&^$% code enforcement

Williams 728
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Evan! said:
But how far do you go with that? There are some houses on my street that, while not junkyards, they aren't exactly sparkling beacons of architectural beauty. As such, they're "infringing on my property value" by not being very nice houses. So should I have the right to force people to renovate their house?
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No although in isolated cases that would be good too.

I am talking about rules like: No cars that aren't running in the front yard or driveway.
No gardens in the front yard.
No building of permanent structures without board approval.
 
It is a neighborhood with 1/2 acre lots. Out in the county, fine. Do whatever you want. But in a city neighborhood a garden in the front yard looks BAD.
 
cheezydemon said:
It is a neighborhood with 1/2 acre lots. Out in the county, fine. Do whatever you want. But in a city neighborhood a garden in the front yard looks BAD.
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I really can't think of many houses that don't have some sort of garden in the front. A few shrubs, some flowers. It's not like we're talking about a corn field here.
 
Evan! said:
But how far do you go with that? There are some houses on my street that, while not junkyards, they aren't exactly sparkling beacons of architectural beauty. As such, they're "infringing on my property value" by not being very nice houses. So should I have the right to force people to renovate their house?
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If there were no rules in place before you moved in - no. In my case, I was informed of the rules and signed off on them as a condition of buying my lot. They are not a problem for me at all because I would have kept my house to those standards anyway. For me, it was mostly an insurance policy against some ass buying a house next to mine, erecting a poorly build shed on the side of his yard and keeping his crappy work truck parked in the street.

If you want to live like that, I have NO problem with it – just find a subdivision that allows it. I’ve honestly NEVER had a problem living where I do. People keep nice houses, lawns are mowed and everyone is fairly courteous. Of course, the people that live here WANT to live the way we do. Call is snobby if you like - but I don't really consider myself a snob. I just like my stuff to look nice and living in a place where people care as much as I do.
 
CrazyToad said:
I really can't think of many houses that don't have some sort of garden in the front. A few shrubs, some flowers. It's not like we're talking about a corn field here.
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What you are describing is often called a 'flower bed' or 'landscaping'. What he's referring to as a 'garden' is rows of food producing plants. I'd find most gardens to be unattractive if I had to stare at them when I spent time on my porch.

I can think of a handful of times I've seen food plants planted in landscaping in a way that was not unattractive. However in those instances the yard was also otherwise immaculate.


One item I think is overlooked here: sometimes the city itself has the kinds of rules we are talking about. Often they were introduced to solve a specific problem some time in the distant past and the rule persists, because no one has bothered to challenge it. This is why I think all laws should have an expiration date so that our legislators have to review what's going into our system of laws periodically. That way the laws that don't make sense (Detroit at one point had a law on the book that required you get a doctor's prescription to take a bath) get dropped off over time.
 
Agreed on all Korn kob.

I too was notified that I couldn't have a car up on blocks in the yard before I moved in.

That seemed like a good thing to me!

Some gear heads have added on nice attached garages. Bravo!! Isn't that better anyways? For all involved?
 
rdwj said:
If there were no rules in place before you moved in - no. In my case, I was informed of the rules and signed off on them as a condition of buying my lot. They are not a problem for me at all because I would have kept my house to those standards anyway. For me, it was mostly an insurance policy against some ass buying a house next to mine, erecting a poorly build shed on the side of his yard and keeping his crappy work truck parked in the street.

If you want to live like that, I have NO problem with it – just find a subdivision that allows it. I’ve honestly NEVER had a problem living where I do. People keep nice houses, lawns are mowed and everyone is fairly courteous. Of course, the people that live here WANT to live the way we do. Call is snobby if you like - but I don't really consider myself a snob. I just like my stuff to look nice and living in a place where people care as much as I do.
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I know, I never said you were a snob---and I also said I have no problem with certain subdivisions making up contractual rules for buyers. That having been said, what I'm concerned with is a micromanaging jurisdictional government which imposes their subjective tastes on that entire jurisdiction---again, it sounds like that's the issue that was the impetus for this thread in the first place. And yeah, I know it's just a matter of deep federalism, but federalism or no, I still think we should have property rights.
 
Haha this thread is funny.

Well sometimes codes can be a way to control people. Here's a f'instance. A coworker got a fine the other day (which he appealed and won) for parking on the grass. Thing was, it's his own house and.....he had 2 tires off the driveway! Yeehaw.

Now I can tell you this isn't because they don't want cars parked in lawns (beaters). If that were the case they would have worded it so that over say 48 hours it would be in violation. What the real purpose of this is (college town) to stop big parties. You can't park on the street after hours and if you can't park on the lawn....

