hey what happened to olivetroad

[mowerman]

heard some one bring him up the other day,,and said they missed his comments,,,what happened to him????...bob

[JTFormula]

Everybody has to be somewhere

[41chevy]

B U N K E R E D I N

[RowdyRebel]

Don't know what happened to him, but if I'm suddenly MIA after 7/11/13, you might need to send bail money my way. Turns out the county commissioners had nothing better to do, so they passed a "nuisance" ordinance back in 2010....can't have grass more than 8" tall, can't keep "inoperable" motor vehicles on the property, can't have my pile of "scrap" or the stack of wood in the burn pile. Sheriff deputy rolled in and woke me up this morning...issued a citation and I've got to appear that day. Apparently, the commissioners passed that ordinance and now they drive around patrolling, then send the sheriff out to do their dirty work. Deputy said the sherrif has been trying to get ahold of me for the past couple years...basically since the damn ordinance was passed.

I'm going to put it on record when I appear that if I EVER catch one of those good-for-nothing busy-bodies snooping around my property, they are going to wish they hadn't rolled out of bed. I bought my house where it is because of where it is....I could do as I pleased on MY land. This ex-post-facto bullshit, unless they want to compensate me for my loss of use, I couldn't care less what they think. If they don't like the way it looks, they need to turn their head the other way. Nobody else needs to be driving past my house. Only thing back here is a farm field and a boat shop, and the boat shop has its own driveway out to the highway.

One thing is certain, though. Apparently the farmer who's field is behind me was on the commission and was the one pushing hardest for this ordinance. If I do a little digging and find that to be true, he'll find out what a nuisance REALLY is.

I almost hope it's the same judge I got to see the last time I was at the court house....then I'll REALLY give him a piece of my mind about the way he allowed an out of town attorney to flat out lie to the court in order to secure a "win" that he knew he wouldn't get if he actually had notified me of the hearing so that I would have been there.

Better start passing the collection plate now.....

Funny thing is, a couple weeks before I'm set to appear myself, I've got to report for jury duty! 6/10 & 6/24

[1958 F.W.D.]

Rowdy: Can you get a written copy of the ordinance and post it here or email it to me? We need to see if it has any language in it about pre-existing conditions.

Also, you need to see what zoning district your land is in- if it is zoned in any way that would allow for outdoor storage of nuisance vehicles, junk, or otherwise you may have a fight in that the newly passed ordinance contradicts the zoning ordinance's allowable use of a junkyard/storage site.

I am a Code Enforcement Officer in the suburbs of Philly....Dont hate me.....I might be able to help you fight them!!!

First thing you need to do: Either in person by filing a "Right to Know Request" you need to request copies of paperwork that document their "previous efforts" to contact you- when they accept your written RTK request, ask them to stamp it "RECEIVED" and for a photocopy.........OR, send them a registered letter w/return receipt requesting the same. In any case you need to DOCUMENT your request for the documents of their previous attempts. If they state that there are no documents showing previous attempts, tell them you want THAT in writing.

[Gmerrill0516]

I happen to think a guy ought to be able to use his land as he sees fit as long as he is not poisioning the water and ground and making a hazard such as fire or safety if kids are likely to poke around, and thats what fences are for. I own a rental property in a near by town. When I got my 815 I called to see if I could park it there. They told me it was not legal to park ANY commercial vehicle of any kind on the property even if it is my own work vehicle that I use every day. The town I reside in allows a single commercial vehicle of my own to be parked in the driveway. I sure would like to figure out a way to take away the ability of folks to engage in their own personal devices like they do ours. That would make us no better than them but I'd feel a whole lot better about it.

I am likely yo inherit my Dad's John Deere collection of 4 at some point down the road and I'm already worried about where I can/could keep them. I guess I need to fund a place with a BIG barn with sturdy floors...maybe on a slab. Still ticks me off that people want to "help" us keep our own property how they see fit. Good luck with your "comrad" neighbor and that whole thing. Get a plan. Going in on fire will only get you locked up...crowbar hotel is not a place to be, let alone in July.

Greg

[hatcity]

With the decrease in tax revenues around here, Code Enforcement has running everywhere checking on anything and everything to try to impose a fine. One city has a CEO that is just doing foreclosed homes. Letter to the bank, to property manager, to landscaper.

