Neighbor put fence on county land and in vacant land (houses, neighborhood)

[kmkat]

I know I should mind my own business....but I noticed new neighbors put their six foot fence right abutting the sidewalk. It's a corner lot that is what you see from the cross street. They actually enclosed the county land where there is the electric utility pole. Then, there is a strip of vacant land owned by someone else that runs across the back of four houses. They simply put their fence right at edge of the vacant land, giving them about 12 more feet of yard. When your lot is .11 that is alot of extra land for the $$$.

I did it the legal way and now feel like I'm the loser. I so want to turn them in but my husband is urging me not to. What do you think?

[roninsedge]

I say leave it be as well. Eventually they will have to take down the fence and rebuild it. Giving in to feelings of resentment towards your neighbor will just suck you into a kharmic cycle of crap that you will not need. Since they decided to enclose both county and private land that is not theirs, I believe the situation will be rectified without you tattle-telling. Thus giving you the resolution you wanted without starting off on a bad foot with your new neighbor.

Also, never feel like a loser for doing it the legal way.

[Yankeesfan]

Call your supervisor's office. Or type up a letter and mail it to to the supervisor without signing your name. You could enclose photos.

[kutra11]

Originally Posted by kmkat

I know I should mind my own business....but I noticed new neighbors put their six foot fence right abutting the sidewalk. It's a corner lot that is what you see from the cross street. They actually enclosed the county land where there is the electric utility pole. Then, there is a strip of vacant land owned by someone else that runs across the back of four houses. They simply put their fence right at edge of the vacant land, giving them about 12 more feet of yard. When your lot is .11 that is alot of extra land for the $$$.

I did it the legal way and now feel like I'm the loser. I so want to turn them in but my husband is urging me not to. What do you think?

Notify the authorities. In my opinion, reporting any illegal activity is a civic duty.

[smagid]

You can anonymously let the county know via their website that there is a violation.

[still_waiting]

Originally Posted by kmkat

I know I should mind my own business....but I noticed new neighbors put their six foot fence right abutting the sidewalk. It's a corner lot that is what you see from the cross street. They actually enclosed the county land where there is the electric utility pole. Then, there is a strip of vacant land owned by someone else that runs across the back of four houses. They simply put their fence right at edge of the vacant land, giving them about 12 more feet of yard. When your lot is .11 that is alot of extra land for the $$$.

I did it the legal way and now feel like I'm the loser. So I want to turn them in but my husband is urging me not to. What do you think?

The underlined and bolded statement provides an insight into your mentality. It's more about jealousy and envy than it is about be a "do-gooder" by reporting it to the authorities. If you did it the legal way you shouldn't feel like a loser...you should actually feel the opposite way. You should be PROUD of yourself for doing things the way they are supposed to be done. This illustrates the not too much talked about resentment that runs rampant in the burbs. People aren't happy even when they are doing quite well in the relative sense.

I wonder how "concerned" you would be about your neighbors indiscretion if you had the biggest most beautiful lot in the neighborhood.

Your husband has the right idea actually. He obviously doesn't even want the possibility of a potentially hostile neighbor situation.

[marie5v]

Maybe they did it by accident, thinking those were the actual boundaries of their land. At some point they'll probably have to tear is down and rebuild it, and it might be a financial hardship for them. Why do you want to be the one to make their lives more difficult?

[Pandoras]

Originally Posted by kmkat

I know I should mind my own business....but I noticed new neighbors put their six foot fence right abutting the sidewalk. It's a corner lot that is what you see from the cross street. They actually enclosed the county land where there is the electric utility pole. Then, there is a strip of vacant land owned by someone else that runs across the back of four houses. They simply put their fence right at edge of the vacant land, giving them about 12 more feet of yard. When your lot is .11 that is alot of extra land for the $$$.

I did it the legal way and now feel like I'm the loser. I so want to turn them in but my husband is urging me not to. What do you think?

Report it anonymously and don't feel bad about it. They should have checked before they put up the fence. I think this a common issue in northern virginia, people 'extend' their plots until they get checked by the county.

[pcity]

Originally Posted by Pandoras

Report it anonymously and don't feel bad about it. They should have checked before they put up the fence. I think this a common issue in northern virginia, people 'extend' their plots until they get checked by the county.

It is. There was a Post article on this and just how widespread it is. I would definitely report them.

[Teebyrd86]

I would report it, afterall why should they get free land? you did it the legal way and so should they. It is unfair and I dont blame you one bit, it seems your husband just wants to stay out of "drama" but I think if you report it without giving your name there really will be no way for them to find out who did. As far as ficancial hardship... They did it to themselves, you didnt tell them to illegally build a fence on county property. Good luck!