I wasn’t clear in my earlier email about what part of CA I live in. I live 8 miles northeast of LA in Alhambra. My home is a single family residence in a working class neighborhood. If you’ll remember this all started because of a parking dispute with the neighbor over the parkways in front of our houses. We live directly across from each other and she (the neighbor) doesn’t want anyone parking in front of her house. It’s a public street, so technically we can park there, but out of courtesy we all try and give each other the spaces in front of our own homes whenever possible. On the occasional times when we have parked there, it’s only been a short time to shift cars, move garbage cans, make room for the streetsweeper,etc. I figured out early on, that she’s trouble waiting to happen so in the 5 years I’ve been here I maintain a neutral, mind my own business, short, curt, pleasant when face to face and nothing else, kind of relationship with her.
My roommate parked on “her side” one day, and she bumped up against his car and slightly damaged it and he called the police. He didn’t need to call the police, but he has a temper and she was pushing buttons. She’s a real piece of work and he’s a pain in the arse and together the’re the perfect combination to either start dating or have a really bad fight. Unfortunately for me it was the latter, and since I’m the homeowner and she couldn’t get back at him, I’m suffering the consequences. She retaliated by calling the city and reporting that we have an apartment in our garage. See, we don’t and have never had an apartment in our garage. She just made that up to be vindictive and get them over here. We do have a non-business woodshop and don’t have a space to park a car. She didn’t know that, but she figured they’d get us for something. She was just taking a shot in the dark. It’s amazing that people don’t have better things to do with their lives.
We’re very careful about noise when we work in there and the space is only used several times a month, but because I’m a woodshop teacher I have more tools and equipment than the average home woodshop probably would contain. We’re trying to get everything in order before the investigation. (That’s what the notification of complaint called it.) They’re not going to find an apartment, but it doesn’t feel good to have the authorities called in and have them snooping around your property. There’s a number of things they can call us on and if the inspector is having an especially bad day….well, you know how that goes.
We have since found out that you must be able to park a car in the garage, so we moved things around. We don’t know what they’re going to say about the woodshop and they may or may not say something about various things around the house. Hopefully, it’ll stop there. Thanks for all the information and responses and especially for the offer of the land in Canada. I’m thinking hard about that one. Best wishes……Eef
PS Frankly, I would like to live in Mexico, I’ve always had wonderful experiences there and with the people, contrary to what you hear………and regarding terrorism…….just kidding. I can’t believe where these discussions lead!!
Replies
Dear Eef:
I have read your tale of woe and am sympathetic with your plight. It just goes to show you that if you're going to infringe upon nonsensical local rules, then it is probably wise to be on very good terms with one's neighbors. Or as George Bernard Shaw once said " if you injure your neighbor, better not do it by halves".
Sincerely, Rob
damn..makes me glad to have 3 1/2 acres and no neighgbors in sight. Life is way too short for that kind of crap. Is ther a law in Alhambra about doing home repairs?? Tell them the tools are for a major renovation that will enhance the value of your hour up to ............an astronomical $250,000...and bring her POS with this wild escalation.
Wicked Decent Woodworks
(oldest woodworking shop in NH)
Rochester NH
" If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy........yessa!"
Edited 7/25/2005 8:51 pm ET by CHERRYJOHN
Don't be surprised if this "inspection" comes to nothing. City officials are pretty good at spotting the difference between "real" problems and neighborhood spats - and they don't have the time or resources to get involved in petty quarrels.
If you're on good terms with some of the other neighbors, ask the inspector to talk to them as well. I'll bet that this hassle blows over with few - if any - repurcussions.
Eef, it appears there are some restrictions as to parking there in Alahambra. You can find the city's code of ordinances online at:
http://www.amlegal.com/library/ca/index.shtml
http://www.municode.com also has an online library of local codes, though not for Alahambra (if anyone else wants to do searches).
Of course, you have to do a bit of legwork to dig through the legal BS to find what you need, but it pays to do your homework in matters like these. In the case of your city it looks like you have to have either two spaces or two garage spaces, depending upon your zoning. Bureaucratic BS, but you have to work within the requirements. I only did a quick search, so there are perhaps other details that would prevent you from having to meet those standards. But just wanted to give you the resources to look for the info.
(edit) OK, I just took a closer look at Alahambra's code. What a bunch of tools! I work as a professional (urban) planner, and it is idiots like them that give my profession a bad name. Overnight guest parking permit is required for on-street, overnight parking. But you can park a trailer or commercial vehicle on the street overnight w/ out a permit. WTF?!?