Guy I know has to secure pools with 2x8 frame, concrete mesh, plastic. Charges $1500, costs $250

I can look behind the sofa and see whats there for your bail.

[JTFormula]

My neighbor got a notice in the mail this week about her grass being tall, the day after she cut it. I got a notice last year I couldn't park vehicles on the grass. I moved the wife's car (96 bmw 740il) out of the way so I can do some work on our Alfa Romeo on a sunday. Since it was late when I was done I just left the car parked where it was (next to the driveway) until the next morning when we all went to work. A couple days later I get the notice. I also got a notice when I left a set of snow tires in the driveway for maybe 4 hours when someone was coming for them. The note said its illegal to store tires on the property unless indoors. Who the f@&k is keeping track of this crap? Yet the woman down the street has a perminant yard sale displayed daily on her front lawn. Town ordinance states you need a permit to hold a garage sale and only 3 per household per year. Oh wait, she works for the township so selective code enforcement is ok in this situation.

It's all bullship and you have to stand up for your rights before they take all of your freedoms away.

[RowdyRebel]

Rowdy: Can you get a written copy of the ordinance and post it here or email it to me? We need to see if it has any language in it about pre-existing conditions.

Also, you need to see what zoning district your land is in- if it is zoned in any way that would allow for outdoor storage of nuisance vehicles, junk, or otherwise you may have a fight in that the newly passed ordinance contradicts the zoning ordinance's allowable use of a junkyard/storage site.

I am a Code Enforcement Officer in the suburbs of Philly....Dont hate me.....I might be able to help you fight them!!!

First thing you need to do: Either in person by filing a "Right to Know Request" you need to request copies of paperwork that document their "previous efforts" to contact you- when they accept your written RTK request, ask them to stamp it "RECEIVED" and for a photocopy.........OR, send them a registered letter w/return receipt requesting the same. In any case you need to DOCUMENT your request for the documents of their previous attempts. If they state that there are no documents showing previous attempts, tell them you want THAT in writing.

I think I found a way to beat this...even though the deputy said he's never actually seen somebody get fined. According to the deputy, he'll come back in a few weeks and if it has been "cleaned up", the judge asks him if progress is being made to clean it up and he says "yes" and it gets continued until who knows when.

HOWEVER...

http://code.unioncountyil.gov/nuisances/generally/

(16) To store, dump, or permit the accumulation of debris, refuse, garbage, trash, tires, buckets, cans, wheelbarrows, garbage cans, or other containers in a manner that may harbor mosquitoes, flies, insects, rodents, nuisance birds, or other animal pests that are offensive, injurious, or dangerous to the health of individuals or the public.

That's the one I was actually written up for. It doesn't say that I cannot allow the accumulation of "stuff"....just that it cannot be accumulated in a manner which might harbor mosquitoes, etc. ALL of my buckets have lids on them, so they do not accumulate water. The only critters I've ever seen going into that area of the yard are the bunnies that Dozer is chasing.

They COULD have written me up for the lawn being excessively long....measured in FEET, not inches (I hadn't mowed yet this year...kept forgetting to take my gas cans to town so that I'd have fuel for the mower, or it has been too wet, or I've been too busy with other things....needless to say, it was longer than 8")....but they didn't. I told him he was lucky he caught me, because I was going to be heading into town to buy some gas for the mower (as well as other things to work on the truck to get ready for the "safety blitz" in a couple weeks....just in case) and that it would be mowed by the end of the day. He also asked me if my old Ranger (parked in the front yard) ran...apparently the commissioners have seen it parked in the exact same spot all of the time and never see it move. Heck, I've been parking it there for so long there is a bare spot in the lawn underneath it where the grass never sees any sunlight. Yes, it runs. Starts up with the first turn of the key every 3 or 4 months when I decide to use it for something. As far as I'm concerned, as long as a vehicle is registered, plated, and carries the state minimum required insurance, it's NOBODY'S BUSINESS whether or not it runs, how often it gets used, or anything else as long as it is parked on PRIVATE PROPERTY.

