The 'Stop Work' Order

I was not at all surprised to see the 'Stop Work' Order posted on my door by the city of Orono the day following my angry neighbor's rant. The order is not clear and does not refer to what work I should stop.  It does state:

 "78-7 Orono municipal code requires permit to erect, construct, remodel, etc. NO WORK UNTIL PERMIT IS ISSUED" 

I did not know that a footing was considered illegal in Orono.  Many neighbors have footings for things such as basketball hoops, light poles, mailboxes, yard statues, etc.  The city of Orono can guess as to what I am putting on my footing, but they have no way to know for sure, and made absolutely no attempt to contact me and find out.  They simply took the word of an angry neighbor and over-reacted as quickly as possible.

So here I was with conflicting documentation from the city of Orono:

• Building request denied, you cannot do it at all.
• No work until a building permit is issued.

Well, which is it, can I or can't I?  It sure seemed to be an endless circle that cannot be won.  Upon receiving advice from an attorney friend, who claims he is a 'good' lawyer, we decided to disregard the order as it is quite vague and therefor, unenforceable.  The order was a moot point at that time as I had the footing installed and complete and there was nothing to do until my wind generator arrived in a couple of months.



GreenMan

The Angry Neighbor

Neighbors come in all shapes and sizes, different attitudes and different perceptions. In one of the neighborhoods in which we own a home, it has been our experience that if you do not fit into their view of how you should live, then you are someone who should be harassed and punished by all available means until you capitulate and live their way.  It is a "wound up" way of living which breeds unwanted participation in people's personal lives and property.

What we have experienced:

• a pair of beagles are sent out any hour of the day or night to bark relentlessly and loudly
• complaints about where we park a vehicle in our own driveway
• someone feeding geese and ducks until they are overwhelming and dangerous
• someone piling stuff all over your lakeside yard instead of putting it away nicely (and then complaining about how other's stuff looks)
• calling the police and complaining to the city that a curb is being installed to protect our property from years of water damage due to repeated city street overlays
• building a fence on our property (without a survey), and then the other property owner is taken aback that we want it moved to their side of the property line

The above are some of the reasons why I was not surprised when one of my neighbors became angry and started yelling at me for installing the wind turbine footing.  I had shown him my plan and listened to his concerns.  I agreed that I would attempt to work with the city to accomplish my goal of providing some of my own energy. 

When he began his angry questioning of me through the row of arborvitaes. I took it in stride and calmly tried to explain that the city chose not to work with me, had no real authority to deny my project, and therefore, had overstepped it's bounds. None of these facts deterred him from become more and more belligerent.  He began throwing phrases out such as, "You better have a good lawyer" and "I am going to city hall first thing in the morning", even though it is none of his business what I choose to do on my property.

Towards the end of his rant, I said to him, "----, you don't have to be angry."  To which he replied with the loudest voice I heard yet, "I'M NOT ANGRY!!!" and went stomping off.

After he left, I turned to alias Dennis and asked, "Is it me, or was he mad?"

To which alias Dennis replied in his typical way of understatement, "He sure wasn't happy."


Thus the foundation was laid for more harassment by the city...........



GreenMan