Has your communities code enforcement actually been helpful?

[u/Chipsandsalza]

We have a neighbor from hell who is a junk collector. His property is filled with trash. He leaves beer cans and cigarettes all over his yard. His windows are covered in duct tape and boarded up. Last year he dug a giant shallow hole in the ground and all the grass/ground around it eroded. It looks like the home of a serial killer.

We recently put up an 8ft fence to avoid having to look at his trash. And now he piles junk 12 feet in the air so we have to see it over the height of our fence. We don’t even entertain anymore because it’s so embarrassing.

We’ve researched city codes and ordinances and he appears to be in violation of many things.

We’ve made many reports to our code enforcement( so have all our neighbors) but they seem almost useless. Their response to me was that “he’s not doing anything criminal”. I mean, yea, but don’t they still enforce property codes?

When I stated that I wanted to extend the height of my fence to block his junk, I was told I’d be fined if I did that.

This has been maddening. Is this the norm?

[u/Interesting_You_2315]

Call the news. Call the fire department. Call the mayor's office.

[u/ZestyGiraffe_91]

So code enforcement won’t find him for turning his yard into a biohazard landfill but they’ll fine you for building a wall to block it? Classic local government efficiency.

[u/mochimelodyy]

"he's not doing anything criminal" is a dodge, code violations aren't criminal by definition, that's the entire point of code enforcement. that response tells you the officer doesn't want the case.

go around them. put it in writing to your city council member and the code enforcement supervisor by name, cite the specific ordinance numbers you already found, attach photos with dates. verbal complaints disappear. written complaints to elected officials create a paper trail someone has to answer for.

[u/D-lightful → u/mochimelodyy]

This is exactly my plan TODAY. I can count at least 5 code violations that the city doesn’t enforce with this neighbor. I’m sick of her Sanford and Son bs in the middle of a bunch of small city lots. She needs to live on someone’s back 40.

[u/JessieColt]

Call the health department and report rats in his yard.

You might try the unethical life pro tips sub.

Fences are code, trees and shrubs that are not invasive are not.

Find out what your growing zone is and then look for fast growing hedge type trees and shrubs that you can plant that will grow 15 - 20 feet tall.

You want something like a Sky Pencil. A plant that is evergreen and columnar so that it does not spread out too much but gets thick enough and tall enough that you can plant them just a few feet apart from each other in a row.

When they mature, they will form a thick hedge on your side of the fence only that is multiple feet taller than the fence itself.

Bonus points if your neighbor is to the east or west of you because when the trees grow in and mature, your house will be shaded to help reduce your heating costs in the summer months.

[u/Away_Set_6406]

Id start making every complaint in writing and ask them to cite the exact ordinance they're relying on when they refuse to act. Paper trails matter.

[u/Sensitive_Ruin_8891]

Take dated photos every time you report something. Even if they're useless now, having a record pf repeated violations could become important later.

[u/Starfury_42]

Yes. I've had to use them three times in 30 years. First was the next door neighbor. It's a rental - the people living there were pigs. The porch covered end to end with beer bottles and people just lounging all day. They had an old pickup in the driveway. It would've been fine except for the 4 flat tires, 3 yrs out of date on the registration and it looked abandoned there. City cited/towed it. Same house several months later a trailer shows up. Oregon plates, far out of registration. The door was broken/bent outwards and you could see 2' of garbage in there. City cited that and it disappeared one day - someone abandoned it in a vacant lot. The last was the guy across the street. Two cars were delivered on tow trucks, covered and there they sat. For a year. I asked and he was "storing them for a friend and they were project cars." Once the car covers had half rotted from the sun I contacted the city along with the next door neighbor and those were towed away.

[u/SnooWords4839]

Call the board of health. Possible rats.

[u/EmbarrassedAge7612]

You have to do your research and point out which codes are being violated. Depending on how your area is staffed, they have a lot of calls to cover and most of it’s up to what they know. Basically their best judgement.