Gotta love it. That's why I moved out of town. I was sick and tired of my neighbor looking at my lawn (4" high) and saying "You really need to cut your lawn".
 
Zul'jin said:
my sofa an th porch is very ncice, they can kiss my ass. ill take em all. fight me bout it. i dare yalls. leave mty sofa alone. wicker is ugly, cordaroy is way nicer. we give ut cnadu w no raxors on halloween on thst soafa to the kids. you lie kkids, no. ? sofa is good. friend ssit on it and drink beers,., we make bbers and they tll me ny niegbor isworse but he is my friend., i dont complain. leav ehis dead mommas stuff alone tgoo. this IS texas! we kicj u in pit. die code monkey!!!!@
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Ohh no what is next? will those bastards make you move that POS "classic" car you have on blocks in your front lawn??
 
can we put the fence around all of Texas instead of just on the Mexico border?
 
Just a few more beers and we'll be tanking sofas across the White House lawn! :rockin:

There is no Home Owners Association in our neighborhood. That's one reason why we bought in this neighborhood. Yes, we pay a mortgage, not rent. This is city Code Enforcement committing this tyranny.

There is no law, ordinance or code against having a sofa on the porch. Many people here do. The hitch is mine was deemed "unsightly" by Code Enforcement because it is not wicker, wood, plastic or metal. Odd thing is, cloth seat cushions and backs seem to be OK. The ordinance says one cannot put "junk, unsightly or unsanitary" items in front of the house. "Unsightly", the exact and only word used on the violation notice, has yet to be legally and clearly defined to me by the city. It is not specified what "unsightly" is in the ordinance as posted on the city web site.

The code monkey said, on the phone, "Clearly, it is an inside sofa." There is nothing in the ordinance to back up his assertion that it is clearly an inside sofa or that an inside sofa, which is not defined in the ordinance, cannot be placed on the front porch.

There was never any mention of a fire hazard.

The sofa had been there about 3 or 4 months. The previous Code Enforcement gentleman had no problem with it at all. This new monkey nut, he's a monkey nut. I know from my neighbors, my friends, that complaints are mounting against this oppressor and his over zealous and out of bounds assaults upon our properties and liberties.

Myself and 3 homes worth of immediate neighbors count each other as friends. The kind who drink beer on sofas on front porches and visit in one another's homes. Two other neighboring families are quite cordial with us all and me and the guy behind me sometimes chat at the fence. None of them complained about the sofa. They had no problem with it. If they did, they would have spoke to me about it. That's how we roll in my hood.

I do volunteer work for this city, and no, not court ordered community service.

I don't know if it's against the rules to grow food crops in our front lawns. A law like that is a detriment to our very means of survival. It's contrary to the great American way and the core value of self reliance. Beware of laws that force you to depend on their makers.
 
Well, I'm a bit of a prick and a **** disturber so I would likely have fought it. Sounds like it was quite a subjective judgement so you'd likely be able to argue your point successfully in front of a judge, especially if you could produce two or more witnesses that testify that the couch is not unsightly. At the very least, you'd return the favor and annoy the hell out of the code guy. It's not too late, you know. If you go to court and say you complied even though you thought the citation was unjust, I'll bet the judge would listen more closely to you. Take the day off work and have some fun. When it's all over, you either drown your sorrows inside with homebrew, or on your front step on your now legal couch.
 
grow some corn in your front yard.

sounds like someone thinks they are the law and can hand out citations b/c they feel something doesn't "look appealing"

in my field there is a difference of something does not look "right" vs. appealing... if there was a clear violation, they need to come out with it and cite their source, otherwise their personal preference means nothing... so if he thinks your front door should be pink do you need to comply?

i'd fight it. it sounds like you have the support of your neighbors and other people don't like this guys attitude.
 
Evan! said:
But how far do you go with that? There are some houses on my street that, while not junkyards, they aren't exactly sparkling beacons of architectural beauty. As such, they're "infringing on my property value" by not being very nice houses. So should I have the right to force people to renovate their house?
Click to expand...

I am not an Inspector or a Neighborhood Services Officer but, I am a Code Enforcement Officer. And I can attest that most Cities do have ordinances that require a minimal amount of care to be taken on a property.

No tall grass. No dead trees. Maintained fences. Painted houses. And for god sake no junky yards.

So, yeah. If you live in a total crap hole, there is ordinance to make you renovate to such an extent that it atleast doesn't "look" like a crap hole. Problem is, there isn'y usually enough manpower to enforce such rules and it takes a complaint from a neighbor to get things in check.

