Looking for info about Manhattan ordinances

[StacyDK]

I did just that, and they were unable to tell if it was a violation or not. Apparently if it's in the back yard it's okay, but the side yard may or may not be. They need to come out and check property lines and distance. I asked them to hold off until I can get hold of the owners, but their phone number isn't online so I had to try social media. If that doesn't pan out then my husband will go over to ask the tenants but I'm pretty nervous about that, for reasons I stated above.

It didn't bode well that the lady at the code dept. seemed astonished that this was even happening and had trouble picturing it. I guess this never happens.

[AnywhereElse]

You could contact a city commissioner: Meet the City Commission | Manhattan, KS - Official Website The Codes office doesn't sound very impressive. I would write all the details down, keep track of how many days they are remaining in there. Document everything that you see with dates.

Yeah, I wouldn't like them mowing the way they are, sounds like squatters!

[Rivertowntalk]

If they are renting, you could possibly find the name of the landlord on file with the county property taxes. If so, you could call their landlord and explain the situation. Their lease likely would not permit this type of use.

[Mattks]

Originally Posted by StacyDK

My only problem with mentioning the fence is that we won't have the ability to start it for a few months. I don't want to tell them in May that we're going to put in a fence if we can't even start it until September.

I wouldn't tell your neighbor about the fence. Get some estimates on fence work from reputable companies, they will make sure it is up to code and they should get the permit for you. Getting a fence built on one side of your property shouldn't be expensive at all. I'm assuming there are fences to the other neighbors?

[StacyDK]

These guys are either renting or are relatives of the owners -- the owners don't live in the house itself. I haven't been able to find contact info for them except for a Facebook account, but no one responded when I messaged them. Absolutely no idea who the renters are so have no way of contacting them except to go over there, which my husband is going to do, because whoever was living in the trailer for a week tramped down his newly sown grass so much that it's just a hard floor of dirt now, and he's torqued off.

The trailer is all closed up and covered with tarp now so it was apparently used as a guest room.

Mattks: There are some fences around, yes. The house on the other side of the neighbors has a metal chain link fence, and the previous neighbor "Jerry" put in matching chain link several years ago. It only goes to the edge of their house, meaning there's about 6-8 feet beyond that fence that's still their property. That's the area where the trailer was. The area from their house wall/fence over to our house wall is wedge shaped because this is the elbow of a cul-de-sac, so it's about 14 feet wide at the most and shrinks down to about 8 feet wide at the least, and I'd say 16-20 feet in length. The trailer when expanded is a good 10 feet wide, so it pretty much took up this entire area.

This reminds me that when Jerry put in the fence, he extended it beyond his property line in the back in an attempt to claim some of the easement land for himself, and the City had to step in to make him move it. Since Jerry's mom and stepdad helped him put in the fence and now own the place, that's another hint that they know exactly what they're doing.