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©FBI 2002
Anyone who owns a vast tract of land, miles from their nearest neighbor, with
unlimited access to barn space for storage should read no further!!! For the rest of us, who live in communities
where we have to show some respect for what neighbors can see and hear of our hobby, the following discussion may
prove of interest to anyone who houses their collection at home. The plea for advice came from a member of the
Stationary Engine Mailing List who lives in Texas, but the advice he received came from Australia, Europe and America
- it doesn't matter where you live, officialdom can create the same problems! Not only does the List cover great
geographical variety, but also a good cross-section of "day jobs", including some who have offered their
advice who work on the other side of the legal fence! stationary-engine@atis.net
* I recently (today) receive a notice from my city regarding my collection
of stuff. They say I have 12 days to get rid of it or hide it. It is all behind fencing in my back yard. There
is some true "junk" but most of is genuine antiques. I have two operable steam engines connected to one
small boiler and three gas engines. I have a lot of small iron pulleys and vintage valves hanging on the my fence.
The junk I can move but the true toys I would like to keep.
Got any suggestions how to proceed to combat this?
* Nicely ask the zoning official to show you the ruling concerning your collection. Chances are it may not apply
to you directly and there is some latitude in interpretation. If you can't reach a compromise I would suggest seeing
an attorney buddy if you have one.
* How fancy is your neighborhood? Some are ULTRA fussy, like you can't park your car in your driveway and you can't
hang clothes out to dry. The first step is to check the law. If it's a gray area, the next step is to look at your
yard from the perspective of a neighbor who might not love old iron. What does it look like to him? Was he the
source of the complaint or was it a busy-body elected official doing "yard inspections"? My guess is
someone bitched about your yard.
Maybe put the "junk" and assorted parts out of sight in storage and leave the engines. See how it looks
then. Invite the "official" to come have a look. Maybe even show him the running engines.
* Most of these type notices are sent pursuant to a property maintenance ordinance enacted by a city or county.
I would contact the office which sent you the notice and ask what specific part of the ordinance you are in violation
of.
Chances are you have never been visited by the enforcement office. They will often receive a complaint and then
send out a form letter instructing the property owner to clean up his property within a specified time without
actually viewing the alleged violation. If they hear no more, they assume the problem has been resolved. Do you
have a neighbor who "has it in" for you? Could be the source of your trouble.
* You should check to see if it is also a new ordnance. You may fall under the grandfather law as to it. If it
was there before the ordnance most places can't make you remove it.
* I've been through this before. A builder that doesn't get along with my father is putting in a development next
to us. My father is a general contractor and still has his old cable excavator out back in the woods. You can't
see it from the road, or out back till they cut down nearly every tree back there. This guy complained to the town
that we had commercial machinery being stored on our property. Said it could be seen from his building site and
would put off potential buyers. Lucky for us the people at town hall know about this guy and my dad, said so long
as we kept it covered with a tarp that would be fine.
I would get rid of your "real junk" and cover up the good stuff; shouldn't have any more problems. My
father's old machine, like my engines, are antiques and there are certain laws out there that exclude them. For
example, yuppy neighbor didn't like me running my engines and called the cops. I explained that they were antiques.
Cop looked into laws about operating antique equipment and turns out I can run my engines any day
of the week between business hours! Good luck!
* I've been through this before. Make sure it is not visible from the street. Don't operate machinery outside the
hours of your zoning.
Alternately you can build a really ugly shed (but within local laws) and keep everything in it.
* While I could start the inevitable rant about the unfairness of neighbors, municipalities, etc., and indeed feel
like doing so, that won't go anywhere toward a resolution.
There must be more history here. Surely this is not the first encounter you and the authorities have had. A 12
day notice is not usually the first volley? Does the history of the dispute give any hints as to what would be
acceptable, other than you packing up and leaving town? Are you getting competent legal advice? I'm not talking
about an expensive fight here, just someone who knows the ropes in that town to direct how you can best handle
this yourself. Can you negotiate a settlement? Is there a known entity to negotiate with? "I'll remove this
and this, and will raise the fence 2 feet..." kind of agreement.
