I came home from work to a red notice on our front door of the sticks & bricks house we own.
The notice was from the Community Development Department (CDD) of the city we live in. It seems a anonymous neighbor turned in a complaint that we were doing unpermitted construction to the rear of our house. We're not.
I spoke with a building inspector at the CDD and he said the complaintant had not given any evidence to substantiate the claim. He confirmed the complaint was based on hearsay. He went on to say the way they clear these complaints is to do an inspection of the property and if they find no construction the complaint is cleared.
I asked why do they take the word of an anonymous neighbor over the word of the actual owner/resident. He said that's just the way they handle these types of complaints.
I asked what would happen if I refused the inspection, he said they would go to a judge to get a Code Enforcement Warrant, but he doubted if a judge would issue one due to no evidence.... huh ????
I wrote the city council and mayor to ask that they review this policy regarding unsubstantiated anonymous complaints.
Not only is Big Brother watching, he's also taking action on unsubstantiated complaints from anonymous sources.
What happened to our rights as property owners ????
GENECOP said
01:30 PM Feb 9, 2010
Yes that kind of insane procedure makes you wonder just how stupid some of these lawmakers must really be, G
Terry and Jo said
02:09 PM Feb 9, 2010
Sadly, it isn't always the lawmakers. I know of several instances where a state has passed a law but has then assigned an agency to impliment that law. Many times it is the bureaucrats in that agency that has mis-managed that law into something other than what the lawmakers intended.
Where it really gets bad is when the lawmakers have passed the law and then forgotten about it, thinking that the agency has things covered.
So, I guess it is still a responsibility of the lawmakers to follow up.
Terry
bjoyce said
03:32 PM Feb 9, 2010
Code Enforcement is a place where the petty dictators find a home in some towns and counties. A good friend's best friend from way back is a code enforcement officer and one day I asked her about an event I read about. I learned quickly that she relished her power and was very quick to hand out code enforcement tickets. Her view is she sees what she sees and it is up to you to take it up the line to get the ticket removed. The case I brought up was someone getting a $600 ticket for using their trailer as a residence when the code enforcement officer saw the trailer in the persons yard while driving by. The trailer was not being used as a residence but the person with the trailer still had the hassle of taking it up the line to get the ticket thrown out.
Luckily I know of some places where they don't let their code enforcement people act so arbitrarily. But you don't know until you deal with them which kind of place you are.
TXRVr said
10:19 AM Feb 11, 2010
I am wondering why they put a sticker on your door if the complaint was bogus.
My driveway connects to a dirt county maintained road. When I built my house, an inspector told me that I needed to put gravel down on my dirt driveway where it connected to the country road. It's a safety code that prevents mud and dirt from being tracked onto a public road. I told him that I'd put gravel down on my driveway just as soon as the country paved their dirt road. Thankfully, being in a rural setting negates most of this type stuff for us.
Yep, petty dictators and agency mismanagement.
thebearII said
12:08 PM Feb 11, 2010
The code enforcement team won't consider the complaints bogus until they do an inspection of your property to confirm no unpermitted construction exists.
So eventhough this is an anonymous complaint with no evidence to back it up, the policy is they have to follow up on the complaint even if the homeowner says there is no unpermitted construction.
If they take additional action against us I plan to launch an internet campaign and have folks contact the building department to file anonymous complaints. I wonder what they'll do when they start receiving hundreds of complaints daily. I bet they change the policy quickly to require evidence.
Racerguy said
01:28 PM Feb 11, 2010
Seems to me the easy solution is to let them see there is nothing going on.
thebearII said
02:46 PM Feb 11, 2010
Yeah, except it's the right to privacy and government taking away our freedoms thing in my mind.
Combined my wife and I have lived in this city for 97 years. I'm guessing that's a lot more years than the person that filed the complaint. I checked the list of permits issued for the month of the complaint and a permit was issued for a house two blocks further down the same street and their address is 3414 our address is 3614.
I contend that the inspector that took the complaint wrote down the address wrong and of course when they looked at the file for the wrong address (ours) there was no permit. I'm betting the complaint was for the work at 3414 and due to an error we have become victims.
So I'm standing up for my rights, I enjoy fights like this.
Just like the fight I'm having with the dealer about the roof leak in my new truck. Next week I get to prove to service manager how wrong he was to say they couldn't make it leak. I hope to get satisfaction, new headliner, carpet and a weeks car rental out of them when I make it leak.
ahoweth said
08:22 AM Feb 12, 2010
Being a full timer, I haven't received a single sticky on my door for violating building codes. If I did I would just start up and leave!
rjenkins said
09:32 AM Feb 12, 2010
ah yes, the anonymous complaint! that works in corporate america as many of you know too. being in middle management you have to pursue every allegation. most large corporations have ethics hotlines, ombudsman, EEO in HR, etc, etc. in my 30 years, handling several such type complaints each year, I found one that was valid. the rest were called in due to bickering between employees, etc, etc. a lot of wasted effort and unfortunately tends to harden you towards having compassion on the rare occasion that one is true. that's why whenever I read or hear about an accusation in the media against someone, I am very cynical in believing it knowing how people behave. accusing someone in corporate America is free, and making them pay for it if it isn't true is called retaliation so you can't do it! I can't wait to leave this rat race and start rv'ing!!!!
Gary said
05:04 AM Feb 13, 2010
rjenkins wrote:
I can't wait to leave this rat race and start rv'ing!!!!
This is one Howard will love....
I came home from work to a red notice on our front door of the sticks & bricks house we own.
The notice was from the Community Development Department (CDD) of the city we live in. It seems a anonymous neighbor turned in a complaint that we were doing unpermitted construction to the rear of our house. We're not.
I spoke with a building inspector at the CDD and he said the complaintant had not given any evidence to substantiate the claim. He confirmed the complaint was based on hearsay. He went on to say the way they clear these complaints is to do an inspection of the property and if they find no construction the complaint is cleared.
I asked why do they take the word of an anonymous neighbor over the word of the actual owner/resident. He said that's just the way they handle these types of complaints.
I asked what would happen if I refused the inspection, he said they would go to a judge to get a Code Enforcement Warrant, but he doubted if a judge would issue one due to no evidence.... huh ????
I wrote the city council and mayor to ask that they review this policy regarding unsubstantiated anonymous complaints.
Not only is Big Brother watching, he's also taking action on unsubstantiated complaints from anonymous sources.
What happened to our rights as property owners ????
Where it really gets bad is when the lawmakers have passed the law and then forgotten about it, thinking that the agency has things covered.
So, I guess it is still a responsibility of the lawmakers to follow up.
Terry
My driveway connects to a dirt county maintained road. When I built my house, an inspector told me that I needed to put gravel down on my dirt driveway where it connected to the country road. It's a safety code that prevents mud and dirt from being tracked onto a public road. I told him that I'd put gravel down on my driveway just as soon as the country paved their dirt road. Thankfully, being in a rural setting negates most of this type stuff for us.
Yep, petty dictators and agency mismanagement.
You and me both.