neighbor's new garage to be built to property line

[gg]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

man, what a **** she is.

There should be a building permit. If you have concern and don't want to make waves, maybe you could call the city and see if there is a permit for construction. I don't think you have to give your name.

The other option is talk to your neighbor and just say you are concerned about what is going to go on right on the property line and worried about damage, or worried they might go over the property line and it could pose a problem in the future if you were to sell someday.

We don't know if your neighbor is a nice person or not since they aren't here to say what they are doing themselves.

[WhoIsStanwix?]

Originally Posted by gg

There should be a building permit. If you have concern and don't want to make waves, maybe you could call the city and see if there is a permit for construction. I don't think you have to give your name.

The other option is talk to your neighbor and just say you are concerned about what is going to go on right on the property line and worried about damage, or worried they might go over the property line and it could pose a problem in the future if you were to sell someday.

We don't know if your neighbor is a nice person or not since they aren't here to say what they are doing themselves.

This is a legitimate concern. I recently learned that my neighbor has their fence, part of their concrete porch, and a sidewalk on my property. The concrete work has been there at least 30 years, so I likely can't do a thing about it. Don't get into this situation if you can help yourself by protecting your rights up front.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by guy2073

There are some areas of the city with zero setbacks but I believe it is more for row houses and tightly built homes.

For front setbacks, technically the minimum front setback in the city without a variance is 15 feet. It's just that you're alternatively allowed to use the midpoint between the nearest two houses, which means an infill house between two zero foot setback rowhouses can always be zero feet as well.

[selltheburgh]

Originally Posted by guy2073

There are some areas of the city with zero setbacks but I believe it is more for row houses and tightly built homes.

Not always. I'm currently building an addition on a row house and it has a 3 foot setback. Same with another house we did additions and balconies on. That had a 3 foot setback.

The only project I've been involved with that had a 0 foot setback was a commercial property in an LNC zoned area.

A family member built a garage to the property line, but had the neighbors sign off to give permission. Same thing is happening with my neighbors. They want to build an oversized garage 2' from the property line in a 5' setback area and needed written permission from neighbors and they had to post notice.

[Pughnose]

Thanks for your thoughts! The neighbor did seek and receive a variance last year; I went Downtown and checked the file, and she got an extension. Since the roof overhang was on the property line, and the overhang-free wall will be on the property line, it's replacing a zero-foot setback with the same. The contractor will be getting a new survey, and she and he have agreed to let me know immediately if it differs from the existing rebar stakes we've been treating as the line.

The original plan was a remodel, but the builder was concerned with the state of the foundation and footers, so depending what they find with the deconstruction, now underway, it may end up being a complete rebuild. The ramifications for her variance in that case, I don't know. Frankly, my hope is that my flexibility and cooperation will be rewarded if/when I do something on my property that she could fuss about, and I'll let any violations stay between her and the inspector.

Originally Posted by szug-bot

man, what a **** she is.

She's not so bad (and she lives with a sweet dog who's a good buddy of mine.) We have a cordial arms-length relationship, good fences and all that. I think she just honestly never thought about the fact that if cement goes to the property line, the form must be on mine, and that it's considerably easier to dig from behind than from in front. (I think that I may have put in more shovel time than she has.) She introduced me to her builder and he agreed to keep me in the loop.

I will probably mention to him that I may have some work for him to look at down the road, so that he feels a financial interest in not alienating me....