The more I've been thinking about this, the more it burns me up. Laying in bed this morning, I was debating about getting some concrete, a pair of 8' long treated 4x6's and a piece of 3/4" plywood. Right there at the edge of my property...still on my land, though....sink the posts about 3' in the ground and cement them in. On the 4X8 sheet of plywood, write something to the effect of:

PRIVATE PROPERTY: KEEP OUT

UNION COUNTY COMMISSIONERS:

GO F(censored here....but on the billboard it won't be) YOURSELVES!

IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE WAY I KEEP MY PROPERTY,

DON'T LOOK AT IT!

....although that might get me another visit from the Sheriff for violating

( Public Nuisance shall include the following:
(1) Any thing, act, failure to act, occupation, condition or use of a property which shall continue for such length of time as to:

(d) greatly offend the public morals or decency.

Then again, I'd get to argue the 1st Amendment right to free speech and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Right now, all I have is the 5th Amendment (No person shall be...deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation) and 14th Amendment (nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law). Of course they will argue that appearing in court to answer the citation is my due process, and I will argue that my property rights were lost LONG before I was summoned to appear. I was summoned to appear as a direct result of my property rights being stripped from me without due process.

Hell, I'm surprised some pantywaste yankee liberal hasn't complained about my garage doors violating that one.

I bought the house where I did because it wouldn't matter if I was on the road for 3 or 4 weeks at a time without being around to mow. I bought the house where I did because if it was raining during the 2 or 3 days I was home and couldn't get it mowed, it wouldn't matter if it went another 3 or 4 weeks while I was out on the road again before getting back home to see about getting it knocked down.

I bought the house where I did because it wouldn't matter where I parked my vehicles, or how long they sat waiting for me to decide to drive them. Before I bought my house (back when I was renting elsewhere and the landlord paid for a lawn mowing service) I even cancelled the insurance on my personal vehicles because I never drove them anywhere. I'd pick up what I'd need on the way into town, then I'd spend my time at home actually at home, then I'd hit the road again. I didn't drive my personal vehicles again until I got on a dedicated run and was home more than 2-3 days per month...at which point I started up the insurance again. All of my vehicles have current registration AND insurance....AND they are parked on MY property. It shouldn't matter if they run or not.

I bought the house where I did because it is far enough out of town so that the state law allows me to burn trash or whatever else I need to get rid of. There is a statewide ban...except if you live more than 1 mile from the nearest town with at least 1000 people. I haven't had trash picked up here for as long as I've lived here...no point, really. I'm not going to pay $60 every 3 months for 1 Walmart bag's worth of trash per week to get picked up every week.

It shouldn't be the place of government at any level to come in and tell me how I must keep the appearance of my property. It would be one thing if these ordinances had been in place prior to my purchasing the land...I'd say "OK...those are the rules I've got to obey, because I chose to buy the land knowing those were the rules". However, I bought my land 6 years before the ordinances were passed. Those WEREN'T the rules when I bought the property. They CHANGED the rules AFTER I owned the property, stripping away some of the property rights I had previously held on this little piece of land I call home. THAT is what bugs me the most....and my question to the court will be "Who is going to compensate me for my previously held property rights which have been stripped away by the passage of this ordinance?"

I'm really not upset that I have to clean it up...I was going to get around to that anyway since the fiance already told me that the pile of stuff couldn't stay next to the garage once she's up here (she's a bit more cityfied than I am...). It's way more fun when she screws me, though, so I don't mind doing certain things for her...

[Superdog]

if you bought your land 6 years before the law was written,and te conditions you are being fined for existed before the law was writen,and you can prove it,you should be considered "grandfathered" in to the old rules.That's what they told me when I was being harrassed and a neigbor wasn't,he was "grandfathered". You might try that..

[41chevy]

We moved where we are now because of just that crap. We were not allowed to park a Commercial vehicle in the yard that had "signage", was longer than 20 feet and was taller than 7 feet. If it met those "requirements it could not be visible from the road. Got a warning on the dented metal trash cans... so we started wrapping up the trash like presents, right down to a bow so they town code enforcement would find them pleasing to the eye...Sanitation asked up to please use out metal trash cans again... in writing!. People would see the "presents" and steal them, find them full of garbage and toss them on the street about a mile or two away.