There are fines and such but, it's not like a "Code Monkey" is gonna come knocking on your door to collect $500 for you ****ty excuse of a paint job. Citations get written, violations get noted, and in the worst case scenario a lien gets placed against the property for the value of the fines.

If the property never gets sold then nothing happens unless thing degrade to such an extent that the property becomes a health and safety hazard and then it just gets condemned.

My Dad got a citation for his ****ty 70 year old paint job. What a piss off, for sure. But in reality. The house looked like hell. I am talking Crack House kinda hellalookin'.


All that said. I do miss the days where a man could store ordinance in his front porch sofa, and no-one could care less. Why jus the other day I come cross my trusty ole' RPG and thought to myself "Man, Now THAT belongs on the porch......."
 
ooh. a code enforcement officer! :mug:
i write some of the codes enforcers have to enforce
theyareontome.gif
 
chione said:
Ohh no what is next? will those bastards make you move that POS "classic" car you have on blocks in your front lawn??
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+1. To the OP - sorry dude, a sofa on the porch is lame. I'd be the first one to call the code boys on you.
 
blacklab said:
+1. To the OP - sorry dude, a sofa on the porch is lame. I'd be the first one to call the code boys on you.
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I think he posted a picture of it and it didn't look that bad... I think it was a dark sofa outside...

it could be worse, it could be a sofa with pheasants all over it:

Ugly_70.jpg


At least it's not a mention in the Ugliest Couch Contest!! :D
 
BlindLemonLars said:
The OP shoulda hung that sofa from chains...surely there is no code against porch swings.
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BLL,
You are my new hero!

'Stickin' it to da man' and trapeze sex at the same time! Son, I like the way you think!

PTN

Note: I did NOT say "Stickin' it IN da man!" Jaihouse love with the code-monkey is something no-one want to hear about.
 
BraeHaus said:
I think he posted a picture of it and it didn't look that bad... I think it was a dark sofa outside...

it could be worse, it could be a sofa with pheasants all over it:

Ugly_70.jpg


At least it's not a mention in the Ugliest Couch Contest[\url]!! :D
Click to expand...


Hey I recognize that couch. My parents had one just like it for years. I guess it was pretty ugly but you don't notice things like that when your 5.

As for the OP, I would hate to have a neighbor with a couch like that on the front porch but it sounds to me that in this case he was within his rights. If I felt as strongly about it as was posted then I would definitely take the issue to court. I think the OP had a good chance of winning.

I think we have an ordinance against that in my city but this makes we want to check it out just to make sure. I do know the city requires lawns to be less than 6" and it does do exterior inspections every 5 years to ensure the homes are maintained. This was one of reasons we bought in the community because even though most of the homes are 80+ years old they are all well maintained and the streets are very beautiful.

Craig
 
gotta be the funniest thread ive read.....I cant stop laughing. and by the way that couch on your porch is horrible but i have to give it to ya. You stick it to em.
 
EvilTOJ said:
Our dear friend Zul'jin has reverted to his native tongue of Troll. I thought WoW trolls had axes, not guns! He's hit bloodlust, now he needs some people to say allo to his lil friend :D
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HAHAHAHA!!!! I played that game for 3 years. Brewing beer took over
watching carboy, checking temp, researching techniques all > WOW

Beer saved me........it always does.
 
FOR THE HORDE!

The Horde can have porch sofas. Orcs and trolls have a long and deep heritage of porch sofas. It's in the lore. Trust me. Siege sofas.

Did I tell y'all about buckets and the TV tray stand hing? Yeah, well, code monkey said outdoor furniture has to be metal, wood or plastic. That's the way he wants it. Well, he gets it.

So I got my two best plastic five gallon buckets, not even the ones with used oil and cement stuck to them, and a wooden TV stand tray thing, which I painted up real nice with indoor paint (take THAT!) and put them on my front porch, arranged all Martha Stewart like (shes hot)... along with a copy of the citation. Code monkey put a note on my door saying that I had a great sense of humor. I put that note on display as well. That furniture stayed there for months with nary a word from code monkey. I wonder why.

Oh, because he no longer prowls our neighborhood. That's why. So many complaints were filed against him and his wicked ways that the city parked him behind a desk. My friend saw him there, dry humping his desk, looking all castrated. Good!

And new neighbor guy, with the half a car and blue tarp in the driveway, you do what you gotta do. We got your back.

And copper thieves who called the cops on US!? You so crazy. And you so don't live there anymore do you? Nope. You don't.

The E DUB is a gang and you do not %&^$ with this gang!

:tank:
 
Zul'jin, just where the hell have you been? It's been months since you've been here, we were starting to worry.
 
CornyKegs 300

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