Abusive Municipal Ordinance Enforcement (Pittsburgh, Bellevue: lease, landscaping, maintenance)

[TheSlopes65]

I am curious as to whether it is customary for municipalities in the Pittsburgh area to fine people without issuing a warning first for issues such as high weeds and grass, for example. When no preliminary warning is issued, that puts a person in the position of having to pay up or be sent to the magistrate for something they might not have even known was a violation. This is really unjust, a violation of fair (due) process and arbitrary. They try to claim they are just trying to make sure people keep up their property landscaping and its not about the money but the lie in this is evidenced by their arbitrary manner of enforcement.


There is one municipality in the area that I know of first hand that is issuing so many tickets and slapping so many people with arbitrary fines that it amounts to a subversive form of taxation - mostly falling on the poor, disabled, elderly, etc. This particular community has a street sweeping schedule that is so aggressive that even someone in the public works department did not understand why they run this schedule so frequently. Many of the enormous stack of fines they are raking in are for parking/streets sweeping violations.


Guess which Route 65 community is running this racket?

[bradjl2009]

Why not just tell us which one if you know?

[TheSlopes65]

Avalon.

I sure would like to know what folks think of slapping a fine on someone for something like a "landscaping crime", if you will, without warning the person first. The municipality might have no idea what that person's circumstances are. There might be a super legit reason why the fine is not warranted...but the powers that be don't care to know, in the case of this community.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by TheSlopes65

Avalon.

I sure would like to know what folks think of slapping a fine on someone for something like a "landscaping crime", if you will, without warning the person first. The municipality might have no idea what that person's circumstances are. There might be a super legit reason why the fine is not warranted...but the powers that be don't care to know, in the case of this community.

What did the municipality say when you contacted them about it?

[Moby Hick]

As long as it's not Weirton.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by TheSlopes65

Avalon.

I sure would like to know what folks think of slapping a fine on someone for something like a "landscaping crime", if you will, without warning the person first. The municipality might have no idea what that person's circumstances are. There might be a super legit reason why the fine is not warranted...but the powers that be don't care to know, in the case of this community.

Hmm, I live next door in Bellevue, but it does seem like most people here to tend to their lawns well. I do agree that does seem ridiculous to fine people without a warning, especially for the poor and elderly.

[TheSlopes65]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

Hmm, I live next door in Bellevue, but it does seem like most people here to tend to their lawns well. I do agree that does seem ridiculous to fine people without a warning, especially for the poor and elderly.

People in Avalon maintain nice lawns too - especially Street Side/Front Yards! However, I wonder what folks think of slapping an arbitrary fine on someone for a backyard off an alley lined with overgrown weeds. And moreover, fining capriciously...where some people with knee high weeds are left alone to let their grass and weeds run wild while others are cited and run into magistrate's court if they resist being unfairly fined.

[guy2073]

Originally Posted by TheSlopes65

People in Avalon maintain nice lawns too - especially Street Side/Front Yards! However, I wonder what folks think of slapping an arbitrary fine on someone for a backyard off an alley lined with overgrown weeds. And moreover, fining capriciously...where some people with knee high weeds are left alone to let their grass and weeds run wild while others are cited and run into magistrate's court if they resist being unfairly fined.

How do you know there was not a warning? If it was you that got fined take care of the problem and take a picture to the magistrate.

[PghYinzer]

Wouldn't the knee high weeds on one's property be warning enough?

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

Wouldn't the knee high weeds on one's property be warning enough?

Yeah, I mean I maintain my landlady's property as part of my lease, and I look at the property every morning prior to leaving for the office to see if it requires any maintenance. If it does? I adjust my schedule accordingly to do yard work that evening. Eye-balling it and thinking to myself "If I lived next-door, would I consider this length of grass/weeds to be too high/too unsightly" doesn't seem all that complicated to be a good neighbor.