Sorry eff, but my guess is that the parking #### will be giving you some real grief unless there are other provisions I have not found in the code.
Edited 7/26/2005 1:19 pm ET by flamedmaple
I had a neighbor like that at a previous residence. His curb cut was slightly wider than his actual driveway, and it appeared his favorite pastime was to watch out his window for people parking so as to block the edge of the cut but not the driveway itself, and go yell at them. My sweet, elderly mother-in-law ran afoul of him in this way, and he actually physically threatened her.
The rest of the neighbors weren't much better. We don't live there anymore, for that reason among others.
Cities have codes because duly elected officials drafted and passed them. You should either comply or actively campaign for, and hopefully elect, city council persons who will rescind the laws you don't like.
There's a number of things they can call us on and if the inspector is having an especially bad day....well, you know how that goes.
And what would these other things be?
There's a number of things they can call us on and if the inspector is having an especially bad day....well, you know how that goes.
I'm still curious what these other violations might be. Care to enlighten us? Is your property neat and clean?
Probably just normal stuff that if someone is having a rotten day can call you on. I did a shed addition and did the wiring myself - used insulated wiring staples and so on - a real nice job if I do say. Inspector came by and failed me when he saw I did not have a licensed electrician do it. Call an electrician I know, he came out, tore out the staples I put in and put in some nails and bent them over with a hammer - THAT IS ALL HE DID. He signed the paperwork, I gave him his case of beer and called the inspector - Same one came out - looked at the paperwork - saw an electrician signed off on it, he barely glanced at the work and then passed me. Pissant bureaucrat! I then put the staples back in.1 - measure the board twice, 2 - cut it once, 3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go 4 - get a new board and go back to step 1
Rick -
I once built a 1000 sq ft addition onto my house in Tulsa (in the city limits). Being an electrical engineer and having worked a couple of summers for my electrician brother in law, I decided to tackle the wiring job myself (I did all the other stuff too). Got the city code books and studied them first.
I called it in and the inspector came to inspect the job when I was at work. The inspector looked around for a bit and asked my wife who did the job. She told him that I had did it. He said "Oh!" and went back into the addition. My wife said he stayed out there for an hour, then came back and said - "Well, guess I have to pass it, I can't find anything wrong."
Tulsa at that time was HEAVY union and only union work normally was passed.
My employeer there once tried to get two non-union guys through the electrcial test with the city. Now, they had been electricians for 20 years there, had been tech school trained, and knew all that was to know. But, after failing the test at least 10 times each, the president of the company called the city mayor. The two guys passed the test the next time they took it.
It's all politics!!!!!!!!!
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
At one time in Kansas City several decades ago, the secret to getting passed on all, repeat all, inspections was while the inspector was in the house, a fifth of whiskey appeared on the seat of the truck of the inspector.
A bad day woodworking is better than a good day working -- yes, I'm retired!
Until he recently retired, the county's electrical inspector was well known as a collector of Winchester lever actions. To get him distracted, all you had to do was park your '94 (or better yet, '86 or '73) in a corner of the room, and let it do the rest. He'd talk Winchesters for as long as you'd listen.
Ray
Sounds less expensive -- if you already have the '94. Better yet, would be a good excuse to convince the better half that another toy is needed to save money. LOL
A bad day woodworking is better than a good day working -- yes, I'm retired!
Our local code inspector resigned out of exasperation. The local cops wouldn't back him up on anything as they say they have more important things to do. There are several people raising chickens, which is illegal. Maybe I can stake out some goats to mow the lawn so I won't have to take time out from woodworking.
There are several people raising chickens..OH GEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.. I bought my house back in 1964 or something after I got out of the good ol' Army..Each winter comes and goes... I still find chicken bones stickin' out of the ground! Not as many now though...
I'm a police officer in Canada, and I guess I should mention a few things.
Laws are voted to be tools againts people who go too far. They can, however, become tools for annoying one's neighbour. I was called last month by a landlord who took over 1000 pictures of dog poop on his tennants lawn and demanded that we issue him a ticket. Nobody else ever complained, since the tennant's dog was pooping on his own lot, which the tennant legally rented. The real conflict was that the owner wanted to evict the tennant because he wanted to raise the price of the rent. I told him there was no way I was writing a ticket for that.
