This is a perfect example of what's wrong with America today:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/ny...prod=permalink
This is a perfect example of what's wrong with America today:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/ny...prod=permalink
[AK]Bribo
If you were a zombie and I had to kill you, I'd feel sad.
One person's "Good Olde Tyme Fun" is another person's "Big Honking Green Wall that is an eyesore/obstructs my view of <insert scenic venue here>."
It was one thing when everyone lived 4 acres apart. Now many of us live right on top of each other.
And so there are laws to keep the damn kids from erecting a 1:1 scale of the Eiffel Tower next door.
The last sentence of the article pretty much nails it.
I think it's mildy stupid that the neighbors are complaining. What is wrong with kids wanting to have fun outside? They aren't out destroying things. They just wanna play. People today are all morons. It's all about how can I make the most money sueing someone, or there is a kid outside, he must be a hoodlum.
Would you rather see an empty lot with weeds growing, or a bunch of kids playing wiffle ball laughing and having fun?
Side note about the Dr. broken leg sledding guy.
If he got 6 million from breaking his leg sledding which was his own choice to do, does that mean I could have sued my friend for breaking my collarbone playing football? Back when I broke my collarbone, no one said anything about sueing or anything. it was more like you moron your not suppose to hit the ground shoulder first.....
The neighbors were enjoying the FREE land which gave them space from each other. I don't see a problem with the kids enjoying this FREE land as well. And if it floods, oh well.
Vax
Talking in general terms, this seems stupid.
If you looked at the big green wall outside your living room window, you might feel differently.
its only 12 feet tall, it cant be any worse then an empty lot. Yeah there will be kids laughing and yelling, but I am sure not every room of your house faces the field.
If the kids were smart they would have asked the neighbors first to make sure they were ok with it, maybe even set up hours they can be on it or something. I am sure if the neighbors were asked first, they wouldnt be having a hissy fit over it.
Can't be much worse than my neighbor's house. The structure is about 15 feet from my house and they host "dinner and a movie" parties on the patio facing my house every Friday and Saturday night. They have a projector and screen and everything. The movies aren't always PG and they are very loud.
I guess I would rather have kids laughing and playing next door during the day than a bunch of drunk adults laughing loudly when my kids are trying to sleep.
Vax
I can see the home-owners side to a point. They once enjoyed a green buffer between the backs of their property and their neighbors. Now, with this field being cleared that buffer is gone. They also probably dumped all their grass clipping and brush in there. The neighbors should remember that this is town land that the town could easily sell and have someone put up a house on that lot.
Plus, apparently there are schools and parks nearby where the kids could go play whiffle ball (albeit without their green monster).
Still it's kids. It's an empty lot. It's whiffle-ball. Seems harmless enough and personally I think I would enjoy having extra usable green space abutting my land.
That's the place I would take my dog (if I had one) to go take a crap.
[AK]Bribo
If you were a zombie and I had to kill you, I'd feel sad.
It all reminds me of a group of NIMBYs a few years back who raised a storm about a change in variance to allow a business to build on their block. I honestly don't remember what it was - but to me it seemed pretty harmless other than they didn't want the 'traffic' - which the business offered to pay for road upgrades. The property was zoned something like light industrial and not commercia-retail or something along the lines and the residents won - and the business never got the variance or change of zoning.
But the owner of the property got the last laugh when he leased it to a light manufacturing company (which the neighbors could do nothing about because of the zoning) who was spewing some nice odors into their neighborhood - not to mention the somewhat dangerous chemicals they used in their processing and trucks carrying it driving through their neighborhoods.
I like what the landlord said (paraphrased) - "Unless they wanted to pay me fair rental value to leave the property vacant, they shouldn't have opposed the more pleasing purpose usage of the property. I'm not going to let them deny me fair value of the property I own because I have rights too. "
I also love the people who purchased McMansions in a new development not even a mile from a cement company and complained about all the dust and wanted the cement plant closed - even though it had been there for 50+ years and the development was brand new.
I think in this case - unless the kids are playing until 8, 9, 10 o'clock at night it shouldn't be an issue unless there truly was "significant" alterations to runoff which could cause property damage to the homeowners. That being said, was that the intended purpose of that vacant lot or was it just a circumstance of it being vacant?
I have a bigger issue with the "fart knocker" exhaust systems and ridiculous amp and bass systems in cars who drive down the street at 1 and 2AM in the morning with their exhaust rumbling and bass causing the windows in my house to vibrate. I should have become an audiologist because we're going to have a generation of deaf hip-hop fans in the next 20 years.
Last edited by [AK]Hylander; 07-10-2008 at 09:46 AM.
"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries." - Winston Churchill
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Hustedia.com | Husted Visuals | The Racing Historian
Isn't that the truth.
If the walls weren't there - I have a feeling these people would still be bitching though.
I can understand the cars on your lawn aspect to a certain point as well - but what if someone has a classic car, doesn't have garage space for it, and uses a very nice car cover and parks it on the side of the house and it is licenses/insured? There has to be some common sense lines before infringement.
When I lived in the "historic district" I always said if the historic society members gave me a hard time I was going to paint my damn porch florescent yellow if they didn't STFU. When they pay my mortgage and taxes they can tell me what to do on my property. Luckily our historic society had no real power other than to print your name in the paper under a violation. They once told my father in law he didn't get permission to paint his porch and he was painting it the same color it has been for over 20 years.
"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries." - Winston Churchill
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Hustedia.com | Husted Visuals | The Racing Historian
I am happy that where I live the neighbors dont care about the cars in grass. I live with 3 other guys, we all have our own cars, the owner of the house/roommate uses the garage for all his tools for his business. He is in landscaping design and construction. even if we could get a car in there it would have to be mine but I leave first. We are not aloud to park in the street according to my last ticket I got for parking infront of the house.
in the driveway we have: an F-350 and extended trailer attached, f150 for work, bobcat/trailer in the semi third spot, and a VW jetta. In the grass we have another f150, pontiac grand am, and my ford fusion. 2 of the roommates have gf's that sleep over almost every night, so add 2 more cars to the grass. lol so what is that 8 cars in total. LOL
Maybe its my age, but I think the field would be a great addition to a neighborhood.Eye sore or not it could be something way worse there next to your house.
Here's some pictures of the field:
[AK]Bribo
If you were a zombie and I had to kill you, I'd feel sad.
Wall's so big, you can't even see the house behind it!
I don't understand how a drainage lot that was covered with weeds and poison ivy could be worth $1.25 million.
lol, <3
Retired EQ, WoW Player.