Another sorry neighbor story

[LEEVON]

That's too bad, those mean old single dudes are the worst. We had one that came after some older kids with a knife when a ball went in his yard. Attorneys will usually tell you that it's best just to move. In that case everybody made it so bad for him (also in his 80's) that he ended up moving.

Here's a good one...somebody kept calling in code violations (South Florida gets out of hand, control joints in driveways, too narrow sidewalks, etc.) so the inspector came to a house that had been reported and wrote a violation to every house he could see from that driveway figuring it would include the a-hole who kept calling. It must have because the nonsense stopped after that.

[JHT67]

I so feel your pain. Just last month the city man left me a note stating that I wasn't allowed to park anything in the grass and that I couldn't have any unlicensed vehicles in the driveway. I asked about putting a driveway where my stuff was parked, he says sure but it has to be pavement or cement.....OK, but I live on a dead end gravel road. " I understand sir, but thats city code". Well the 67 cab is back on the chassis and in the garage, the rest are tagged and put in the driveway. Gotta love city code, good luck man.

[old Rusty C10]

I have a neighbor we will call "Ugly Betty" She is a real POS. Over the years she has called various city agencies on various neighbors because she is just too old and as ive told her is living too long and is using up our good air and social security money. She has called while ive been on vacation stating my dogs bark too much ( yet ive caught her in the yard teasing them) and more recently shes called the buildings department stating that i have a multi family dwelling because shes witnessed various people coming in and out of the house. of course these people are my step kids and their spouses.
Ive always let the inspectors in and have explained to them who is calling and why Ive also given the names of all the other people shes called on over the years and told them to check the records... the problem has always gone away. Ugly Betty is married to a decent guy but hes not well and theyve been married so long he kinda ignores her. He still says hello to my wife and I yet and we find that the funniest of all cause it peeves her to no end

[68C15]

fight fire with fire.
last summer I had enough of my neighbors calling on me I looked up the city ordinances and made some calls of my own.

a sampler of violations I discovered

garbage collection containers not having "water tight lids"

said lids not secured except during depositing or removal of waste

using foul and/or vulgar language while in the presence of a minor

motor vehicles parked too close to driveway approaches

motor vehicles parked too far away from curb face

noise violation after 10:00 PM

dangerous operation of motor vehicle (caught on video during motorcycle burn-outs at 2:00 AM in our shared driveway)

etc. etc

they stopped being jerks and I moved one week later

DISCLAIMER: I kindly and politely put up with their crap for 3 years

[lakeroadster]

Caviat Emptor... buyer beware.

Zoning laws have been around in most areas since the 60's. Most incorporated communities have them, some don't. And sometimes the laws change.

If the laws have changed we need to get active in our local communities and attend the zoning board meetings if we feel the laws are unfair. Or better yet put your name in and run for the next open position on the zoning board.

The reality is if we plan to work on cars outside or if we have inoperable vehicles or parts cars sitting about this is especially important. Most communities won't tolerate this, that's just the reality of the world we now live in. But there are many places where we can live that don't have any zoning or HOA laws at all.

There are two sides to every story. We all know of gearheads that move into a nice quiet community that has all kinds of zoning and HOA laws and then the guy gets upset about neighbors or the law being on his case? It is our responsibility to live within the laws and regulations of the community we live in.

It's all out there, we need to take responsibility for our actions and be sure to pick an area to live in that meets our needs where we can live life the way we want to and be within requirements of existing laws. Then we will know what we can or can't do and we can plan accordingly.

Being a gearhead I checked the local zoning laws before I purchased my house to make sure the laws were something that I could deal with. I don't have more cars than I have enclosed space to put them in (I have 6 vehicles) and I don't work on my truck in the driveway. That is the zoning and HOA requirements where I live and I follow these laws.

It's much more than just being a good neighbor, it's about being a good American, where we do things by following the law.

[panhandler62]

We have 4 vehicles... the wife's Pacific lives in the carport, my Camry lives on the curb and my truck and the RV share the driveway.

I'm not sure what all of the applicable laws are but we get along great with our next-door neighbor so we've had no problems.

[irishman999]

I wish i had a picture of my Dads friends house in Phoenix Arizona. This family acquaintance of mine collects WW2 vehicles and parks them all outside his house. He has a restored half track with 4 50 caliber turret guns that are OPERATIONAL (he shoots blanks) parked in his driveway. Im nearly positive he had a Sherman tank in his yard, its been at least 15 years since i've been to this house. I grew up hearing about his battles with zoning. His solution, moving to mid west New Mexico (my parents rural community). you can buy 10 acres and designate an entire acre to storing junk cars.

[old Rusty C10]

Originally Posted by panhandler62

We have 4 vehicles... the wife's Pacific lives in the carport, my Camry lives on the curb and my truck and the RV share the driveway.

I'm not sure what all of the applicable laws are but we get along great with our next-door neighbor so we've had no problems.

lol read this one and youll count your blessings
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/new...72810?ist=none

[panhandler62]

I've heard of that place. Just downright nuts.

[thelonerife]

I think most of those hoa's are driven to weed out the blue collar workers so they can protect their investment. (over payment for their property) They want ''professionals'' that drive to work in cars.

I thought they were complaining that it was a Furd.LOL

[Sillyoldman]

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Keep an eye on him too.

