I Am Not A Happy Ruidoso Landowner!!! (Alamogordo, Alamo: sale, safe)

[joqua]

Originally Posted by robntoni

Oops.....typo there......although apropos.........this is Dark Ages thinking........

Okay...I was hoping it was a court error. I recall once having a speeding ticket dismissed because of such a technical error made by the officer who wrote it out.

[GregW]

First the town tell you to thin your lot of excess wood and after you do so they charge you for creating a nuisance because your contractor left the cut wood at the curbside? I suggest going to the town hall and have them provide copies of the relevant laws and regulations. You may have to hire a lawyer to straighten this out.

This does not smell right. It sounds like a scam where the Town tells a lot owner to have the lot cleared but expect to hire the contractor and rake off a bit of the payment. This may be a good time to register a complaint with the State Attorney.

[prosopis]

Originally Posted by robntoni

I'm just about done with this dream about retiring in Ruidoso.......too uptight, too many ordinances, too much fire potential.

Retire there and vote!

Or retire to one of the less touristy places where people generally mind their own business. It doesn't look as nice and tidy, but people don't get in your face over whatever is bothering them.

Annoying as this all is for you - legitimately annoying - you are being a cooperative and responsible person here, and you should be able to get it straightened out pretty easily when they see that. The draconian measures are the result of many people not doing what you have done - paying attention to what the town wanted and getting the work done in a timely manner.

If you can keep your temper when dealing with them (difficult, yes), they have little excuse to continue with the heavy handedness and generally say something like "We'd sure like it if everyone simply did the right thing instead of trying to ignore it or get a variance"

[robntoni]

I made a couple of calls to the Municipal Court yesterday and again this morning. The "Property Nuisance" was filed by the Forestry Service and pertained to the removal of the standing dead trees, not really the fact that they were on the curb for a short period of time.....I got a call from the tree thinning guy last night saying they got done in one day instead of two, so the trees aren't even at the curb anymore.

Apparently, after reading more of the Village Ordinances, you have 10 days from the time you are notified until the land is cleared. Of course, it did not say that in their letter. So, to recap, from the day I got the letter from the Forestry Service, I had 10 days to call a bunch of contractors, wait on them to go inspect the property, get back in touch with me and give me a price, me deciding on a contractor, me paying the contractor 50% of the fee, the contractor to do the work, and then me calling the Forestry Service for Final Inspection. 10 days.....10 days, or you get a CRIMINAL SUMMONS.

[joqua]

Originally Posted by robntoni

So, to recap, from the day I got the letter from the Forestry Service, I had 10 days to call a bunch of contractors.....10 days, or you get a CRIMINAL SUMMONS.

There is something not right with what you're relating here...

Here is a quote from the village forestry web site:

How much time do I have to complete the work?
Generally, Village Forestry allows 14 months for property owners to bring their properties into compliance with Section 42 - 80.

http://ruidoso-nm.gov/forestry.html

The initial letter advising property owners of the need to call village forestry for a preliminary inspection of their property gives several months leeway. Once the number of trees to be removed is determined, the owner has another period of time in which to accomplish the work and call for another inspection to confirm that the job has been done correctly. If all is okay, a "Certificate of Compliance" is sent to the owner which is good for a period of ten years, assuming there is not a massive beetle kill or die off of those trees left standing.

[robntoni]

You got that quote from the Forestry Page under "Getting the work done"

This is what the Municipal Code says:

Sec. 38-62. - Property nuisances

a)
6) Hazardous trees and forest debris as follows:
a. Forest debris not in accordance with section 42-80, where forest debris is defined as cut forest material resulting from fuels management activity.

Declaration of nuisance; abatement generally. Any property found to be maintained in violation of subsection (a) of this section is hereby declared to be a public nuisance and shall be abated as provided under subsections (c) and (d) of this section. The procedures for abatement set forth in this section shall not be exclusive and shall not in any manner limit or restrict the village from enforcing other village ordinances or abating public nuisances in any other manner provided by law.
(c)
Order to remove or remedy nuisance. Whenever any nuisance prohibited in this section shall be found to exist upon private property within the village, the code enforcement officer shall order, in writing, the owner, lessee, occupant or person who permits such nuisance to exist to remove or remedy the nuisance within ten days after service of such notice upon them, unless other provisions of this Code or other village ordinances provide a longer remedy period.


Maybe the 10 days is after you get your Criminal Summons?


But it begs the question.....if it is, in fact, 14 months, why have I been issued a Criminal Summons? I called the Municipal Court twice yesterday and in one of the conversations, I asked the origin of the Complaint.....they said it came from the Forestry Service.

[joqua]

I certainly can't answer questions on Ruidoso ordinances other than to mention what I know for fact as it has transpired over recent years regarding thinning of flammables from properties. I agree that the "ten days" period likely applies to the municipal court summons, which is the necessary step before the village files a lien on the property and does the work as needed.

The Upper Canyon area was one of the first to receive scrutiny when the thinning program began, so letters to owners in the zone under survey would have received initial notice of their need to come into compliance several years ago.

Since the majority of residential sites within the village are owned by NON-residents, it would be unrealistic to expect owners to react with only ten days notice. The 14 months is more likely to find acceptance - even with those owners who are "tree huggers."

I don't know what zone is now under review, but there are still areas within the village that have yet to be thinned, as far as I know.

[joqua]

This may be a good thread to mention other aspects of Village of Ruidoso PROPERTY NUISANCE provisions.

While forest thinning falls under the purview of the Village Forestry department, other "property nuisance" ordinances fall under the Code Enforcement officer's duties. Citations can be issued for a variety of situations creating unsightly nuisances, as well as neglected structures that are considered "attractive nuisances" for vandals et al. Parking RVs on private property for long term occupancy is also a violation.

When Code Enforcement finds a property in non-compliance, they also issue a "first notice" with a specified time limit for the owner to address the problem.

[robntoni]

I spoke with the Forestry Service again this morning. I had them do a Final Inspection yesterday.....apparently there is one tree that the cutter missed, but the cutter will take care of it today. The guy I spoke to this morning is the same guy that sent the initial letter (which I can't find anywhere!). I also called the secretary to get a copy of the original letter emailed to me, because I wanted to re-read it and see what it said about time frames. I asked the Forestry guy "what about the 14 months" and he said that was a "different issues", that it was the "Full Compliance" instead of the "Partial Compliance" that I am dealing with. I asked what the time frame was for the Partial Compliance that I am working on and he said 30 days to get in contact with them, and another 30 days to get the work done. He said the major problem in MY case was that my cutter didn't communicate with him about the week-long rain delay. Doing the math though, this still doesn't make any sense, because I got it done within 30 days, even with the rain delay.

I still think this is a bunch of crap.

[joqua]

Originally Posted by robntoni

I still think this is a bunch of crap.

Small town + small pay = small mindedness.