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Think of them like an abandoned puppy. Would you be willing to trespass to save its life? If you would, then go for the plants.
Worst thing that could happen is the police drive by. Be honest. Say you are trying to salvage what little you can from what the neighborhood used to be.
Even if you got arrested, the judge would throw it out.
Depends on how strict your city is. It still is someone's ppty and it's illegal to trespass and if the city has condemned it then there are legal issues as well as safety and liability issues.
Think of them like an abandoned puppy. Would you be willing to trespass to save its life? If you would, then go for the plants.
Worst thing that could happen is the police drive by. Be honest. Say you are trying to salvage what little you can from what the neighborhood used to be.
Even if you got arrested, the judge would throw it out.
Depends on how strict your city is. It still is someone's ppty and it's illegal to trespass and if the city has condemned it then there are legal issues as well as safety and liability issues.
absolutely. liability issues are really what will come back to bite you in the butt. say you tripped in a hole from a previous digger and broke your leg...stranger things have happened.
I read your story, but you are calling someone naive for having a position that disagrees with you.
Yes, the judge would be likely to throw it out. You don't think so? Great, you're welcome to your opinion. If you have factual evidence on that case, please provide it. If you don't, your opinion is only equally valid. It is not more equal. Please, cut the arrogance.
My thinking is that it's easier to ask forgiveness than to get permission.
I'm picturing you asking some clerk if you can have permission to take the bulbs. The clerk will say, gee, let me look into that and get back to you.
The clerk then asks the supervisor, who probably doesn't care at all if you do it, but has been told in some meeting somewhere, about liability issues for the city when people trespass on the abandoned, condemned properties.
Maybe the supervisor just says "tell him no" at this point, as it's the safest bet. Maybe the supervisor actually checks with the city attorney, who of course is going to say "no" even if they would love for someone to save the bulbs, because it covers their butt regarding liability.
So, will you get arrested and convicted for trespass and theft? Maybe, if you get caught. Maybe they will make an example of you to scare others from trespassing on the abandoned properties.
I'm thinking that you could argue that if the city owns it, then it's public property, and then you have the right to be on that property, as your tax dollars maintain it.
I don't know.
I do know, that I'd go swipe those bulbs in the very early morning hours, myself.
Obviously abandoned or not, the property doesn't belong to the OP. How much trouble can it be to ask permission?
After all, the OP figured out how to take the time to post the question here and hang around to read the replies, in the same amount of time the OP could also have made a few phones calls.
If it doesn't belong to you and you take it, that is theft.
I don't get it:
1. Ask the question on the Internet if it is okay to take the flowers or
2. Ask the question from the property owners (easy to find out) if it is ok to take the flowers.
It isn't difficult to do the right thing and certainly no more difficult than asking people who don't have the authority to give permission.
There is no "moral" dilemma, there is right and wrong. Just digging them up is wrong. Asking permission is right.
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