff to get their shit done.
There's no talking to this guy. I'm just the latest in a long line of neighbors who have confronted him about the mess, taken pictures, etc. He's a crazy redneck piece of shit. He once shouted at my next door neighbor because she was looking out the window at him while she was doing the dishes. The previous owner of my house went as far as planting a line of trees to help obscure the mess.
Zoning is your answer, Currently I'm doing the yard clean-up thing as I had a major shitpile from building my garage. My biggest difficulty is tossing good materials but in the dumpster it must go! The tents here in CT are supposed to be permitted temporary structures and having and ext cord to it is def a fire hazard, check w/ your town fire marshall as well.
I think you did the right thing. I don't think it's passive aggressive at all. You took pictures for proof, and contacted who you should've.
If this was a reasonable, friendly, but just messy guy I would have talked to him. But this guy is crazy as fuck. The same neighbor that got yelled at for looking at him was telling me that he's been trying to take part of her yard for years, citing "imminent domain". First of all the other neighbor has been here twice as long as the psycho. And secondly, imminent domain? Give me a fucking break. You can't just try to take someone's property as an individual and cite imminent domain. That's only to be used by governments and such. Psycho...
Alright, here's what you do. Invite him to your house, then shoot him the face once he steps in the door. I'm not really suggesting that(please remove me from the PATRIOT act terrorist database). Just get him to do something blatantly illegal or against city/county code and get the man to do your work for you.
I thought you were supposed to be some sort of republican, why is it the governments place to tell people how their yards should look?
Rule of law and enforcement of societal boundaries are central pillars of conservatism. Liberalism teaches us that individual rights are more important, so this guy should be able to do anything he likes. But even San Francisco has zoning laws outlawing bullshit like this. You must be an uber-liberal, aka an anarchist.
The really funny bit is that he and his wife used to work for a local hardware / home improvement place, and she fancies herself an exterior "designer". :lol:
Slobs and shitbags are not illegal. his buildings are not subject to code as they are concidered temporary portable structures. some cities have a solid waste ordinance, but very few municipalities enforce the statutes. you're fucked my friend. This is only enough evidence to proove that neighborhoods are at the mercy of bad neighbors. It only takes one bad neighbor to bring down everyone's propert values. if everyone for two-three blocks gangs up on the guy, it'll one of three things: A) convince him to clean up his act, B) force him to sell and go elsewhere, or (the most plausible in your case) C) piss the fuck off to the point where he starts taking it out on everyone.
Not sure about Washington, but here we have pretty nice zoning restrictions. Stuff can't be too close to the property line, certain types of things can't rest directly on the ground, the number of sheds is limited. other structures are limited and subject to building permits, etc. It's like the noise ordinance here. You simply have to prove that the noise can be heard 50 ft away and irritates you. Easy!
Good luck, don't overestimate the will of zoning officials to get involved. Get the neighbors involved, you'll have a better chance at effecting some change than relying on zoning and building safety departments. They're typically short handed and have their hands full with new construction.
You sound like the most fucking annoying neighbor in the world. "YOUR MUSIC IS TOO LOUD, YOUR GRASS ISN'T CUT, YOU FIX LOTS OF CARS PAST 6PM, YOUR HOUSE PAINT DOESN'T MATCH THE DRAPES"
Is there something wrong with wanting to keep the neighborhood you live in clean? The crap that guy has in his yard is a haven for snakes, spiders, and many pests. I'm seeing his filth as a central for disease vermin. Surely, you don't like an overabundance of mosquitos during the summer, right?
Haha, give me a break. He should spray his entire lawn with pesticides, and put up a giant tarp over his entire property if he's concerned about mosquitos. They live in marsh aka wet grass, not fucking dirty sheds. Well any body of water I guess, but it's still asinine to assume that he's suddenly going to be ambused by swarms of mosquitos and rabid possums cause the guy has shit in his yard. I understand his point of view just fine, but it's not his yard. What if his neighbor drove a shitty car and dared to park it next to his house? Should he be able to call the police on him for not saving up to buy a new one? There's a reason the guys a dick about it, because it's none of his fucking business whether or not the guy has a few buckets and like two open sheds in his yard. It looks like the guys back yard too, so someone would have to be literally in his back yard to even see it. The only thing I can see him legally being able to do about it is get the shit off of what's physically touching his yard, and gab about it with the other house wives in the neighborhood.
dudes backyard does look a little suspicious, if not, its definately a saftey hazard to kids.. look at that structure built on the left.. looks like a combination of a swing set and poorly constructed playhouse.. then the little shack on the right would be a good meth stash spot. but what im noticing is, he put chicken wire on YOUR side of the fence isnt that, kinda stupid and against some law?? he should tack it to his side at least.. msp may seem a little anal about the situation but, people like this escalate their repair and cleanup problems to where it ruins the value of your home and property... so i dont blame msp to be a little concerned.
NoseMaster, While it sounds like he's being an annoying neighbor, that guy's yard will drive down his property value (as others have said). While this doesn't sound like a big deal, in the end it can be thousands of dollars difference. One of my neighbors recently had the zoning people, and a few cops, show up to clean up his yard. My dad's realtor friend told me that when the guys yard is cleaned up and looking nice, I'm looking at an addition $8,000 when I sell my house. Just because of one person. I'd be fucking pissed too.
Nosemaster, do you own property? Or even pay rent? No. You live with your Mom, so run along and let the adults talk.
as a matter of fact, that tarp laying up against that crooked shed is a collector of mosquitos if it hasnt been mentioned yet,.
Other than the abundance of sheds, that yard doesn't look that bad. Maybe your pictures don't do it justice, but at least the lawn isn't overgrown or completely covered in trash. I expected a lot worse and have seen much much worse.
