evanrem
WI
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I got a letter from the town inspector that my camper needs to be moved to the backyard currently it is on the “side yard” because someone complained. In reviewing the town regulations there is one section that states it can be placed anywhere on the property and in another section it states it needs to be placed in the backyard. I asked about the different rules and he really did not have a good answer why it was written like that but I need to move to the backyard. I asked what defines the backyard and he said anything back from the back corner ( I would think anything back from the middle side of the house). I asked where this was defined and he could not say. Needless to say it seems there are some gray areas in the code and they can be interpreted in different ways. Has anyone ever challenged this and won or is it a lost cause. It will cost me about 3 days of work and $1000 to have trees removed and such to move it back 20 feet.
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rgolding
Southern Illinois
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Ask for an official interpretation and a hearing from maybe the zoning board, not just the opinion of a "hired employee", that technically is suppose to be working even for you. Barny Fifes exist everywhere. If I were you I'd get my alderman involved and make sure the law is being administered equally for all. Also, you need to find out which neighbor thinks what you do on your property is their business. Not for reason of retaliation, but they may need a favor someday and its good to know who are your enemies.
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HappyTrails2U2
Tennessee is home but being held hostage in GA.
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Send them a copy of the law where it states it can be placed any where on the property. Send it by certified mail which requires a signature. In this same message ask them to send you something in writing that states this portion of the law that you have sent is void if they find that to be the case. And if they can't do that then tell them you'll see them in court. If it's not in writing it doesn't exist. Just because some little Napoleon city inspector says it's true doesn't mean it is. I've dealt with city and county inspectors for a long time in the Atlanta area and neighboring counties and there's a lot of them that have become to think they make the law not just enforce it. Especially the fire marshal inspectors they love to make companies jump throw hoops in order to get a certificate of occupancy just because they can.
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phenrichs
Sioux Falls, SD
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I have the same type of issue. Here they say that the area to be parked on must be paved with asphalt, concrete or "other equivalent material" but they won't tell me what that means. Also very vague on where it can go.
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LTCLarry
Maggie Valley, NC
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rgolding wrote:Ask for an official interpretation and a hearing from maybe the zoning board, not just the opinion of a "hired employee", that technically is suppose to be working even for you. Barny Fifes exist everywhere. If I were you I'd get my alderman involved and make sure the law is being administered equally for all. Also, you need to find out which neighbor thinks what you do on your property is their business. Not for reason of retaliation, but they may need a favor someday and its good to know who are your enemies.
Come on, property rights are not absolute and one cannot do whatever they like on their proeperty for many, many good and logical reasons. And it is or may rightly become a neighbor’s business what I do on my property
Having said that, I too would go to the Planning and Zoning or Code Enforcement Board and ask for them an official reading-position. Having worked in government responsible for constructing government facilities I understand probably better than most that individual inspectors have thier own biases and you may very well get a different interpretation from a different inspector. In some cases the codes are vague by necessity and in other cases they are very, very specific as to distances, materials and manner of construction. . You will not, IMHO, gain anything by “sending a letter” which attempts to state your case. Request an appearance before the Board so that you can state your case and present your points as to the discrepancies in the code.
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Keith M
Cle Elum
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Its going to be cheaper in my opinon just to have the work done rather than fighting the city. You already have a neighbor complaining and in fact their may be more than one neighbor who doesnt like looking at it. Take a look around your town and find at least one more person who has his trailer parked in his side yard. I bet you wont find one. Most officials dont like to use selective enforcement.
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JAL_Camper
Raleigh, NC
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Appeal town inspector's vague interpretation and show them their own ordinances say you can park it anywhere on your property. If they respond with it must be moved to back yard, ask for letter ruling explaining why.
Our HOA rules say you can park boat or RV on your property as long as it is on hard surface (concrete) and it does not extend beyond the FRONT corner of the house.
Or, call the ACLU and tell them someone is suppressing your freedom of speech.
JAL
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skipnchar
Topeka or somewhere else
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Here's another way of looking at it. They (the city) CANNOT tell you that you must put the trailer in your back yard. They CAN tell you that you can NOT put it where it is now. You still have all of the other options to consider including putting it in someone elses back yard (with their permission of course) or putting it in a storage lot. In the short term it may seem like spending a thousand to use your own back yard is high but storage lots will be MORE expensive (long term). I would guess that fighting city regulations would be the MOST expensive option
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cpaharley2008
york,pa
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good sam has a legal division that helps with protecting rv'er's rights- contact them
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EPenney
Galt, Ca
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I deal with code enforcement officials regularly in my line of work. Unfortunately, in most jurisdictions you are subject to the interpretation of the code by the code enforcement official, and don't expect common sense to be used by the official in some cases. If you don't agree with what the code official tells you, seek an interpretation from their immediate supervisors, or someone higher in authority.
Good luck.
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