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