Town of Weston photographs weeds to harass and fine resident

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Having been on the other side of code enforcement (ie: enforcing ordinances) a couple of hints.

Display the attitude to the code enforcement officer you are displaying on this board, and the code enforcement officer is not going to cut you an inch of slack.

Best advice is to calmly contact the officer, explain the situation: Mom is sick, dad is gone, and you are a distance away and cannot address everything in the requested timeframe. Offer up a reasonable time frame to address the items, and then actually do what you said you can do.

Making a reasonable effort at progress is your best bet to gain some time. Griping about everything and telling the city how unreasonable they are is not. The boat sailed on that when they adopted their ordinances.

And if you have not gotten it, get the exact ordinance they claim are being violated for each specific issue.

Oh, and as far as not liking what aerial photos can show, recognize that in this day and age, google shows an awful lot on googlemaps and google earth. I'd be shocked if a drone was used.
 
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Originally Posted by MNgopher
Having been on the other side of code enforcement (ie: enforcing ordinances) a couple of hints.

Display the attitude to the code enforcement officer you are displaying on this board, and the code enforcement officer is not going to cut you an inch of slack.

Best advice is to calmly contact the officer, explain the situation: Mom is sick, dad is gone, and you are a distance away and cannot address everything in the requested timeframe. Offer up a reasonable time frame to address the items, and then actually do what you said you can do.

Making a reasonable effort at progress is your best bet to gain some time. Griping about everything and telling the city how unreasonable they are is not. The boat sailed on that when they adopted their ordinances.

And if you have not gotten it, get the exact ordinance they claim are being violated for each specific issue.

Oh, and as far as not liking what aerial photos can show, recognize that in this day and age, google shows an awful lot on googlemaps and google earth. I'd be shocked if a drone was used.


Thankfully my mom did something atypical and mom talked to them

The one admin was mad, the other had sympathy and gave her time.
The person administering to the law is very emotional and personally invested in making rules and was still upset over weeds and did not appear to want to give any more time and was arguing she should be able to rake and do yard work with an inop arm while dizzy on vicadin a week after surgery.


As a code enforcement official were you visibly angered and shaken when someone had violated a weed ordinance?
Have you ever gone on someone's property and confronted them on the side of their house?
Have you ever started the conversation voice raised and in the other persons face?
Has your description of the problem when talked to been very different than the letter sent to the property owner on the subject?

Those things seem atypical and are part of the reason I posted originally and sarcastically while upset, because I have learned to expect that behavior from government representatives.
I have learned to expect that appeasement doesn't happen, you fix what they ask and you continue to get more demands and 7 day notices and inspections.
I won't know if this is the case again until we "fix" the issues listed,
I will need to make sure if I am hyjacked I remember to get my mom involved to see if they continue to show more humanity towards her.


What my father did was after I was hyjacked by a guy screaming in my face and I told him about it,
I did not get upset or smart with the man at the time.
Thankfully That particular guy was eventually retired but I have no idea if the one replacing him is any better.


I guarantee only a sad woman with cancer could get the outcome that occurred. A mousy male asking for consideration and saying yes sir or ma'am would have been told to plow sand. (From past experience)
All the neighbors who have gotten letters have gotten zero consideration when requesting time and if I had went my actions or emotions would not have any effect on the outcome,
there is a definite double standard in terms of gender.

If I had gone I likely instead wouldn't get a word edgewise and gotten instead an emotional tirade of demands to replace windows, paint, remove a hedge, change landscaping, etc.
The beautification person usually will verbally spout a laundry list of things that aren't in the letter and likely are illegal to request.


But I get it, I'm a man I gotta man up like my father right?
and quite my [censored] about [censored] and just take care of it the way he would?


I would have never posted here if the notice gave 30 days to become compliant. (Instead of 7)

I would have just sucked it up and said nothing as I usually do.
 
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Remember, you always have the right to have a hearing on the issue. The citation is an accusation. You may defend it.

Locally we have a "parking on unpaved surfaces" ordinance, so a vehicle parked on gravel would technically be in violation. High grass and weeds are a huge deal around here too. But that one is easily correctable.

MNgopher's advice is very good.

Please also remember that for every property in violation the code enforcement officer has to hear a story. Every one that's in violation has "excuse" or story as to why. These vary from "$22 to my name", to "out of town for three weeks", to "family illness", to "my cousin died" and so on. Also keep in mind that most of the officers do not write and/or pass the ordinance. These are city council level things. They enforce the code as written.
 
I think this is key to the confusion here I have used admin/officer interchangeably but reality is in this small area that historically the head of the town board itself would act directly as would the appointed beautification representative who is integrated in the board,
they have a direct affect on law and are apart of enforcement and letters and public interaction.
If there is an issue you have to talk to them directly.

Legal Enforcement in this area falls to police and they have never acted.

I never really thought about it but is this not typical?
The "enforcement " is apart of the board
 
Gripe all you want about how this was handled. I will say if they cannot clearly identify the violations with citations, you may have a point.

Be calm. State what you can do, and get it done when you said. That's it.

Best advice I've got, take it or leave it I guess...
 
Originally Posted by MNgopher
Gripe all you want about how this was handled. I will say if they cannot clearly identify the violations with citations, you may have a point.

Be calm. State what you can do, and get it done when you said. That's it.

Best advice I've got, take it or leave it I guess...



Agreed, now that there is more time to ship shape, store and transport it's less emotional for me.


If & when they send other violations I will have to deal with those as they come.

Sad part is until this area was converted into a village (which I voted against) there were no violations or beautification person.

I preferred that. Property taxes were lower as well.
 
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