[vectorit]

Originally Posted by old Rusty C10

lol read this one and youll count your blessings
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/new...72810?ist=none

HOA's are evil IMO...
I once had a coworker that was a HOA president of the community he lived in, and he was proud of the fact that he could harass his residents and threaten them with legal action. He and I never saw eye to eye on just about everything...

Really though, if you are a gear head it should be common sense that a HOA is not an option for you. Since HOA homes are basically apartments, and the "landlord" AKA the HOA can enforce any hair brained rule they please.

As for the OP's issue. They say tall fences, make for good neighbors.
If I were you, I would just make sure you clean up your project related messes right after you spend your weekends on them. If he complains, then let him. Since you would be being considerate to your neighborhood, and he would just be showing himself as a cantankerous person and everyone else who gets sucked into your neighbors drama will see him for what he is.

On a side note...

The previous owner to my house was a older single woman, she worked from home and so she was always around. She harassed the neighbors in the same way, and you know how she did it? She had CCTV cameras mounted EVERYWHERE! I am still ripping up yards of coax cable from inside the house and the roof overhangs, she even had cameras mounted inside and on all four corners of the detached garage.
Not only did she have all these camera's, she had the entire back yard lit up like a base ball stadium
My new neighbors were telling me that they were so happy to see her go, and that a "normal" person had moved in. Well, I told them that normal was a stretch... Though they dig my old burb, and wave to me as I ride my Harley home.

Good luck, and don't go looking for trouble with this guy. Just ignore him the best you can, and soon enough the authorities will get tired of his complaints after they see you are not doing anything crazy.

[Dieselwrencher]

Dang, that is an expensive way of being a PITA for sure!

[BIG ORANGE]

Thanks guys for all the imput, this guy called the law on me and told them I was driving my dirt track car around the neighborhood, when the law came to my shop, there was the racecar setting on jackstands w NO engine in it.
I also made a muffler system to slide up on my headers so he could'nt hear the engine when I was tuning on it.
Next he started complaining about my air compressor running during the day time on Sat.
That went on for months untill I built a compressor room.
But he doesnt just screw with me he screws with everyone in our neighborhood.........
We had some new people move in across the street from his house and his 2 faced wifey went over and took them a homemade pie and welcomed them to the neighborhood, well it wasnt to many weeks later he called the ZONING guys on them for having a broken down car in the yard w no tag on it.
What a piece of crap he and his wife are!
His brother died of cancer and didnt even mention his name in the local paper as even being related to him.
Him and his wife have NO friends at all,,,, I wonder why?!?! lol
I bet I got to his funeral and crap on his tumstone.lol

[60ratrod]

karma is a mofo, it will come back and bite him in the end. he will be taken care of. don't you worry bout that

[cableguy0]

Eventually the right cop will show up and be absolutely tired of coming to that guys house and you might get some peace. I have seen people end up with the tables turned for acting the way your neighbor does. He probably feels that because hes miserable everyone else should be too.

[Lugnut64052]

We own three rental townhouses which are within an HOA. The HOA rules are like 50 pages long. They even attempt to dictate what people can keep inside their closed garages (boats, etc). It's ridiculous. Luckily, most of the owners as well as the HOA president are out of state so some of the stupidest rules are simply ignored because there's nobody around to enforce them.

My project '72 sat in my driveway for a while. No flat tires, wasn't disassembled or anything. My town also has the "no unlicensed vehicles" rule. Eventually the Code Nazi chick came around and cited me for having an unlicensed vehicle in the driveway. I had to buy a "storage" permit from the city so I could keep my '72 in the driveway while I was working on it.

Fast-forward a few months. I re-roofed part of my house and used the truck's box for a temporary trash dumpster for my shingle tear-off. Wasn't heaped up or anything; in fact, you couldn't tell there was anything in the box from the street. Before I made it to the landfill Code Nazi chick showed up and revoked my storage permit because I was supposedly using my truck as a trash bin. The thing that pee oh-ed me the worst about that was that she stapled the revocation notice to my nice Fir front door.

[Dieselwrencher]

That's real nice, not!

[cayoterun]

When I read the stuff some of you have to live with, again I'm thankful that we live 3 miles from our closest neighbor cross country, 1/2 mile out in our pasture and 11 miles from a town of 11,000.
If we ever need to move to town, I've already made my new neighbors a promise that the loudest motor they'll hear in my yard would be a lawn mower. I'll come out and tinker on the farm.
I feel blessed,
Cayoterun

[LEEVON]

Originally Posted by irishman999

I wish i had a picture of my Dads friends house in Phoenix Arizona. This family acquaintance of mine collects WW2 vehicles and parks them all outside his house. He has a restored half track with 4 50 caliber turret guns that are OPERATIONAL (he shoots blanks) parked in his driveway. Im nearly positive he had a Sherman tank in his yard, its been at least 15 years since i've been to this house. I grew up hearing about his battles with zoning. His solution, moving to mid west New Mexico (my parents rural community). you can buy 10 acres and designate an entire acre to storing junk cars.

Haha, that reminds me of a guy I know who's house is in the middle of the big $$$$ development area here in NW Arkansas. We're talking diamond stores, fancy clothing shops, PGA tour golf course, the works. His house is on several acres and decent but he also plays with WWII stuff. Guy has a freaking German Panzer tank...he took it for a cruise up the road one day and had all the old rich ladies freaking out!!! My kind of neighbor!