The Legal Threat from the City

The most shocking bit of news came about a week after the Stop Work order was posted.  I received 2 letters from the city of Orono. One was sent via regular mail, the other via certified mail. They were identical letters with the added cost of certified mail using the citizens of Orono's tax money.  I am not sure what the city was thinking, but ratcheting up their intimidation was not going to deter me from accomplishing my goal of capturing my renewable resource. 

The first paragraph of the letter notes my building permit application denial, then falsely states city staff observed installation of the footing.  City staff never saw what I was doing as I and my alleged partners in crime were there the whole time and the city never showed up.

The second paragraph contained the legal threat and other comical statements.  I was told to "cease and desist" in bold print and was given 6 days (until Nov 24, 2010) to remove a 4'x4'x4' reinforced footing in order to avoid legal action by the city of Orono.  What an amusing statement as most unused footings in residential areas are simply covered with dirt or other means to hide them when they are unwanted and not in the way of other projects.  I was also told that my property would be reinspected (which is difficult given it was never been inspected in the first place) for compliance and failure may result in possible criminal action.  Now the city of Orono was going to criminalize going green.

The most laughable part of this paragraph was the last sentence proclaiming that I should not hesitate to call Melanie Curtis if I had any questions.  Why?  To be incorrectly quoted city ordinances?  Or simply to allow one more opportunity to abuse her power (or lack thereof).  Why has she NEVER tried to contact me??  Why the threats?   I am a citizen of this city and my taxes contribute to her salary.  Her role should be to help me accomplish my goals, not vice versa.  What is wrong with this picture?

I was now in the position of having to retain counsel, an added cost, for going green.  My attorney was able to get me a 1 week reprieve asThanksgiving was coming and the weather was very stormy during the 6 days I was allowed to remove the footing.

The timing of the above letter was perfect as I already had my footing in and there was no more work to do until my pole and turbine arrived in 6-8 weeks.

It was now time to make our position completely clear to the city staff...........


GreenMan