Much different where we are now. The only thing frowned on is un tagged, inoperable vehicles visible from the street.

Notice my avatar is my dead CAT on the front lawn.... It is (a) art work with a fountain on the floor and LED lighting for the summer, ( holds my house number and © it holds my official U.S. Mail box. Not thing one that can be done as long as it meets those points. Paul

[RowdyRebel]

Sure would be nice if people knew how to mind their own damn business...

[Superdog]

that's the whole problem,right there

[mowerman]

home owners associations,,,aint they wonderful...we also have them in nevada,in the newer area,s...i can appreciate there ways,,,but i couldnt deal with that,too many rules,,frankly,,they dont like anything,,,,in my area,,everyone has got junk,,,i call it lawn orniments,,,i think on my street,,everyone has atleast 3 dead cars in thier yard,,lol...its pretty laid back here...bob

[RowdyRebel]

If the rules had been in place prior to my purchasing the house, I'd be OK with them...if I didn't agree with the rules that were in place, I would have the choice not to buy the house.

These, however, were not in place when I bought the property...they were passed 6 years AFTER I was settled in. For the first 6 years I owned the house, I could do certain things and it was perfectly legal to do so. Then, 3 years ago, my previously held right to do those same exact things on or with my own property was stripped from me...without notice, and without the ability to voice my disgust with the proposed rules or the pathetic busy-bodies who made the proposals. I already hold the deed to 1/2 the property, and the bank is hanging onto the deed for the rest of it until I pay off the mortgage....so the choice to simply live elsewhere isn't as easy to follow through with.

At the very least, I'll do some digging. Find out who the county commissioners were at the time the ordinances passed, who voted in favor of them, and then sue them personally for my loss of property rights. I'm thinking the purchase price of my land plus my legal fees sounds like a good place to start since the property just isn't worth what it was to me when I bought it. If I had wanted to live in the city with all of these city-type ordinances, I would have bought a house in the city. The deputy made a comment that a farmer (implied that he had a field behind the house...not sure which one it is, though) was a commissioner at the time and was instrumental in getting the ordinance passed. If that proves to be true, he'll find out pretty quick what a nuisance really is.

[other dog]

meanwhile, in Nevada...

[Vladislav]

Tom, looks like you mixed up something this time about Nevada.

The plate somebody painted black tells me this work was done in the same neck of the woods as my light green R-model was bought from.

Good practice though when no kids are around

Shure it was at the public yard near a house from seeing this shot.

[41chevy]

Yet this is okay

[1958 F.W.D.]

Then, 3 years ago, my previously held right to do those same exact things on or with my own property was stripped from me...without notice, and without the ability to voice my disgust with the proposed rules or the pathetic busy-bodies who made the proposals.

Be careful......You know those notices in the newspaper, in the classified ads- the ones that no one ever bothers to read??? The ones that say "At the regular meeting of suchandsuch township, to be held on May 1, 2013, proposed ordinance (#343, proposed February 1, 2013) will be voted on by the Board of Supervisors. Comments will be heard by all those residents who express interest in doing so yadda yadda blah blah."

This is/was your "notice" and was also your opportunity to voice disgust. When you investigate the matter, ask what their procedures are to publicize the vote for adoption of the ordinance, and also ask to see a "proof of publication" (an official document that the newspaper has to give to the municipality which shows it was properly published in the newspapaper.)

[mowerman]

meanwhile, in Nevada...

aus9471.jpg

ya tom,,,,that just about the way it is in my town,lol....i love it...cept the kids are helpin out with that engine swap.....woohoo...bob

[other dog]

Yet this is okay

glad I wasn't drinking coffee when I scrolled down to this, or i'd be heading to the Wal-Mart store to get a new keyboard!

[Mike]

Is or was that Obama's car when in highschool?

mike

[Superdog]

Is or was that Obama's car when in highschool?

mike

you know better than that,he rode a camel

[Mike]

you know better than that,he rode a camel

I will try and think the next time before I post. I jist plum forgot. I'd like to forget more. LOL

mike

[vision386]

Yup,looked a lot like this back then!............................Mark