Enforcement and Civil Matters: Two separate animals
QUESTION & ANSWER
Q: My neighbor is building a new garage-does he have a building permit?
A: What is the address?
Q: 123 Anywhere Ave.
A: The record shows that he made an application, which was denied because he wanted to build it too close to the side property line.
Q: Well!!! I’ll tell you what… he is building it anyway!!! Will you come over and stop him?
A: Sir, the file also shows he made an application to the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) requesting an Area Variance to allow the garage to be 12 feet off the side line instead of the required 25 feet for a garage larger than 600 square feet in size.
Q: In other words, he can do what he wants, right?
A: Of course not, but the structure is allowed to be 12 feet off the side property line as approved by the ZBA.
Q: He has equipment, dirt and lumber all over my yard!! Will you get him to take it off my property?
A: This office will talk to him, or the contractor in charge. Have you tried mentioning it to him yourself?
Q: My neighbor is an idiot. He is always complaining how my boats are blocking his view and how the smoke from our campfire bothers him as well.
He has people there every weekend sleeping in tents all over the yard. Cars coming and going, the noise is ridiculous.
You think I’m going to talk to that idiot? Maybe if your office goes over there and gives them a handful of tickets, they will straighten up!!
A: Our experience here in the Code Office is that once Code Enforcement gets involved in neighborly disputes, usually the level of animosity gets worse between the parties involved.
It is highly recommended to try and resolve your differences on your own if you can without Code Officers-or Police Officers for that matter.
Q: You mean you are just too lazy to go over there and do your job, right?
A: No, not at all. Some of these things the Code Office may be able to help you with.
However, there are a few that are civil matters, not zoning or legal matters.
Things like how boats are tied up; clotheslines blocking your view, tents in a yard on the weekends or noise from cars, which clearly is not a zoning issue.
Q: What about all the building materials in my yard?
A: This may not be a zoning matter either. It may be a legal matter, you would have to discuss your options with the Police Department or call your attorney for advice.
Q: So your Town issues whatever kind of permit people want, let people do anything on their neighbors’ land they want, let them park their boats all over the place, have campfires anytime and even let them hang their laundry out to dry totally blocking our view of the lake…
Your office does not care about anything, do you?
A: The parking of boats is not regulated by the Zoning Ordinance unless there was a specific site plan approval by one of the Boards that stipulated certain conditions regarding boats.
Campfire smoke bothering neighbors is regulated under the New York State Property Maintenance and Fire Codes.
Clotheslines, tents, cars coming and going at different hours, noise… those are all civil matters.
Q: You can’t do anything about noise?
A: No. The Town of Webb does not have a noise ordinance.
Q: Why not? Every Town should have a noise ordinance.
A: It has been discussed, but in general, there are rarely many noise complaints.
Creating a noise ordinance is a difficult and tricky thing to do. There has to be a standard to go by and a method of measuring.
Q: All you need is a decibel meter to measure sound. Does your office have a decibel meter?
A: Yes we do. It is used to measure the level of sound for fire alarms in commercial buildings and places of public assembly.
Q: So your office is not going to make my neighbor move the lumber, take the clothes off the line, park his boat in a different place, stop moving cars late at night or stop using his yard for out-of-town guests during the weekends, are you?
A: Zoning cannot make people act considerately. But we can make you stop using your campfire if the smoke fills your neighbor’s house every time.
