Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You will also need to remove debris after clearing it out. What looks like what might be two small loads after trimming and clearing ends up way more than you anticipate very quickly.
When I trim a row of bushes in my backyard, there are about 9 I planted for some privacy, turns out to be two large loads in a trailer. When I do some small scale tree trimming I get about 4 loads. I have a smallish yard with 2 larger trees, 5 mini trees, row of bushes and misc. foundation planting. I should probably trim more often but I kind of like a more "natural" look over a perfectly manicured look anyway.
If you do yourself you will probably end up spending more time hauling away than you spend doing clearing out major overgrown. If you get someone there to do the major clearing before inspection they will probably give you a little more time to finish it up if they see major progress. Take pictures before and after so you can show your progress, show them the bill also if you pay someone to clear up yard. If you have had numerous problems in past with lots of warning it's hard to say how lenient they will be.
Last edited by Izzie1213; 01-23-2018 at 09:26 AM..
Thanks for the advice! Managed to get a hold of code enforcement and got my question sorta answered.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rabrrita
Will you be facing a financial or other penalty by the municipality if the inspector sees any violation of the regulations? If they come out, tell you whats wrong, give you a chance to fix it, you might as well wait and see what you need to do. But if they issue a violation with penalties because they saw a violation when the arrived, I would try to comply before they arrive. Some CEI's will make the decision to provide a grace period to comply or issue a violation on the spot based on the severity of what they initially see.
No. After talking with code enforcement over the phone, they told me that if they found violations, they'd give me a "reasonable time period" to correct the problems before they'd re-inspect. However, due to fire damage in town, he couldn't give me an inspection date, because they're prioritizing damaged/dangerous property, and those reports haven't been processed and scheduled yet. Overgrown yards are pretty far down the list. He said to check again in six months. Otherwise they'd keep the ticket open and contact me when they cleared the backlog.
He suggested, I clear brush back to the fire line (which is now done) and then it was up to me whether to clear the rest of the land. He couldn't tell me whether it would be required without actually doing an inspection. He directed me to the city's website for land clearing companies, and said that they were good about ensuring properties were up to code even without a list of violations.
Since it sounds like I'm not going to get a city inspector any time soon, I'll go ahead and get the land cleared once the rainy season ends.
Now, the next question is, should I warn my neighbor that I've got an inspection coming (though who knows when)? He has several dangerous structures in his back yard, which are going to be pretty hard to miss.
Since it sounds like I'm not going to get a city inspector any time soon, I'll go ahead and get the land cleared once the rainy season ends.
Perfect. So more time to ignore it until ... ???
Quote:
Originally Posted by wac_432
Now, the next question is, should I warn my neighbor that I've got an inspection coming (though who knows when)? He has several dangerous structures in his back yard, which are going to be pretty hard to miss.
Nice deflection.
It would certainly be the neighborly thing to do, and I'm sure your other neighbors would appreciate it as well if you two would get your acts together.
You will also need to remove debris after clearing it out. What looks like what might be two small loads after trimming and clearing ends up way more than you anticipate very quickly.
If you do yourself you will probably end up spending more time hauling away than you spend doing clearing out major overgrown. If you get someone there to do the major clearing before inspection they will probably give you a little more time to finish it up if they see major progress. Take pictures before and after so you can show your progress, show them the bill also if you pay someone to clear up yard. If you have had numerous problems in past with lots of warning it's hard to say how lenient they will be.
I've never had any problems prior. However, we had a wildfire this year, and the FD probably did a sweep and cited all properties that looked not in compliance. Mine wasn't due to tumbleweeds that blew into the required clearance area, which I removed. Or who knows? Maybe somebody doesn't like that my aloe plant pokes over the sidewalk. Regardless, since it didn't do me a favor and burn, that brush needs to get cleared, and that's my big problem.
There's 7000 square feet of heavy brush that starts just beyond the required 100' clearance line. It's been there since before I bought the property. I've kept the required defensible space clear, but the brush back there needs to go, so I can keep the entire property trimmed. During high winds it sheds debris and tumbleweeds into the cleared land, and is thus a fire trap. It is going to be a HUGE amount of hauling. It's also on a steep hill, so everything will have to be done by hand. It's not a reasonable DIY project unless I had at least a week solid, a dumpster (or several), and--at minimum--a commercial-grade brush cutter.
Also, there's some medium-sized dead trees closer in that need to come down, and some ridiculous wooden composter that the previous owner built, that needs to be dismantled and hauled away. So it ain't gonna be cheap, but it's time to get it done.
April. Though I'll start getting estimates now. Who knows, the land clearing contractors may suggest doing it after the grow season has ended, or before. We'll see.
This is the answer to every single City-Data rant/question about HOAs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rrtechno
Who said anything about HOAs?
It was coming.
HOAs are like hiring a garrison of stormtroopers to keep kids outta yer front yard. Seems like city/county/state code enforcement handled things here. And does pretty much everywhere without a council of sniffy old people and anal-retentives telling you your window coverings are the wrong shade of beige.
Actually it doesn't sound like CE has it under control at all. They kicked the problem down the road 6 months and the OP is taking full advantage of that. They clearly have a fire problem as evidenced by the CEI's comments
Actually it doesn't sound like CE has it under control at all. They kicked the problem down the road 6 months and the OP is taking full advantage of that. They clearly have a fire problem as evidenced by the CEI's comments
It's an imperfect system, but it makes HOAs look like headless chicken-fests.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