The only real answer may well be out of your reach: pack up and find a better neighborhood, probably out in the
country where there aren't town folks who never will get what you do.
* Maybe you can sell part of your stuff in order to raise funds to move the rest of it elsewhere? But 12 days isn't
much time to do anything!
* As far as really fighting it, I'd bet you're screwed. You'll have to negotiate a solution. That's where an attorney
could help you think through the options. I've one for my company that I call probably every month. Never any substantive
work that I give him, but he helps me decide which battles to fight and which to let go.
* Good luck with your dilemma!!! Don't let your town run over you. Make sure the laws are chiseled in stone before
you abide by them.
At this point, we were given a little extra background information from the person whose collection was causing
a problem.
* In the dozen years I have been at this location the only things I have
been given notice for is once for low hanging tree branches over streets and side walks and once for too tall grass
when my mower gave up the ghost.
The quantity of old iron has been actually reduced in size and number in the last five years or so for this possible
reason. I will find out what exactly is the problem. Perhaps its a new civil functionary trying to prove him/her
self?
* May I suggest approaching this thing in a friendly manner?
I'm in the Real Estate business and am a contractor that has been trough many notices, hearings and plain bureaucratic
nonsense.
One thing I keep hearing is that "those people only want more fees.' I don't think so. Some just want to do
their job, some want to push people around. The second class are the toughest. In either case being apologetic
and kindly asking for an explanation of the violations may be a good approach. These clerks usually have the authority
to ignore certain minor infractions, and are more inclined to do so if dealing with a cooperative citizen. I have
been right, but bowed to their authority and almost always got good results.
The most up to date news on the situation at this time shows how easy it is for the uninitiated to draw the wrong
conclusions about our hobby:
* From the continuing saga. I went round one today with the city. I guess
it was a draw. It seems some insignificant city municipal functionary was cruising the neighborhood and saw a chain
hoist in my lift tree -- the one under which I use to load and unload for shows. That person thought I was running
a business like replacing auto engines and the such and filed a complaint. I have been quite careful not to be
a bother to my neighbors so this problem did not come from them as it could have.
My collection of iron was described by the investigator as "auto parts."
Probably the only thing that could be described as such would be spark plugs on my gas engines.
I politely informed him he had no idea what he was looking at. Being denied the pursuit of my hobby has given rise
to getting some place in the sticks. Fortunately those of us in the hobby are generally of good and generous character.
I have offers from friends of storage until something can be worked out.
* He ASS-U-MEd that you were running a business. He ASSUMED that those were auto parts. He didn't bother to find
out "the rest of the story" as Paul Harvey would say. Unfortunately anything that is outside of the perceived
normal activities is not understood and intelligence deprived individuals take it upon themselves to cause problems
where none should exist.
I enjoy living outside the norm. It exposes how shallow people are really quick.
* I find the problems you have with town authorities in the USA very strange as in most things you seem to be far
less regulated than we are in the UK. We do have occasional disagreements with neighbors but not usually with town
authorities.
I suppose the old saying "An Englishman's home is his Castle" does have some truth!!
* Doesn't it say somewhere that stopping you from enjoying a hobby or pastime is an infringement of your freedom?
I know that works with ham radio guys who have an antenna that offends the neighbors, so why not if you enjoy the
hobby of stationary engines?
Of course running a business is a different thing, where the city would have you snookered with 100 different bylaws.
I'd suggest you take that tack, saying it's your hobby and you have as much right to it as say stamp collectors
and it would be unfortunate to have to take the city to court to confirm those rights - said in a nice way of course!
Living peaceably with neighbors and keeping on the right side of local laws is important in the old engine hobby,
as it can be both noisy and untidy. Some of the advice given here is very sound and worth bearing in mind, if only
to avoid getting into this sort of situation.
Despite what the various groundhogs have predicted, by the time this is in print, those engine restorers who have
been hibernating in their sheds and shops will be emerging into the sunlight ready to run engines and attend shows!
Have fun!
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©FBI 2002