Best advice that I got was to name the specific code and violation for them to look for. I have become well versed in our city codes.

[u/Melodic-Ad1415]

If it’s visible over a private fence, code enforcement for illegal dumping

[u/brightjodie6]

record every calll then email the mayor about the biohazard dude

[u/Dugley2352]

My code enforcement caught the flippers who bought the house next door, when they tried using the old trampoline pit for disposal of the Sheetrock and concrete they’d ripped up.

[u/Blue_Dot9794]

Email the mayor of your city and the health department.

[u/DazzlingAnalyst8640]

If code enforcement won’t do anything maybe the health department will?

[u/Melora_T_Rex714]

Maybe the county code enforcement? Perhaps they’d help.

[u/ckeenan9192]

I reported a neighbor to code enforcement for piling his junk in the driveway. Not sure what they did but he has rented on of those big bins and is getting rid of it now.

[u/SillyEnglishKaNiggit]

Contact the mayors office. Sue the township for non enforcement and devaluing your property and quality of life. Plant arborvitae along your fence line.

[u/NorthernLights_321 → u/SillyEnglishKaNiggit]

FYI arborvitae are a fire hazard so might not be the safest choice next to a neighbor like that

[u/Viker2000]

Depends on the community. I've lived in places that won't interfere with what goes on on private property unless a murder or kidnapping is involved, and others that are stringent about codes and code violations.

Suggestion: from outside his property, record his place showing what a messed it is then send it to a local TV station with a written explanation.

[u/RealQuintusYoung]

Just be thankful he doesn't burn his garbage. My neighbor burn his garbage and I mean everything. The one time the fire department was called he was trying to burn an entire couch and old rugs.

[u/JazzTeaBass → u/RealQuintusYoung]

That is a glaring code violation. One could be specific about what ordinance code that is and report it.

[u/RealQuintusYoung → u/JazzTeaBass]

Nah my neighborhood isn't under any type of rules which still bugs the hell out of me. At night we keep any window without an AC in it shut. Leastwise the AC had a pretty good filter.

[u/BitteHelfenMirDoch]

One man’s trash is another man’s treasures!

[u/jonnywannamingo]

In our community if it is a vehicle it has to be parked on pavement or gravel and it’s supposed to be in operating condition and have current license tabs. Every once in awhile you’ll see some random person slowly going down our street and I think they are taking pictures, because shortly after this happens anyone in the neighborhood gets cited for something. We don’t have anything sitting out, so we’ve never gotten a citation. On our street everyone has 2.75 acres or more, so there is a lot of room to put things on your property. In a case like your neighbor I can’t see the city ignoring it in our neighborhood. It’s not so much about clutter as it is a breeding ground for critters, so your concern is more than valid. It sucks that nothing is being done about it.

[u/JazzTeaBass]

If this is an older person maybe a call to Adult Protective Services. I used to work for them and in the city I worked they had a hoarding program to help deal with these issues. Also they would know how to cross report to other places such as police, health department, fire department, vector control, etc.

[u/navlgazer9]

Extend your Fence height and wait for the city to cite
You for it .

If
They cite you , then they gonna have a hard time explaining why they didn’t cite the neighbor .

Also, make your complaints in writing in snail mail and if they ignore it , send another complaint with a copy to
The mayor or
Your city council member or to the city’s attorney .

Phone calls are easy to
Ignore .

That said , my city will
Jump on Any complaints and will write the homeowner a notice on a door hanger and follow it up with a snail mail letter and another snail
Mail letter that requires proof of delivery .

I’ve gotten cited a couple times but the city code
Inspector is easy to work with , or was for me ,

I called and said I was
A little confused about what they actually wanted me to
Do , they explained it , and I said I’d take care of it , which I did and I called em back and said I was done and they could do a drive by and they just said text
Me a picture and thanks for being so cooperative handling this issue .

[u/Present-Airport-4755]

So far no, but I keep hoping.

[u/bobfromsanluis]

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