So here are a few truths I learnt from the job:
1. Some people are mean and stupid. They will ALWAYS be mean and stupid, no matter what you do. They simply pick on what is most appearent. You can go the war with them if you want (god knows it can be satisfying), but they will never stop harassing you as long as something else doesn't catch their attention.
2. You should always take the time (usually 30 minutes) to learn you local by-laws. It protects yourself from tickets and hassles. When in doubt, call the city or the police, they will be happy to help.
3. Police officers HATE people who try to use them as means of revenge against neighbours.
4. Be smarter than your evil neighbours: don't damage their property, don't threaten them...
5. Good neighbours: priceless.
Good day to all. Back to patrolling now, break is over.
Julien
Some of you have asked about what things in the garage might be a code violation. Well, everything is neat and clean, but there's a few things we did, like closing up and finishing a small storage room that was attached to the garage but never completed, some electrical upgrades, a partial wall removal, placing two posts and a beam in the center of the building for reinforcement, and adding a window. There's a properly exhausted wood stove in there. Everything is done correctly and to code, but I never got the cities approval or permits. I will from now on. Eef
Update: I never mentioned that I had to use my secret weapon. My wife met with the inspector. She's beautiful, smart and has a great personality. She showed him the garage and he signed everything off. She and the inspector chatted out in front of the house for about 10 minutes while the lady across the street snooped. She even came out of her house and gawked. They laughed and talked and it was totally obvious that the inspector was enjoying himself and that they were getting along marvelously. After the inspector left, my wife confronted the woman and told her that she'd explained to the inspector the whole story about the parking dispute and that the report was bogus, and that the neighbor had called to be vindictive. My wife told her that she, had taken a shot in the dark, hoping that we'd get cited for something, and that if she bothered us again, we would call the city and unlike her, we knew exactly what was going on, over there (gray water system, kitchen remodel, den addition, keeping a rooster, etc.) and that the inspector would come out and know exactly what to cite her for. My wife also told her that while the inspector was here, he went ahead and inspected the entire property (He actually only inspected the garage) and that he found no code violations anywhere. My wife told her to go back to her side of the street and leave us alone or we would report her. My wife told her we wanted to live in peace and we had better things to do than to be fighting with the neighbors. Hopefully it will end here, unless she's stupid and doesn't drop it. Thanks for all the emails. Eef
Edited 7/28/2005 10:20 pm ET by eef
Perhaps a more subtle message is in order. Buy a 100 bf of pine and make, oh say half a dozen coffins. Stack them out side your shop. Ask your neighbor how tall she is... if she asks you what you are doing, tell her that you have some "...plans I'm working on", then smile in a fixed manner and blink a lot.Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
Hey, is that a beaut outcome or what!
A really good example of turning a threat into an opportunity!
Well done, that man's better half! New Zealand | New Thinking0.06% of the world's people are Kiwis
Egads, I'm psychic (psycho??)!!! (See post #4) - lol
Dave, yeah guy, you are psychic. Thanks for your email. It was reassuring! E
How old is this neighbor? Would anybody be surprised if she "expired" all of a sudden? :-)
Or, go over and thank her for calling the town. Tell her the inspection found a major issue with your water supply and if she hadn't called, your house would have been flooded. :-)
Won't she feel stupid for having done a nasty thing that turned out good for you...
Sorry just being vindictive - I'm not really that kind of person but sometimes I think I'd be good at it...
Mark
Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.
Visit Dust Maker
Or, go over and thank her for calling the town.NO! NO! NO! Just probably rile her up and she call the cops and say you did something to her!
BE careful of folks like that!!REALLY!...
Set up your 24 inch planer to take a 1/2" cut.
Connect it to your dust collector and remove the collector bag, replace with a 6" hose.
Aim the hose at your neighbor's patio and wait until she has a barbecue.
Start the planer and the collector, then feed some Imbuia (Allergies), or Zebrawood (Stinks) through the planer.
Let me know when, I want to shoot a video.
Edited 7/27/2005 5:36 pm ET by Willie Martins
Is it true the neighbor is running a drug house, abusing children, and hosting a porno web? Just asking.
A bad day woodworking is better than a good day working -- yes, I'm retired!
May I suggest you get to work in your shop and make her something?
Like maybe a gallows?
Who knows? Maybe she'll do the right thing.
Whatever happens, post a followup with what the inspection turns up.1 - measure the board twice, 2 - cut it once, 3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go 4 - get a new board and go back to step 1
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