So at my store we just got a call from the building inspector. Turns out out neighbor (residential house, not another business) called in two complaints against us.
She asked that we move our dumpster becuase of the flies and bees and smell. Okay, it’s been hot out, that’s reasonable.
She requested that we erect a fence along the property line, she believes there are sexual predators in our parking lot watching her children :rolleyes:. Sure, we can do that we chuckled.
I guess she doesn’t realize the property line goes up the center of her driveway. If we put up this fence she’s requested, she’ll be parking on her grass.
(Yes, I know there are laws about property lines being changed based on how they’ve always been ‘accepted.’ But I’m not sure she’s aware of that law. I believe the propety line stakes are still showing. I think we’ll go and spray paint the property line and see if she still want’s that fence. We’re certainly not going to put it up where she wants it, we’ll lose 10 feet of our property.
What the hell? What a weird thing to worry about. Does she have any evidence? (You said you’re a business, right?) Is she just flinging accusations at your customers?
I don’t think it’s uncommon for a business to put up a privacy fence when they border residental buildings. We had one between us and the apartment complex in back of us when I was a kid, and our friends’ property is up against an industrial park, so they have one as well. I don’t buy the sexual predator thing, but parents can be pretty nervous about strangers constantly milling around near their children. Since it is a store, it is probably a constant stream of unfamiliar faces.
As for the neighbors. The property is about 10 feet higher then ours. There’s a retaining wall, (or two rather). I understand that why they want a fence. I doubt it’s becuase of predators, but just for the privacy. There is already a chain link fence where the kids play. I’m guessing they think we’ll just put up the fence on the retaining wall, but our property goes about another five feet or so and goes right up the center of their driveway. As for why it’s like that. It has something to do with an easement. Since the property is 10 feet higher then ours, well probably more like 6, it’s more or less unuseable to us so it’s never been a concern. But if it’s a fence they want, it’s a fence they’ll get, and no more driveway for them.
Oh and one more thing. Our store has been here for 27 years. They moved in about 6 or 7 years ago, they knew what they were getting into. It’s not that we built up around them.
I recently had someone complain to the Building Dept. and they sent me an offical notice. It was obviously one of my neighbors whom I talk to regurlarly. Why didn’t they just ask me to make the correction like a normal and reasonable neighbor rather than going to the ‘officals’? Now I’m kind of pissed off and feel like waiting until the very last moment on the notice to make the corrections. Whereas if they had simply asked me, I would have made every effort to work with them and make the corrections as quickly as possible.
Ha ha. No, I am in the middle of a construction project in my back yard that has produced some debris that is kind of sitting in a pile. Fact is, I like all my neighbors and am working to get it cleaned up (even though I am still in the middle of the project).
I just don’t understand what posseses people to go to the authorities rather than just asking their neighbor politely. There may not be many options in your case, other than building a fence in the middle of their driveway. But if the neighbor had approached you directly and asked if there was something you could do, I bet you would be more likely to consider it. Right?
At this point though… I like your fence down the driveway idea
A surveyor messed up about 50 years ago in our neighborhood. Garages on some porperties are five feet over the porpety lines. Two neighbors didn’t get along shortly after the mess up was found. One put a fence down the middle of the driveway, after the courts ruled that the garage could stay. The court immediately made the neighbor remove their expensive fence since it block access that had been there for 50 years.
